Wittner Tuners ? Any experience yet ?

Ukador · Jul 20, 2016

Hello everybody !

I am just wondering if anybody has made any experience yet with those new tuners made by German company "Wittner".

They look sexy and the specs seem to be fine.

I think they cost as much as the Gotoh UPT(L) and therefore I wonder if they are a good alternative ?

kypfer · Jul 20, 2016

No experience, but one observation.

The Gotoh pegs seem to be a replacement for a "standard" ukulele friction tuner, the type with the little screw on the head to adjust the friction. The Wittner pegs are a replacement for violin-type pegs that rely on being inserted in a precisely reamed tapered hole to work correctly.

The net result would seem to be mechanically similar, albeit with different aesthetics, but not interchangeable.

Of specific note, the Wittner pegs need a 1/30 reamer to be fitted accurately, not cheap if you don't already have one (or access to one).

Just my thoughts on the matter

Booli · Jul 20, 2016

This is the first I've seen these new pegs. Thanks for sharing the info!

I have the Gotoh UPT-L on a concert Flea that I installed myself, and only required the tuner holes to be enlarged to 8mm, which I did by turning a UniBit by hand, and on my tenor Koa Fluke it came with PEGHEDS.

IMHO the Gotoh seem to turn smoother.

Hopefully these Wittner pegs become available via enough dealers and the price is comparable, otherwise methinks they will not gain much traction...

UkerDanno · Jul 20, 2016

Seems like a no brainer for someone in Germany! I'd try them if they were available...

pointpergame · Jul 20, 2016

kypfer said:
No experience, but one observation.

...The Wittner pegs are a replacement for violin-type pegs that rely on being inserted in a precisely reamed tapered hole to work correctly.

The net result would seem to be mechanically similar, albeit with different aesthetics...)

I'm not sure what your'e saying, but I think the Wittner pegs are the same idea as Pegheds. That is, a planetary-geared peg as a direct replacement for a violin friction peg. They install into the same hole as the original peg but the pegs don't turn in the hole. I think they're 8.5 : 1. Pretty nice compared to 1:1. Pegheds work really well on a uke.

hawaii 50 · Jul 21, 2016

I saw these tuners on a Pepe Romero Jr. custom uke...they are nice..Pepe said they are easy to install and you can use the tuners on either side of the headstock...not specific to left or right...

M3Ukulele · Jul 21, 2016

I've installed Pegheds on my Tenot Fluke. Purchased a $25 tapered hand reamer at a woes
Working store. It went really well. Watched a few videos and kept with taper reamer is to take a little wood out, TEST, and then take more if needed. I would definitely try these on a ukulele if they are priced in range of Pegheds and Goto UPT'. 8.5 -1 ratio would be great. We just need to know price and find a dealer in North America.

kypfer · Jul 21, 2016

pointpergame said:
I'm not sure what your'e saying, but I think the Wittner pegs are the same idea as Pegheds. That is, a planetary-geared peg as a direct replacement for a violin friction peg. They install into the same hole as the original peg but the pegs don't turn in the hole. I think they're 8.5 : 1. Pretty nice compared to 1:1. Pegheds work really well on a uke.

They install in the same hole as the original peg if the original hole is tapered, if not the hole will need to be modified to accept the Wittner tuners as designed. This may be a five-minute job for someone who knows what he's doing with the right tool (a 1/30 reamer), but, as described on the web-site, these tuners are not a "drop-in" replacement for the usual friction tuners as used on ukuleles. For that purpose, the Gotoh units are a better bet.

If you need to add the cost of a reamer to the initial cost of the tuners, the Wittner units become significantly more expensive than the Gotoh tuners.

Just trying to help

Ukador · Dec 29, 2016

So, a few months have passed.

Did anyone buy/try these tuners?

UkerDanno · Dec 29, 2016

Ukador said:
So, a few months have passed.

Did anyone buy/try these tuners?

You haven't tried them yet? How much are they?

I did a google search, elderly has the violin version for about $100. The ukulele version doesn't seem to be available in the US, although elderly could probably get them.

Ukador · Dec 29, 2016

UkerDanno said:
You haven't tried them yet? How much are they?

No, I haven't tried them yet but as I am currently planning to change the tuners on my Ukulele I might do that. I am torn between Gotoh UPTLs and Wittner.

The Gotohs that I am interested in cost as much as those Wittner tuners --> 90-100 EUR which is equal to 95-105 USD (Man .... the USD is so strong/the EUR is so weak at the moment

)

SebastianF · Nov 11, 2022

Giving this thread a bump because apparently there has not been written a lot if info around here.

Yes, these are not cheap but does the price reflect qualtity?
How do they compare to their obvious rear-facing geared contender, the Gotoh UPTs? They are 8.5:1 ratio compared to the 4:1 of the UPTs and the overall form is different, yes, but what about things like installation, feel, tuning stability, smoothness, longevity...?

pondweed · Nov 11, 2022

for info although not as pretty, the cheap as chips Tune-a-lele are 6:1. Need parallel headstock section.

Wittner Tuners ? Any experience yet ?

Ukador

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Booli

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hawaii 50

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