are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

brit84

Active member
Looking for somthing better than the crappy klusons always out of tune. Are there any others that will work without putting new holes in the back? Higher gear ratio like 16:1 or better would be great.

Thanks
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

Kluson's suck big hairy moose organ. But that's my opinion....

And who cares about the holes - it's on the back of the headstock? Break a toothpick off, drop of glue, and some red or black marker...good to go. I have a set of Gotoh's by the way - like some MONSTER RATIO! 28:1 or something....that plus a three piece maple neck - my paul could be run over by a truck and not go out....
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

It's not the klusons fault the guitar goes out of tune.

Well it is because my friend's SGs dont go out of tune with Non Kluson tuners. They arent the worst but are pretty crappy and cheap.

I know the holes are on the back, Im just one of those people who will be bugged knowing that theyre there. Id prefer somthing that doesnt need new holes, but the old ones being visible is fine.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

I changed the tuners on my Epi, which required bigger holes. Luckily my dad is a professional woodworker and so he did a good job reaming it. But on my Gibby, the tuners were already upgraded! So that makes me happy. No worries here.

But yeah, I think you should just make the holes bigger.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

Maybe tone pros? You'd have to contact them to see if they'd fit and I don't know how good their tuners are, but here's their URL.

http://www.toneproskluson.com/

The TPK33 series does not require the large hole size of either of the more modern tuners, in favor of use of a more vintage size peg hole which is either a direct retrofit or minimum modification for installation.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

Gotoh makes a Kluson style tuner with the exact same footprint as the stock pickups, but they are either 14:1 or 16:1, AND they are LOCKING. I put them on my 03' Standard, and they were great.

Also though, check your nut. Typically string binding in the nut causes more tuning problems than the tuners, but I'm not a huge fan of the Klusons anyhow.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

Jeff, by Kluson style you mean those plastic weird shaped tuning keys, right? As opposed to normal Gotoh/Schaller shaped?

I know it's a dumb question. But to me, the only thing imperfect about a Les Paul are the gross snot-green plastic tuning keys.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

yep, klusons are the "jade" green tulip head tuners. Ill look into the gotohs. Are the normal klusons 12:1?

Ive checked the nut, but it definitly seems like the tuners.

thanks
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

The Gotohs (cheaper) and the Schallers (expensive) seem to be better tuners than the Gibson Kluson copies. But you still need to go to a 11/32 hole (for press fit bushing types) to 13/32 for the screw on bushing types...other than that, they are a clean retrofit. It's not all about the tuners though; check for binding at the nut, polish the nut slots.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

I prefer the Schallers. Heavier/more sturdy feeling to me. And I like the weight on the headstock personally. Feels a little more balanced on an LP.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

I have stock Kluson's on my Gibby LP Studio and have never had any probs with 'em and tuning. Don't be offended by the "It's not the klusons fault the guitar goes out of tune" comment. I played acoustic guitar exclusively for years and years before getting back into electric about 15 years ago. When I did get back into being "plugged in" I found that the strings used most commonly on electrics were much more finicky about being preperly strung to remain in tune. ScottF has or used to have a great tutorial in the Vault on how to properly string a guitar, and there are a few different ways to do it but I found Scott's method to be the best for me. Check out Gearjoneser's thread on cool tricks for dressing up nut slots. Good info.
You also might try a dab of Big Bend's Nut Sauce in the slots to keep the strings lubed http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Big-Bends-Nut-Sauce-Tuning-Lubricant?sku=429800 this stuff is really great for Strats w/tremelos.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

Wouldn't Grovers fit? I know you can get ones that fit Pauly's stock holes.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

I pulled the "Klusons" out of my '61 SG reissue and put in Grover locking tuners. They fit perfectly without any modifications.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

There are the old style Klusons with press fit bushings (11/32). Need to be reamed for Grover/Schaller/etc.
There are the new Klusons with screw on bushings (13/32). Grover/Schaller/etc will fit---but the screw pattern is different.
Take your pick.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

take a look at the stewmac catalogue, the dimensions and types are listed as drawings so you can see what's what if you really need to change them out, I tried grovers as drop in replacement, but they were both stiff and had ridiculous amounts of free play, so I returned them, lubed the old klusons, made sure everything was running freely, tuned up keeping the strings taught to take out the post slack and have never looked back ('cept when being chased by the filth), nut slots are usually more of a bind (sorry, couldn't resist it).
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

Get the nut filed perfectly, and use the pinch lock stringing method, and make sure the intonation is perfect. Problem solved.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

I'm talking about these. I can't find the nickel with the plastic keys, but they look exactly like the stock tuners, same footprint and everything. I like them quite a bit, and B_Bent will be able to tell you soon if he likes them.

http://wdmusic.com/kluson_locking_tuner_3_3_24884_prd1.htm

IIRC, I paid $87 for my set. I am fully aware that you can achieve complete tuning stability without locking tuners, but it makes string changes so much quicker and eaiser. To me, they are worth the price just for that.
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

I just saw those in a store here, they were only $55 Can though. Maybe ill pick them up. Are the stock klusons 12:1?

Thanks man! and everyone
 
Re: are there any tuners that will fit my Gibson without new holes?

Wouldn't Grovers fit? I know you can get ones that fit Pauly's stock holes.

My roommates LP has Grovers. Pics later. He is too much of a simpleton to have modded the guitar in any way to fit them :laugh2:
 
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