Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

[shreddermon]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

I HATE the matte finishes on the Sperzels. Ugly, IMHO. I've always wondered why they, LSR, and Wilkinson for that matter don't do the more traditional "shiny" chrome, gold & black.

Otherwise, locking tuners aren't all that, IMHO. Do they help tuning stability? Sure, a bit. But it's not a huge improvement.

As to Sperzels: I had - and also heard others - the experience of the locking peg (...or whatever you call it) sieze up in the locked position. Couldn't change strings. Literally had to take the tuner off the headstock and bang it loose. Lubed it up, checked it, and remounted. And then it did it again! [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] Had to do this routine two or three times before it was OK.

I've heard good things about the Schallers, but haven't tried them myself.

[sully]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

Originally posted by Michael:
Sully -

How do you UNLOCK the Grovers? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Mike

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">you don't have to...all you do is detune the string, and the locking mechanism inside unlocks from the movement of the tuning peg. i do have some difficulty with the high E peg, tho.

sully

[toejam]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

I'm going with Schaller locking tuners on my next project, but I've got Sperzels on my two Carvins. The Sperzels are fine, but sometimes the pin inside can seize up and prevent the string from being removed easily. Quite a few people I know have had that problem, but eventually they usually work their way loose with some WD40 or trying to move the locking pin down through the post with a safety pin or something.
When I got my Carvin DC400, the original owner had 8s on the high strings and 9s on the low. I took them off to put on 10s... I had all the strings changed except the high E, because it was just jammed in the tuner. I eventually got the string out, but I couldn't get the pin to move out of the way so I could get another string in there. I pounded the hell out of that thing with a hammer, lots of WD40, sticking safety pins and screwdrivers into the post hole, but the locking pin would not budge! I called Carvin, they sent me a replacement tuner for free. To this day, the old tuner is sitting around and will not budge. Nobody could believe the pin would not come out as they usually do, but Ken had the same problem one time on a Sperzel bass tuner. Sperzels are cool if they're working fine, but if and when they seize up, they're a big pain in the ass!!

[toejam]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

Originally posted by j2379:
the ones on the early 90's fenders work really well too, dont know who made them, but ide go with sperzels.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fender's are made by Schaller. I actually think the thumb wheel is easier to turn on the Schallers than the Sperzels. If the Sperzel is too tight, be prepared to get a blister on your finger if you don't have a cloth around it to help.

[trillian guitars]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

try to buy direct if you can, youll save a ton of cash...sperzels come in every color you could think of

[Tekky]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

Originally posted by jsullysix:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Michael:
Sully -

How do you UNLOCK the Grovers? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Mike

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">you don't have to...all you do is detune the string, and the locking mechanism inside unlocks from the movement of the tuning peg. i do have some difficulty with the high E peg, tho.

sully </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Is that like the pegs on PRSsssss??

[sully]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

dunno.... never checked them out that closely.

sully

[JUSTNOLDBLUZMAN]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

I have Schallers on both of my American fenders, they were the only ones that would accomodate the 056 low e strings I use. Not being that familiar with the Jackson/Charvel factory tuners Schallers are what Fender uses if you get one from the factory with locking tuners.
Blzman

[Demon]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

I've grown to hate Sperzels. 12:1 is just dumb. If I ever went the locking tuner route again I'd drop the extra $ for LSR's (40:1)

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

I'm fine with using standard non-locking tuning keys. If you know how to properly string up your guitar, tuning issues can cease to exist. Yeah it takes longer to string a guitar up but at least you don't have to worry about parts getting stuck and thick wound strings not fitting into the tuner.

The only other tuners that interest me are the LSR's, because of their 40:1 tuning ratios.

[Firebird V]

Re: Locking tuners - Gotoh, Grover, Sperzel?

I have grover locking tuners on my 2 Gibsons. I have schaller locking tuners on my Warmoth/wayne body parts mutt. I have sperzels on a Charvel San Dimas series guitar. They all work great. The Sperzels are the lightest. The Schallers are the heaviest. The Sperzels and the schallers have the wheel... The Grovers dont. The Grovers are my choice because they have the stock look. I use the fine tuner tailpiece bridge from gibson with my explorer and these tuners and it stays in tune great. I love it. The Sperzels are really light though and that is a great feature too. (anodized aluminum) I know a shop that is selling a used flat black set that are like new for $20! If you want them let me know and I will go get them for you.

EDIT: They are 6 inline and you need 3 + 3. Sorry bro.

[ October 25, 2003, 07:44 PM: Message edited by: Firebird V ]