This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

BrianS.

New member
This came into my shop today with a typical headstock crack. What is rather atypical is that this Les Paul is factory loaded with a Kahler bridge and is has some wacky tuners that I've never seen. Curious what the experts say:

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Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

Stone stock. I had an 81 that had those tuners, though I think they may have been from a later model. I've seen them around. The thing about those Gibson Kahlers...it's a Custom, for chrissakes. It deserved better than a POS Flyer.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

Yeah these tuners were mounted on there for a while. Not a bad idea but added cost, complexity and weight and most people have a string winder.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

yeah, i've seen those before, the little arm is supposed to lift out and to the side, and you use the little stick looking end to wind faster than you would with just a normal machine head.

but like uOpt said...most people just have a stringwinder.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

Yeah, the guitar is stock, built in 1988. It's funny, when I showed my wife the tuners, she immediately pointed out that the folded out mechanism was for winding the strings faster. It seems like such an absurd idea, it never occurred to me...but there is nothing else it could be.

Flyer? Is that the model name of the bridge on there?

Just found that the headstock break is old and looks to have been poorly glued once before. Complicates my job...

Damn guitar weighs 10 1/2 lbs! and the case weighs 10lbs! Makes me really appreciate my 6lb guitar.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

I've always tripped off of those tuners.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

It's a Kahler Spider. I had to try and get parts for the same bridge in a friends Norlin V.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

You mean Spyder? I just sold one on ebay. Those were oddball Floyd copies. That's a Flyer.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

You mean Spyder? I just sold one on ebay. Those were oddball Floyd copies. That's a Flyer.

True! I had a kramer with spyder on it. was a bulky floyd copy. Yeah the keys on these always crack me up.. Kinda a cool idea. I figure they often broke off. like the flip tabs on those locking nuts some cos used. Id love to have an lp like this with the kahler...
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

I think Grover had a tuning peg with the speed winders on them also.
 
That looks like the Kahler 2200 series, which Kahler still makes. Not the Spyder or Flyer, it's a high quality unit.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

Look at the saddles. It's a Flyer. That's just the stud mount version.

Spyders were very high quality, btw. They even had replaceable fulcrum inserts for when they inevitably wore out, unlike Floyds.
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

Great info, thanks!

Id love to have an lp like this with the kahler...

This one will be for sale once repaired and cleaned up...
 
Re: This Les Paul Custom came across my bench...wierd tuners

I miss them. The pins weren't particularly tight-I had to keep pushing them back in-but they WERE handy.
 
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