What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

[CTN]

Everyone's got their own preferences and peculiarities about the hardware they use. And obviously, some people are more brand-conscious than others.

so list some of the brands that you trust implicitly to provide killer hardware consistently which rarely (if ever) have issues.

for me:

Graphtech - I own and use a bunch of their products and have never ever had a problem. Also, I love the tone of their saddles and nuts.
Gotoh - consistently killer bridges and tuners. Love how well manufactured and designed they are.
Schaller - same as Gotoh
Switchcraft - sturdy, and reliable switches and jacks. can't go wrong.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

^^ the same 4 + ABM-Müller, EMG, and CTS.

With all 7 of those companies I know I`ll get a product that is par for the course or better, and more importantly will have no problems with customer service on the rare occasion that something does go south. The second criteria is the primary reason this list is not longer, as well as the reason it just got shortened.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Yup. Duncan, CTS, Schaller, Switchcraft... All excellent hardware. I also really like Wilkinson bridges. I've had two different ones on two different guitars and they've both been great to me.

 

[CTN]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Yeah, customer service is a big thing for me. I can't speak for Gotoh or Schaller, as I've never needed to contact them, but Graphtech is absolutely fantastic for customer service.

Agileguy, I like the Wilkinson by Gotoh bridges. Obviously. I've been reading that some of their made-in-china parts tend to be cheap and sometimes unreliable though. know if there's any truth to that?

 

[Zerberus]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

I´m not a fan of anything Wilkinson that does not say "by Gotoh", unless it`s pre-Gotoh USA-made stuff like the VS-50 on my JRS-2 (modified with a VS-100 arm socket).

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

I wouldn't want to try the Chinese Wilkinson stuff. I have a Gotoh/Wilkinson VS-100 on this guitar:

I love it, it sounds and works fantastically. (God, I need to get a replacement bar for this guitar, lost the old one around the time these pictures were taken, two years ago)

I also had a Gotoh/Wilkinson VSVG on this guitar that I had a LOOOONG time ago:

Again, worked fantastically and sounded great. I wouldn't hesitate to use anything from Gotoh/Wilkinson.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Yeah, customer service is a big thing for me. I can't speak for Gotoh or Schaller, as I've never needed to contact them, but Graphtech is absolutely fantastic for customer service.

Thats for sure. My friend lost some graphtech tremolo posts during a build up i was doing for him. I contacted graphtech to order some more but to my surprise they didn't want my money and just sent them free.

My parts of choice: Gotoh, Schaller, ABM, Dimarzio, Seymour duncan, Willburn and Bareknuckle,

 

[kilphody]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Sperzel, Schaller, Babicz, Joe Barden, Gotoh, Hipshot and of course anything from MJ. I usually make my own nuts but have put many a graphtech on non FR trem gits. Switchcraft CTS and Bourns. Multicore solder.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

^^ SPERZEL, BIG +1, I don`t know how I forgot my tuner of choice since 1996. *facepalm*

 

[loversmoon]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

sperzel, cts, duncan, dimarzio, graph tech, daddario, fender. I think we may find that most of us trust the same names. Word of mouth and trial and error go a long way.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

SChaller, Seymour Duncan, Dunlop, GHS, D'Addario, Ernie Ball, Dimarzio, Stewmac.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Yeah, I've had sperzels on two guitars and they're great.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

I have to give some credit to Grover hardware. Out of the four sets of Grover Rotomatic tuners I have used, only one tuner has ever had problems. That tuner was part of a set that had been on the guitar for twenty years. After that long, during some maintanence, the threaded collar split. When I contacted Grover about replacement, they mailed me the replacement free of charge upon receiving the old one. I do not expect the tuners would ever fail during normal use, and it is nice to know that Grover stands behind their hardware with a replacement guarantee.

I have never had any of the Schaller straplocks on my guitars slip off the strap or the button side.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

tone pros, gotoh. fender (ive used different tuners etc) i've used ernie ball pots, allparts pots, dimarzio switches. they've worked well though I broke an ernie ball volume pot once.

I've used CTS pots, I think those are the best I've used. I've always wanted to try those low friction EVH pots or the ones SD is making.

grover tuners are cool, i've used schaller locking and those are great!

what pisses me the **** off to no end is how i want to use gibson knobs on stuff and I end up ripping out the center pin (what the knob attaches to)

they seem to be tighter than they need to be, ****, i wish gibson would just give those out.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Def Schaller & Gotoh, I don't like Sperzels as much, shafts aren't as me worthy. Tonepros, Bareknuckles, Seymour Duncans, EMG (depends), MIJ ESP and mid to upper level Ibanez, CTS, Switchcraft, and I really like the plastic case Bournes pots for their feel.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

g-and-l, rutters, callaham, hipshot, tone-pros, and faber bridges/tailpieces/saddles
sperzel and sealed schaller tuners [and older, u.s.a.-made grovers]
switchcraft, carling, and honeywell switches/jacks
p.e.c. and sealed bourns pots

i use other brands, such as cts and alpha pots, fender and gibson hardware, and various gotoh parts. but the ones i listed above have always left me with nothing to be desired in terms of build quality, performance, and reliability.

 

[CTN]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

tone pros, gotoh. fender (ive used different tuners etc) i've used ernie ball pots, allparts pots, dimarzio switches. they've worked well though I broke an ernie ball volume pot once.

I've used CTS pots, I think those are the best I've used. I've always wanted to try those low friction EVH pots or the ones SD is making.

grover tuners are cool, i've used schaller locking and those are great!

what pisses me the **** off to no end is how i want to use gibson knobs on stuff and I end up ripping out the center pin (what the knob attaches to)

they seem to be tighter than they need to be, ****, i wish gibson would just give those out.

They do sell them separately as aftermarket parts, but in typical Gibson fashion, ridiculously overpriced, much like all their parts.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Nothing anymore, I just hope to be pleasently surprised!

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Callaham, and Seymour Duncan are the only two I can say I've had enough experience with.

I have had a faulty JB though; it was fine as a full humbucker, but it didn't work when split. My tech thought it might have been a colour coding issue with wires.

 

[Great_Kazoo]

Re: What brands (parts) do you trust implicitly?

Seymour Duncan pickups, Schaller tuners and Leo Quan Badass bass bridges.