URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

[benji657]

Hello there,

I'm on my second set(6) of schaller locking tuners (replacements), and these buggers are giving me some headaches..

ok. i poke the string through the hole, pull it snug, and turn the knob so that it locks into place, then I tune up.

now come the plain G, B, E strings.

well, i go through the same procedure, but as I tune up, the string doesn't go up in pitch, rather, it just spins around and around till it snaps (right at the tuner post). I've made sure the lock wasn't loose.

I've wasted so many plain strings that I'm frustrated to no end and have given up:crazy:

These were exactly the problems i had experienced with the first set, i really doubt that the replacements are duds...i really hope i'm doing something stupid here...

Any help will be greatly appreciated...

 

[wolf5150]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

It doesn't sound like the string is being gripped by the post.

Without a string .. look into the hole and screw the thumb wheel.. can you see the post rising and lowering in the string hole ??

Sometimes the thread on the thumb wheel is tight when new, I put a tiny drop of oil ON it ( not into the mechanism, just the wheel's thread ) and then screw it tight, then loosen it a few times..

Now try a string.. see if that's better.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

i'm confused as to what is happening here... how can the string spin around and around yet not go up in pitch and still break?????

 

[phil_104]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

i'm confused as to what is happening here... how can the string spin around and around yet not go up in pitch and still break?????

This is confusing me also.

 

[NevermindUs]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

maybe its pinching in the nut horribly and is causing super high tension on the piece of the string between the tuner and the nut before it meets the fretboard?

where does the string break?

 

[JordanM82]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

I am very confused as well if the tension on the string is being raised to a point that the string is breaking then you would think that the pitch would go up also...

the only thing that I can think of is what NevermindUs said that it would be binding horribly at the nut, I mean otherwise I can't even understand how this would be possible... man that would be one HORRIBLE nut tho...

-J

 

[benji657]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

it is not the nut i can assure you that. there is no pinging whatsoever. it breaks exactly at the tuner post.

to clarify what i've said before, before it's even reaches the right pitch, i have to turn it like mad to barely get anywhere...basically once it gets up anywhere, it starts to detune itself over and over again..the cycle repeats and the string breaks at the tunerpost...

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

If the string is slipping through the tuning post, which from what you describe seems to be what's happening, then that would stress the steel of the string and would explain them breaking.

So are you ending up with a few turns of string around the post from this "mad" tightening of the string that you're doing? And somewhere along the line the string breaks?

It's unusual for the shaft in the middle of the tuner post to allow the string to slip through it like that. Typically once you tighten the thumbwheel on the back of the tuner, the shaft pinches the string tight.

I can think of two possible causes.
1.) You're not tightening the thumbwheel all the way and the string is clamped loosely enough that it can slip through when you try tuning it to pitch. As it slips through it is stressed and weakened.

2.) There is a lubricant involved that's making the string slip through the tuner even with it pinched in there. Are you putting graphite on the nut, then sliding the string through the nut slot, getting graphite all over the end, then sliding it through the tuner? Are you lubricating the tuners? That shouldn't be needed. Are you putting something slippery on the strings? Fast Fret? Fretboard oil?

 

[Juanhanglo]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

Are you tightening them down hard? if so, don't. I had the same problem with a set i had a while back (strat plus). i found that the plain strings where getting flattened out at the tuner, where the lock secures it. Easy check is to look thru a magnifying glass, look for a pronounced flat spot. Strings are more apt to break at a kink or fat spot. use less force. just enough to hold it. also, to be sure:

string up
tune up
THEN
cut the excess off.

Worked for me.

Had this problem with sperzels too.
planet waves seem to do better, so far

 

[benji657]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

oh god...one person tells me to tighten it more, while the other tells me not to do so...

ironically, locking tuners are a pain in the ass right now...

i'll see what happens when i get new plain strings today.... argh!

 

[benji657]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

there must be a reason why so many people love these tuners.......

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

Not tightening enough AND overtightening can basically cause the same problem.
The trick is to tighten it finger snug, that is, enough to feel the post locking the string, and then to stop. If you continue tightening it will flatten the string (which, with the wound ones is ok since they still have enough left but with the plain ones...)

I have the Sperzels in both my guitars (sold the third that didn't have them ) and I can tell you that they work much better than traditional tuners (although I'm not thrilled with their ratio, dunno :dunno

 

[A7Mark]

Re: URGENT Schaller Locking Tuners Problem

Hi Benji did you ever solved this problem? Regards Mark