Pegheads, advice wanted for old uke

ukeinfused

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Despite the purist advice of my luthier, I just decided the other day that I want a set of Pegheads for my 20's Weymann sop. This light as a feather old uke has a wonderful loud and warbley vintage sound, but she sits unplayed because of those wooden pegs from hell.

I missed those Pegheads Teri sold... thought I'd better just ask if anyone else has a set?

If not, where should I buy them, or does anyone else have a recommendation for replacement tuners?

I'm assuming that the wood pegs have a wider hole than other good quality friction pegs - is that the case?
(I can't drop in Gotoh planetary tuners or even other friction tuners without filling the hole first and re-drilling, right?
 
I'd look at a set of Gotoh UPTs, seemed smoother than Pegheads, at least to me. Plus, easier to install, with a straight hole, instead of tapered for the Pegheads. Plus the UPTs cover old washer marks under their housing. On the Pegheads I had, the old tuner marks could be seen on the back. But, if you gotta have the violin peg look, Pegheads are it.
 
Also, Bill (TheCraftedCow) UU member sells them. He has both the short and long versions. UPT are a good option, but a bit heavier compared to the Pegheads. Pegheads will have more of a 20's look about them if you want them to look like the wooden ones.
 
Yeah, I would check with Pohaku. If you don't want to fuss, have a good luthier do it.

I used to have pegheds and loved them.
 
I love the look of pegheds. I have wavered on this for a couple of older instruments and decided that these are "player" instruments rather than collector's pieces. I do have the luthier's reamer that is needed - bought on Amazon and made in China - and it is ideal for a lot of other things too. I have used the GOtoh upt tuners as this look similar to the planetaries that I am used to on old banjos. In my opinion the Pegheds are the best looking upgrade you can make.
 
I have PegHeds on my new Firefly Tenor banjo uke, and am not impressed. If I had it to do over again I would save the $70 upgrade fee and get Gotohs instead.
 
I have PegHeds on my new Firefly Tenor banjo uke, and am not impressed. If I had it to do over again I would save the $70 upgrade fee and get Gotohs instead.

Specifically what is it about the PegHeds that you don't like? I'm sure I'm not the only one that would appreciate a firsthand account of their potential drawbacks.
 
Despite the purist advice of my luthier, unplayed because of those wooden pegs from hell.
Your Luthier must not be capable of setting a wooden peg. I've found that one set well and doped tune as smoothly as any metal friction tuner. Talk to a violin repairman.
 
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I have PegHeds on my new Firefly Tenor banjo uke, and am not impressed. If I had it to do over again I would save the $70 upgrade fee and get Gotohs instead.

I ended up buying three sets of Gotoh upts and have not been disappointed. For me the factors were familiarity and price. I love and trust Gotoh tuners as I have played banjo and refitted many. Their cost from Hawaii was $59 per set plus postage. The Pegheds looked tricky to fit, though I now own the correct reamer. I have never handled an instrument set up with Pegheds, though I have a fifth string one hanging around and love the engineering. I am particularly enamored of the nickel Pegheds - they fit a thicker headstock than is normal on most ukuleles and they are yet more expensive. The Gotoh upts are now standard on many Kamakas. I fitted a set on my gold label Kamaka pineapple and love them.

The Weymann banjos are a delight and the Gotoh make a great upgrade and look "right." On a soprano uke, I am not so sure - that has to be your choice.
 
Take into consideration the newer style tuners will add weight to the headstock. On a soprano, it wouldn't take much to make it feel heavy in the h/s
 
Wow, thx for all the advice, folks. I do appreciate it!
I'm glad that to see the Pegheds aren't any more than UPT's, and while I have noted slightly higher overall satisfaction with UPT's, I think keeping this one with the vintage look is worthwhile.

I did see a note about using violin resin on the wooden pegs. Perhaps I should try that first...?

Also, is the hole originally made these old wooden pegs larger than for other friction tuners, and does that influence my choice? I would have my luthier do the work, but wondering if refilling larger holes will require a lot more work...
 
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Take into consideration the newer style tuners will add weight to the headstock. On a soprano, it wouldn't take much to make it feel heavy in the h/s

I did consider that, since the uke is astonishingly light (even more so than my 60's Martin sop).
Does that include Pegheads, which are noted to be so light?
 
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You can have a luthier check that the wooden pegs and holes are the correct taper. You can also try peg compound, sometimes know as peg dope to help them grip
 
I have a 1960-ish Martin Style 1 that was purchased in really bad shape and then fully restored. It now sounds and looks beautiful, but being that it's had so much work and is not 100% original, I decided not to worry about historical accuracy and replaced the old friction tuners with Pegheds. I can't tell you how much I love them on that old uke. It's such a light instrument, and the Pegheds are perfect. I found that I had to get the wider Pegheds (if I recall, they were 8.5 mm diameter), due to the size of the original peg holes being slightly too large to firmly hold the 7.5 mm version. The wide option on the Pegheds allowed me to complete the installation without dowel filling and re-drilling. Another note is that I opted for the short version. They stick out the back less than the others, and just seemed to fit this instrument best.

If you opt for Pegheds, you will need a tapered violin peghead reamer. You can get similar sized reamers elsewhere for considerably cheaper, but I have this one from StewMac and it works great. I have had mine for many years now, and seem to remember paying about half what they want now. Anyway...

http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Types_of_Tools/Reamers/Peghole_Reamers.html

Just be careful and go very slow or you can easily open up the hole too much. If I think of it this evening, I'll take a photo or two of my Martin to show how they look in a vintage instrument.

As far as I know, Pegheds are the lightest geared tuner available. I have owned and installed many sets of both Pegheds and Gotoh UPT's, which I really like too. However, while the UPT's are very light in their own right, Pegheds are lighter and probably more suitable on an ultralight vintage ukulele.

Cheers,

Steve
 
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I have a 1960-ish Martin Style 1 that was purchased in really bad shape and then fully restored. It now sounds and looks beautiful, but being that it's had so much work and is not 100% original, I decided not to worry about historical accuracy and replaced the old friction tuners with Pegheds. I can't tell you how much I love them on that old uke. It's such a light instrument, and the Pegheds are perfect. I found that I had to get the wider Pegheds (if I recall, they were 8.5 mm diameter), due to the size of the original peg holes being slightly too large to firmly hold the 7.5 mm version. The wide option on the Pegheds allowed me to complete the installation without dowel filling and re-drilling. Another note is that I opted for the short version. They stick out the back less than the others, and just seemed to fit this instrument best.

Hey, Steve, you read my mind - the tuners on the 60's Martin are my second most hated tuners...
And I did not see the wider Pegheds available. Thx!

Pokahu apparently doesn't offer different lengths, so I will investigate elsewhere!
 
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I purchased mine through The Crafted Cow, who is a member of the forum. Haven't bought any in a long time though so not sure if he is still selling them. In fact, it looks like Bill hasn't posted here since April. Maybe someone else here has info? Anyway, here is a link to his website:

https://thecraftedcow.weebly.com/pegheds.html

If that doesn't work, you can always try contacting the inventor, John Herin, here:

http://www.pegheds.com/contact.htm
 
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Because we have them I've tried Perfection tuners on a few ukes. We make violins so we get these at dealer's price. The story goes that Perfections are a factory made version licensed from the Peghead inventor. I've installed hundreds now, and they are on carbon fiber violins all over the world. No issues -- none.

Because they are designed for a violin pegbox I cut off the overly long ends. That reveals an aluminum cored surrounded by plastic. Once buffed out, the aluminum floating in the black looks a lot like MOP (see pics below). They work very well in this application. And, once you've got the hang of it and the right taper reamer they are simple to install.

You do have to explain them to people who pick up your uke to play. They are internally geared, but they have the ability to tighten or loosen the turning tension -- just like an old fashioned wooden peg you wiggle them out a little to loosen or in a little to tighten. Once you've got the hang of it they work very well and are easy to use.

Having said that, I've also fitted some ukes with Gotoh upts. Without question, these are the smoothest and easiest to use tuners I've encountered. One word of caution -- they have an aluminum barrel with quite a thin wall thickness and if you over-tighten the nut (during installation) that barrel will break. You then have a useless tuner. You, therefore, really have to drill a tiny hole for the locating pin -- and not count on drawing it down when installing.
peghead1.jpg
peghead2.jpg
 
Specifically what is it about the PegHeds that you don't like? I'm sure I'm not the only one that would appreciate a firsthand account of their potential drawbacks.

Well as someone else has already mentioned, the Pegheds can be tightened or loosened. It may be fine once you develop just the right feel for it, but I've found it to be difficult to get just right. The Gotohs don't have this issue, and don't cost much more. So unless you need the profile of Pegheads I don't see the point.
 
8.5 mm Diameter, "Short" Pegheds on Vintage Martin

Here are a couple photos of the installation of the "short" version Pegheds into my 1960 Martin Style 1. Again, I love them and have had no issues with smoothness. In fact, I've had many of them on various Collings ukes and never had a complaint there either. As far as concerns over cost, I have seen them priced pretty high on retailers' sites, but I definitely never paid more than $55 - $60 a set through Crafted Cow, which is well in line with UPT's.

-Steve


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