locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

[appar111]

got a lead on a good price for some locking tuners (Sperzels), for the "Hiroshima Mon Amour" strat rebuild and wondered if it'd be better to go with vintage klusons or locking tuners?

I'm not a huge trem user, but have gotten into it a bit after building a Jazzmaster and loving the ability to add a little vibrato to chords, etc. so I want this strat to be set up to do the same amount of vibrato and stay in tune.

If I keep the appropriate amount of wraps (i.e. not too many) on the klusons, do you think they'd be the better choice? Or should I opt for the Sperzels? Would be about the same price ($45). The trem is a gotoh vintage strat trem, and would be set up with 10-46 tuned down to Eb.

 

[Dr.J4ckal]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Kluson looks really classy.. and they can handle more abuse than people think..

 

[appar111]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

I've used gotoh klusons on almost all the builds I've put together, and actual Kluson brand klusons on a couple others, and they're always great. Those are on hardtail type guitars though-- once I throw a vintage strat trem into the situation, I get a little worried

I've also read some horror stories about the set pin on the Sperzels being really fragile, so it seems as though I might need to remove the set pins so I don't have to worry about them snapping off in the headstock. That'd be fine with me as I hate drilling holes for guide pins as it's much more difficult than just putting a regular tuner on and marking the set screw hole with a sharpie.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Never had any problems with Sperzels - locking or the old, hand-made, slot-top variety.

Klusons and accurate replicas are fine provided that you tie each string on in such a way that it fastens itself against the string post. (Readers of "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" by Dan Erlewine will know this approach as Fender Method, Number Three.)

 

[ericmeyer4]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Why not a set of Kulson style locking tuners?

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/...s/Gotoh_Locking_Vintage_Oval_Knob_Tuners.html

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

I don't have any problems with the gotoh style kluson tuners w/ a vintage trem and I beat the crap outta that thing! As long as your nut doesn't bind and you keep it lubed, tuning shouldn't be a problem unless you like to dump the bar all the way down.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Best of both worlds: Gotoh Magnum Lockers. You can get them with or without height-adjustable posts.

 

[Stratovarious]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

I reccomend Wilkinson EZ loks! Got them on my strat copy and although they're a nuisance to string the first time you try, its quite easy once you get it and they work really well. They also come in Kluson style

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Ive tried em all.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

I don't like the new Kluson brand tuners but the Gotoh copies are killer tuners and Grover makes some as well.

I like the light weight nature of those style over bigger tuners like Grovers or Sperzels and I stay in tuner just fine with my Strat...it's all in the quality of the vibrato and mostly the set up of the vibrato!

 

[appar111]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

What don't you like about the new Kluson brand tuners? I think they're better than the Gotoh versions. Smoother operation, and they have a bit of a bell on the shaft that keeps the tension focused down, which keeps the string in place a little better.

 

[appar111]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Never had any problems with Sperzels - locking or the old, hand-made, slot-top variety.

Klusons and accurate replicas are fine provided that you tie each string on in such a way that it fastens itself against the string post. (Readers of "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" by Dan Erlewine will know this approach as Fender Method, Number Three.)

The split shaft klusons don't work that way-- the string goes down into the post, then wraps around the post. I'll have to pull out my Erlewine book to see how he deals with the split shaft versions.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

The split shaft klusons don't work that way-- the string goes down into the post, then wraps around the post. I'll have to pull out my Erlewine book to see how he deals with the split shaft versions.

They may not be designed to work that way, but they do work best that way IME. I don't string any Kluson tuner down the hole unless I am about to sell a guitar. (Because people can be weird about it.) I think that stringing down the hole and then making several turns is a big part of the reason that many people think these tuners don't hold tune. I wrap the string under itself just like with a drilled-post tuner, and then give it one turn, preferably less. The less excess there is wrapped around the posts, the better they'll hold tune.

There is a drawing somewhere on the Internet that shows it...but I can't find it, so I took a quick pic of my own guitar. (Some of these strings actually have more wraps than needed.)

 

[ExplorersRock]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Ok, style aside, why is this even a question?! LOCKING TUNERS! LOCKING TUNERS! LOCKING TUNERS!

I have an American Special Strat HSS that has the vintage style trem floating. Once I dropped Sperzels in the guitar, it held tune better by leaps and bounds! If your not gonna float, then it makes less of a difference. But if you're going to float, trust me that you will save yourself TONS of agony by just installing the Sperzels.

 

[tonello]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

I'd say either Sperzel or Grover Locking Tuners. The Grover seem to be more popular, but the Sperzels are better quality.

 

[jmh151]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

[/QUOTE]

I have these tuners and like them the best. If you don't have the spit tops with the hole, stringing the guitar in a "z" shape as described in a video i saw on here gives results very close to locking tuners

 

[appar111]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

They may not be designed to work that way, but they do work best that way IME. I don't string any Kluson tuner down the hole unless I am about to sell a guitar. (Because people can be weird about it.) I think that stringing down the hole and then making several turns is a big part of the reason that many people think these tuners don't hold tune. I wrap the string under itself just like with a drilled-post tuner, and then give it one turn, preferably less. The less excess there is wrapped around the posts, the better they'll hold tune.

There is a drawing somewhere on the Internet that shows it...but I can't find it, so I took a quick pic of my own guitar. (Some of these strings actually have more wraps than needed.)

So you just use the split shaft at the top the same way you would a drilled post tuner? i.e. the string thru the split rather than down in the hole?

When I use klusons, I put the string in the hole, but only use enough length of string to get me about one wrap or so. Like you said-- the less excess, the less slack that can build up, so they stay in tune better. Just never tried them on a decked or floating trem; only on teles. I can see how on a strat you'd want to "lock" the string to the post using it's own wrap.

I wonder if that's how Yngwie Malmsteen does it? He rails on that bar sometimes and doesn't seem to go out of tune and he's using Fender 70's style tuners.

The neck in question is a big headstock strat neck-- do you all think Sperzels would look weird on there?

 

[Stratovarious]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

Nothing could make a cbs headstock look bad

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

So you just use the split shaft at the top the same way you would a drilled post tuner? i.e. the string thru the split rather than down in the hole?

I wonder if that's how Yngwie Malmsteen does it? He rails on that bar sometimes and doesn't seem to go out of tune and he's using Fender 70's style tuners.

The neck in question is a big headstock strat neck-- do you all think Sperzels would look weird on there?

Yep, that's what I do.

I don't know exactly what Malmsteen uses or what he does. But I am sure his techs have his stuff in top operating shape.

I think anything but chrome or gold oval buttons look weird on a Fender, personally. The problem with most stock Sperzels to my eye is that they have those squared-off #5 buttons and that satin finish. Whenever I need Sperzels, I custom order them straight from Sperzel with a nickel finish and the smaller, more round #6 buttons.

Sorry to do the cheesy computer pic thing again, but here are nickel Sperzels with #6 buttons on my MIM Strat:

Still clunkier and more modern looking than oval heads on the skinny shafts, but a lot less aesthetically obtrusive than the stock #5 buttons IMO.

 

[appar111]

Re: locking tuners or klusons for strat w/ vintage trem?

I actually don't mind the #5 buttons, it's the huge lock wheel on the back that looks bad on a CBS headstock. Oddly enough, I like it on regular size strat headstocks...

I have a pair of Schaller m6 minis in the parts drawer that I could use on this neck. They're a little beat up/dinged, though. If I don't end up liking them on the guitar, the holes would be reamed out too big to go back to klusons without those adaptor bushings. I'd like to avoid that if possible.