Time to change the machine heads

Spicy Lauren

I finally made the decision that I was gonna get the machine heads changed on the Fender. Sick of having to tune the fecker every so often between songs. Anyone would please advise me on a good set to get?

Below is what he looks like at the moment

Thank you

Krsnik87

Grover are amazing,

http://www.axesrus.com/axemachine.htm

Decent enough price too.

Spicy Lauren

Hmm there is a lot of choice there and i honestly have no idea which one I should go for. Do you?
I'm thinking maybe some which i can thighten with a screw driver

Beecher

Personally I love Sperzel Trimloks. They keep tuning great and they cut the ends off the strings so you can change strings quickly without any tools. However they are 73 euro a set plus the holes on that guitar will need to be enlarged (an easy enough job but most shops will still charge 20-30 euro for it)

Karl Hungus

The best tuners in my humble opinion, would be the Schaller locking tuners, which I've got on my Musicman Petrucci, and by jesus are they stable. Get those, the tuning will be much more stable.

Krsnik87

Spicy Lauren wrote: »

Hmm there is a lot of choice there and i honestly have no idea which one I should go for. Do you?
I'm thinking maybe some which i can thighten with a screw driver

Oh yeah sorry lol. Forth from the bottom, can't go wrong imo, 6 in line grover locking tuners. I never used the ones mensioned above but I've heard nothin but good things...

Johnny Storm

Just before you buy new tuners:-

Is there anything in particular that makes you think there's anything wrong with the tuners in the photo?

On Fenders it's important to lubricate anywhere the string can get hung up, especially the nut. Try putting a tiny bit of vaseline in each nut slot and see if it makes any difference to the tuning stability.

Labello / lip gloss / 3-in-1 oil will also work or even "colour in" the nut slots with a lead pencil. The lead is graphite, a fine lubricant.


http://www.fender.com/support/other_fender_guitars.php

feylya

The thing to remember here is that the majority of tuning pegs work and work reasonably well. Most tuning isses aren't caused by the tuning pegs being bad, they're caused by lack of knowledge on how they work. There's a few important things to remember while restringing and retuning but the most important one is that tuning pegs, no matter how expensive (or not), are designed to keep tension on a string - in other words, always][/] tune up to a note, never down. Sorry if you know all this already but it's another thing about guitars that people should know but rarely do. Check out the sticky thread for more info

And on topic: some nice Schaller locking tuners would be good. No need to worry about windings, just thread the string through, tighten the thumbscrew and tune to pitch

sei046

Im a schaller locking tuner convert too now. defo +1

dazberry

Beecher wrote: »

Personally I love Sperzel Trimloks.

+1. Love the locking Sperzels too

D.

judas101

the bridges on them there jag-stangs are terrible.

just a thought but iperhaps thats contributing to the problem (maybe??)

Spicy Lauren

judas101 wrote: »

the bridges on them there jag-stangs are terrible.

just a thought but iperhaps thats contributing to the problem (maybe??)

Yeah I was thinking that too acually... Thoughts?

Doctor J

I think it might be more how you're stringing it. On the A string in the pic there's a big loop of slack just waiting to detune. The string should be tight on the tuner, you should be applying tension to the string as you tune up. There is no reason for those tuners not to stay in tune.

There are plenty of stringing and tuning guides around which you should try first, including one in the resources sticky which has worked for me for the last 18 years, because all the aftermarket tuners mentioned on this thread will require some routing or drilling on your guitar which is going to jack up the cost and I'd say it's also unlikely you'll get away without having ugly empty screw holes visible when the new tuners go in.

As Fey says, always tune up to the note. If you go sharp, pull the string away from the fretboard over the 12th fret. The string will go flat a little, this is the slack on the string which is causing you to go out of tune in the first place - as you play, you're adding extra tension which pulls the string and releases the slack. Always pull the slack out of the string and always tune up. You'll be surprised how much of an effect it will have.

Johnny Storm

Good info here specifically on how to string those slotted vintage Fender tuners in a locking way
(IMHO they are very effective tuners even without doing this)

http://www.kinman.com/html/toneWorkshop/perfectGuitar.htm#stayingInTune

Look for the section headed "Staying in Tune"

punchdrunk

if you do decie to change these are the best drop in replacements that won't require anything more than a screwdriver!

http://www.darrenriley.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=763

deaddonkey

it's a mustang trem, you gotta set it up right or it'll never be in tune.

the tuners you got there are vintage klusons, they're the best you can get. they ain't the problem.

Spicy Lauren

deaddonkey wrote: »

it's a mustang trem, you gotta set it up right or it'll never be in tune.

the tuners you got there are vintage klusons, they're the best you can get. they ain't the problem.

Ok, I was told in these boards that the Fender vintage machine heads were in fact a bit crap, that's why I had decided of changing them. Ok maybe I'll try .11 gauge strings instead then?

Doctor J

Just try restringing it first, applying tension to the string as you do.

Spicy Lauren

Doctor J wrote: »

Just try restringing it first, applying tension to the string as you do.

But I do all that The picture that's up is quite an old one

Voodu Child

Spicy Lauren wrote: »

Ok, I was told in these boards that the Fender vintage machine heads were in fact a bit crap, that's why I had decided of changing them.

Is there any play in the tuning posts/keys? i.e. any looseness or 'wiggle' or whatever you want to call it. Or are they rock-solid?

Spicy Lauren

voodoo_child wrote: »

Is there any play in the tuning posts/keys? i.e. any looseness or 'wiggle' or whatever you want to call it. Or are they rock-solid?

yep, a couple of keys are a bit loose. And I can't tighten 'em.

Voodu Child

Spicy Lauren wrote: »

yep, a couple of keys are a bit loose. And I can't tighten 'em.

Well, there's your answer.

It's all very well of people to say 'you're not doing it properly', or 'Vintage tuners work great for me!', but loose tuners won't stay in tune. All the tricks in the world won't help you if your string isn't anchored to something that's physically rock-solid.

Replace them. Any of the suggestions in this thread would be better than what you have; just research what'll fit without any extra work if possible.

fourmations

heres all the info on floating bridges you could want

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/index.php?topic=3911.0

i have a japanese fender jazzmaster
with in-line kluson style stock tuners
and they are flawless

Spicy Lauren

fourmations wrote: »

heres all the info on floating bridges you could want

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/index.php?topic=3911.0

i have a japanese fender jazzmaster
with in-line kluson style stock tuners
and they are flawless

Thank u Sir