Recommend new tuners for me

misterwhizzy

misterwhizzy

Well-known member
I can't express my hatred for the lousy locking tuners on my PRS SE Custom 22. I changed out the pickups and electronics without the slightest problem, but changing the strings is a nightmare. So I want to go to the regular, non-locking tuners like every other guitar I've owned, but I don't know a good one from a bad one, and since it's an SE, I really don't want to break the bank. Thoughts?
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

I know Schaller and Gotoh gets some pretty good rep, haven't tried them myself. I have Grovers on one of my guitars and they're very, very good. Never goes out of tune save for seasonal changes, but that's more to do with wood.

Skickat från min HTC One M8s via Tapatalk
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

Oh, and Sperzels I've also heard good things about, but I'm not sure if they make non-locking ones

Skickat från min HTC One M8s via Tapatalk
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

Don't know those machines but you may want to do some research and see if anything out there will match up with the existing mounting hole (the small screw tab on back of headstock). Grover or Gotoh are probably good bets to have something. Check out what they have and then based on their measurement specs, take some measurements of the machines on your PRS and see if they have anything that looks like the screw hole will match up. It would be nice to be able to find drop in's so you wont be left with any extra holes to have to fill and finish ... or look at.
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

Photo of the offensive tuners would help in pin location and such

But yeah Gotoh and Grover sound good
Search Amazon for either
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

hmmm well, if you really don't want to bother searching a lot you could just go with hipshot and use their universal mounting plate and only match the hole size
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

Funny about some of the opinions here between locking and non-locking...

I bought Sperzels for my SG back in 1996, and have never gone back. Almost all the guitars that end up with tuner issues, I replace with Sperzels. They're smooth, and have a larger gear ratio than some of the stock tuners, so precision tuning is easier, at least for me.

I purchase mine from this cat:

http://www.tkinstruments.com/id75.htm

decent prices, and you can make custom sets, if you so desire. Oh yeah, they also make some that don't have the extra complexity of the clamping system. You just feed the end of the string through the tuner, then turn the key.
 
Last edited:
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

+1 for Gotoh; Sperzels are great, but you'll have to drill the headstock.

Schaller also makes good tuners, but they tend to be expensive unless you're in the EU. Sadly I'd avoid Grover these days as their quality has slipped significantly since the move to China.
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

I ended up going with Schallers, mainly because I trust Crusty's opinion and because I ignored the posts telling me to go with locking tuners. The ENTIRE point of the thread was to avoid those, because I hate them. Also, the ones on there were Grovers, so I decided I needed something different.

The Schallers went on pretty easily with the exception of the high E. The existing screw hole there put the tuner behind the headstock, so I had to rotate it about fifteen degrees, drill a quick pilot hole, then screw it in. Changed strings quickly the way I'm used to without futzing with screwing down the top of the tuner, and I'm happily back in business.
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

I had Schallers on my Bernie, but at the time, the nut that was on the guitar was the wrong size/model so the tuning was never quite right. The low E tuner ended up breaking due to me trying to loosen the tension via the screw on the side of the peg. It just popped right out and I couldn't get it back in. Now that I have the right nut I'd like to try 'em again.
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

Drunken Bowling said:
I had Schallers on my Bernie, but at the time, the nut that was on the guitar was the wrong size/model so the tuning was never quite right. The low E tuner ended up breaking due to me trying to loosen the tension via the screw on the side of the peg. It just popped right out and I couldn't get it back in. Now that I have the right nut I'd like to try 'em again.
Click to expand...

Schaller makes a good tuning machine; especially the M6, though they can be a bit expensive depending on where you're located. Generally speaking I prefer Gotoh for tuning machines.
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

I like gotoh and sperzel non-locking, but I only play double-lock trems.
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

Yard ago I used Ping tuners on LesStrat. They were inexpensive and stayed in tune.
 
Re: Recommend new tuners for me

dystrust said:
Schaller makes a good tuning machine; especially the M6, though they can be a bit expensive depending on where you're located. Generally speaking I prefer Gotoh for tuning machines.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the M6 were the ones I had. They were the nickel versions. I might try 'em on my Les Paul this time. I've had a few different tuners on the Bernie and frankly, I'm worried about the holes on the back of the headstock becoming too stripped to hold the screws.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Do you prefer locked or standard tuners?
2
Replies
28
Views
1K
Mincer
Mincer
Masta' C
New Guitar Day! (not the Warmoth Mincer is still building)
2
Replies
20
Views
813
Masta' C
Masta' C
Ascension
NOS Wasburn Chicago Custom body and neck project
Replies
10
Views
664
orpheo
O
Rex_Rocker
Are Guyker tuners any good?
2
Replies
32
Views
3K
RanchManSandy
R
I
Newbie new build pickup questions for HSS configuration.
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
illogical
I
Back
Top