Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

[Rex_Rocker]

I have Grovers in my PRS SE that I put ivory-looking acrylic buttons on (which are very light) because they look cool. I accidentally bumped the guitar, and one of the acrylic buttons broke. So I swapped them all out for the stock big heavy kidney bean buttons that Grovers come with.

I noticed a difference in the tone of the guitar. I can't really put my finger on what changed, but I noticed something changed. Perhaps it became warmer?

I remember reading that people find a difference in the tone of the lighter Klusons vs. the heavier Grovers on Les Pauls. I see PRS use brass shafts on their Phase 3 tuners too. I suppose there is a difference, then? Is this what I'm hearing too? Or am I imagining things?

What are you guys' experiences?

 

[Wattage]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

I've had similar experiences changing tuners. I can't say I've made any changes to the tuners hoping to have an effect on the tone but I've definitely noticed it.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

I think anything that changes the way the string's energy is absorbed can affect tone.

Different tuner heights can impact break angle as well.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

I think anything that changes the way the string's energy is absorbed can affect tone.

But the age old question of "Is it enough of a difference to be noticeable?" applies to most changes of energy transfer for the strings.

I've heard that the weight of the tuners can affect the tone more so than the materials of which they are made, but I have never bothered to test it. It sounds about right, given that its applied on the end of a long lever.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

"Noticeable" is a term subject to debate also: Something can be "noticed" in a before/after comparison of a dry recording, that totally does not matter in the context of actual performance. In general- if it doesn't absolutely break your tone, one could say a change isn't one that is easily "noticed" imo.

I don't know how a change as slight as the op made can change tone drastically but concede there is probably a difference on some level.

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Or am I imagining things?

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

 

[Mincer]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Well, I said in another thread that anything that touches the string can have an impact on tone. Is this something that can't be done with your guitar/pedal/amp controls? I have no idea. But I know I pick the tuners I use because they are light, allow fast string changes, and work well- not because of how they affect the sound.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

I’ve swapped out tuners in several guitars over the years and I really have never noticed any appreciable tonal changes.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

There are plenty of instances of bridges, tailpieces and tuners swapped for different materials and there being a tonal shift......so much that the preponderance of the evidence (as well as physics) saying most certainly 'yes', there can certainly be a real difference.

It is more credible in those cases like yours, where you were not changing them out specifically thinking there was going to be a change - no confirmational bias is involved in such a case

 

[DonP]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Do any of you guys remember Fathead?

They made a heavy brass plate that fit behind a head stock with the tuners holding it in. They came in Fender shapes, Gibson shapes, etc. This product was founded on the idea that adding mass to the headstock increased sustain.

In there ad they said to do this. "Take your guitars head stock and press it against something solid like a door jam and see how the tone changes with playing"

Just sayin. I don't have a dog in this fight, but I will say my LP loaded with heavy USA Grovers sounds pretty damn good.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Some years ago there was a fat finger
That was supposed to add mass to the headstock and ad tone
Made of brass

May have been snake oil, but I remember it being kinda popular

Last year I think one of the forum bros went on about
touching is headstock to a mahogany table when playing
And that affected his tone
As opposed to pine or oak tables

If you can hear a difference
It may have been a bigger impact than you thought
Something else may have dislodged

But yea heavier tuners seem to make a difference on mine too

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Do any of you guys remember Fathead?

They made a heavy brass plate that fit behind a head stock with the tuners holding it in. They came in Fender shapes, Gibson shapes, etc. This product was founded on the idea that adding mass to the headstock increased sustain.

In there ad they said to do this. "Take your guitars head stock and press it against something solid like a door jam and see how the tone changes with playing"

Just sayin. I don't have a dog in this fight, but I will say my LP loaded with heavy USA Grovers sounds pretty damn good.

Yes, I was a dealer back in the 80's. They have A LOT more mass than a tuner button.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Last year I think one of the forum bros went on about
touching is headstock to a mahogany table when playing
And that affected his tone
As opposed to pine or oak tables

Funny, last year I did exactly the opposite. I touched my guitar to multiple surfaces, some hard some soft, and noticed that while it had a more than noticable effect on acoustic tone, it made absolutely no difference while plugged in. The same held true by touching the entire back of the guitar body to the same slabs.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

I think holding a guitar up to a door is loud because it causes the door to resonate all the atmosphere across its surface area, (meaning: At the expense of absorbing string energy from the guitar.)

To me that is a very different effect than bolting a bunch of metal on the headstock. What happens when you hold your guitar against a concrete wall that cannot resonate itself due to the energy from a string, for example?

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Funny, last year I did exactly the opposite. I touched my guitar to multiple surfaces, some hard some soft, and noticed that while it had a more than noticable effect on acoustic tone, it made absolutely no difference while plugged in. The same held true by touching the entire back of the guitar body to the same slabs.

I couldnt remember exactly what your thread was
Thanks for clearing that up

 

[LLL]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Tone Tuners...

 

[YeRedHouseOverYonder]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Well, I said in another thread that anything that touches the string can have an impact on tone. Is this something that can't be done with your guitar/pedal/amp controls? I have no idea. But I know I pick the tuners I use because they are light, allow fast string changes, and work well- not because of how they affect the sound.

+1 Amen

Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

Awhile back, I took the locking tuners off one guitar and put them on my Strat. The Strat's stock tuners were whatever came on late 80's USA Standards, and were significantly lighter than the locking tuners. Like less than half the weight. At the time, the only instrument I was using was this Strat. I played it that way for awhile, and something seemed a little different. Not pickup different, not pedal different, not amp different... not even pure nickel vs nickel wound strings different. It just didn't seem quite as lively as normal.

After awhile, I decided to put the original tuners back on, and when I did the guitar went back to the way it was. Nothing about the tuner swap was tone related, and I don't think it even crossed my mind as a reason until I put the originals back on.

TL;DR: Yes, I believe tuners can affect the sound of an electric guitar.

Tone Tuners...

Toners

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

I've changed a guitar's tuners twice, both with heavier Sperzels and I did notice a slight change to the tone, got just a tad fuller. The way I see it, it must have been because the added weight must have meant less energy from the strings was lost to the headstock but honestly, I think I only noticed it because I was playing acoustically (not through an amp).
I very much doubt the difference would be heard through an overdriven amp...

In short, like Mincer said, I wouldn't really worry about it and just go with what I prefer/is available.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Are the tuners supposed to make a difference in the tone of the guitar?

I noticed slight improvement when I switched PW's for Wilkinsons. weight difference was rather small, but they are more solid definitely which could help. Also fixed one slightly deader sounding fret at G string. I did removed string trees as well though as well...

I'd imagine if buttons could have any effect, it's not because just added weight, but how heavier buttons redistribute the weight of tuners on headstock.