A quick look at Gotoh UPT tuners

bazmaz

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Baz - thanks for this video. :)

I am sure this will help folks to understand what the Gotoh UPT's are all about.

One point to add is that other than the different color and button shape options, these also come in two different lengths for the post, in order to accommodate thinner or thicker headstocks, thinner being the UPT designation, and for the thicker being the UPT-L designation.

Also, other than those Grover Champion pegs (which extend about 22mm behind the headstock) that you have on the Rob Collins comparison uke in the demo, the Gotoh UPT shaft will likely stick out behind the headstock a little bit longer than most other friction tuners. When I replaced the stock friction tuners on my Martin OXK with the Gotoh UPT-L (the short ones would NOT be long enough to fit the thickness of the headstock wood), they extended far enough that the OXK soprano would NOT be able to lay flat on it's back any more, and also necessitated using a different case, and one with enough depth in the headstock area such that the tuners were not pressing on the floor of the case, and thus putting dangerous pressure on the scarf joint.

The $30 "Luna Ukes" brand Soprano case sold on Musicians Friend/Guitar Center (USA) works great for solving this issue, and to make the neck parallel across the neck support I put a fitted 25mm thick piece of foam under the back of the body to get it level, and now it's all good and fits like a glove.

Other soprano ukes might have a thicker body depth than the Martin OXK, as will larger ukes so this may not be an issue. These Gotoh UPT tuners are ALSO shorter out the back of the headstock than PegHeds planetary tuners, which the end of the tuner buttons are almost 28mm beyond the wood on the back of the headstock.

Hopefully this info will be useful to others who might be considering the Gotoh UPT tuners.

I love them on the ukes where I have them installed.
 
Yes - true about there being long shaft models too.

Never noticed how far they stick out backwards to be honest- maybe my cases are deeper
 
Booli, is there a specific thickness...mm or inches...that makes the L a better fit? I have three ukuleles that will get these after January (all my Ukuleles are paid off at that point—and no more to follow for some time).
 
I have a Martin S1 with the UPT's fitted, and as Barry knows, I was a little apprehensive about buying it at first as I was more inclined to keep the original tuners. I have to say I am very pleased with them, they work extremely well, and for a bit of a novice like me they make tuning very easy, and keep in tune far better than a couple of other ukes I have.
Yes they do stick out a tad further, but i've found no issues with either the Kinsman or the Baton noir hard cases I have, although I do have a cheepy gig bag that is very tight anyway, so wouldnt risk putting it there even with the original tuners.
As to lying on its back, yep Booli, it wont lay flat, but neither will my Tokai sop and that has original frictions on it, so I dont know, is this a problem anyway with some makes/models?
 
Booli, is there a specific thickness...mm or inches...that makes the L a better fit? I have three ukuleles that will get these after January (all my Ukuleles are paid off at that point—and no more to follow for some time).

Here is the official diagram from Gotoh that shows the difference in size:

UPT-Diagram.gif


and more info here:

http://www.japarts.ca/Gotoh/Gotoh-Products-UPT.asp

https://g-gotoh.com/international/product/upt.html

https://g-gotoh.com/international/product/uptl.html
 
I can see those buttons far right sticking out massively. I have only used the uBB and UB7 - which I just checked and stick out no more than Grover 4's
 
I've been tempted to put something like this both on my 1960's Martin with mediocre metal/plastic tuners as well as the 20's Weymann with wooden pegs.
How do I decide between the Peghead and the UPT's?
 
Hi, Choirguy! I installed them 5 times for me and my friends ukuleles.

Booli, is there a specific thickness...mm or inches...that makes the L a better fit? I have three ukuleles that will get these after January (all my Ukuleles are paid off at that point—and no more to follow for some time).

UPT: 10-12mm
UPTL: 11.5-13.5mm

If your uku's headstock thickness is 12mm, UPT is better than UPTL. I avoid extra length of peg post.
 
I have installed three sets of these - two were UPT for a Martin and a Kamaka. The third - the UPTLs were on a Maybell banjo ukulele. The tuners are amazing and transform the instruments. I would have put a set on my OXK but felt cheap and went to Grover geared tuners.
No regrets - use a reamer to enlarge the holes!
 
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