The Hendrix Strat and tuners

N

Napthol

New member
I had a Hendrix Strat several years ago and I remember there was at least one, maybe two tuners that were harder to turn than the others. I remember my guitar technician mentioned something about the fact that the headstock is reversed it could affect the way some tuners felt.

I cannot remember exactly what he said (or even if he was correct) but I would like to ask you guys if a reverse headstock and the tuners being on the other side could make a few of them feel harder to turn, or should all six tuners be relatively easy to turn.
 
I mean, I think everyone can be right here.

The tuners don’t care where they are but they may feel different on the other side because the angle of your hand is different. If you’re not used to it it may feel funny. On a 3x3 the tuners on each side don’t fee exactly the same. This may be noticeable if you have thicker strings. It is a bit noticeable on my Stingray 5 bass. If you’re playing 9s in a Strat it should be like butter on both sides.
 
i have a few guitars with reverse headstocks, all the tuners should have a similar feel
 
Blille said:
I mean, I think everyone can be right here.

The tuners don’t care where they are but they may feel different on the other side because the angle of your hand is different. If you’re not used to it it may feel funny. On a 3x3 the tuners on each side don’t fee exactly the same. This may be noticeable if you have thicker strings. It is a bit noticeable on my Stingray 5 bass. If you’re playing 9s in a Strat it should be like butter on both sides.
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That is absolutely correct. Except the OP is talking about a couple tuners compared to the others of the 6 in-line tuners - all on the same side of the headstock.
 
Those are pretty standard and easy to replace, though. I guess the challenge is finding the left-handed orientation. But I've had good luck with Grover or Gotoh Fender-style vintage tuners. I'm sure both companies offer left-handed replacements if you feel like the ones in your guitar are odd.
 
Rex_Rocker said:
Those are pretty standard and easy to replace, though. I guess the challenge is finding the left-handed orientation. But I've had good luck with Grover or Gotoh Fender-style vintage tuners. I'm sure both companies offer left-handed replacements if you feel like the ones in your guitar are odd.
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I bought a set of left-hand tuners to replace the after market tuners on my 1966 Fender left-handed Stratocaster, only to find that the original Fender holes were drilled for normal right-hand Fender tuners.
 
beaubrummels said:
I bought a set of left-hand tuners to replace the after market tuners on my 1966 Fender left-handed Stratocaster, only to find that the original Fender holes were drilled for normal right-hand Fender tuners.
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LOL.

That is the whole Fender ethos, isn't it? Like make the cheapest guitar possible (that's still good), no?
 
beaubrummels said:
I bought a set of left-hand tuners to replace the after market tuners on my 1966 Fender left-handed Stratocaster, only to find that the original Fender holes were drilled for normal right-hand Fender tuners.
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Are you talking about the tuners with 2 pins? They use the same mounting block for both right and left handed tuners so the holes drilled in the headstock would be the same and will fit both.
 
GuitarDoc said:
Are you talking about the tuners with 2 pins? They use the same mounting block for both right and left handed tuners so the holes drilled in the headstock would be the same and will fit both.
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It's not the exact same mounting block because the tuner exits from the opposite side, but I get what you are saying about the plate itself having the same orientation for how it screws in. Must have been different in the '60s because the original holes on my '66 are reverse of the current L.H. "F" plate tuners.
 
beaubrummels said:
It's not the exact same mounting block because the tuner exits from the opposite side, but I get what you are saying about the plate itself having the same orientation for how it screws in. Must have been different in the '60s because the original holes on my '66 are reverse of the current L.H. "F" plate tuners.
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Are you talking about the Fender 2 pin tuners? There aren't any screws in those.
 
GuitarDoc said:
Are you talking about the Fender 2 pin tuners? There aren't any screws in those.
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No. Think CBS Fender. My '66 had an early version of the "F" tuners that were on everything in the 70's. It's two offset screws, the plate is a parallelogram, and the body is not rectangle, it's got two square-rounded corners and the other end is a semi-circle, with a big "F" on the back of the tuner. The Fender tuners without screws I thought came out in the 80's or later?
 
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OK, I know which ones you're talking about. I wasn't sure, that's why I asked.

But that's weird that your left-hand guitar was fitted for the right hand tuners. So, what are you going to end up doing?
 
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