Gotoh UPT Tuners - Help

mingus

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Messages
840
Reaction score
547
Hello, I just received a Kiwaya KTS-4 from a fellow UU member!

It is a great little soprano! It has the UPT tuners.

I changed the strings to Worth BM a couple nights ago. It sounds great, but I am having an issue with the tuners.

The UPT tuners now squeak every time I tune up the ukulele. To be clear, it is NOT strings making the noise. It is distinctly a squeak coming from the tuners when I turn the button.

There was not a squeak until I changed strings, any advice?

I have not adjusted the tuners at all. The only thing I did was change strings. Have been playing ukulele since 2003, so changing strings is not the issue. Never owned UPT tuners, so I just thought I would reference the collective wisdom of my fellow UU members.

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

Maybe they need some lubrication?
 
Are they snug and tight (not too tight) in the headstock? Maybe different tension is causing one to move a hair in the hole as you tune and squeaking as a result.

Just a WAG.
 
Are you sure it's not the new strings squeaking in the nut slots?
 
Yep, tried to be clear about it NOT being the strings in my initial post. :)
 
Yep, tried to be clear about it NOT being the strings in my initial post. :)

Sorry, my bad, didn't mean to offend. Do your tuners squeak when turned in both directions?
 
Last edited:
Are they snug and tight (not too tight) in the headstock? Maybe different tension is causing one to move a hair in the hole as you tune and squeaking as a result.

Just a WAG.

That was my first guess. I would live with a slight squeak rather than start messing around with the tuner itself.

They all squeak?
 
No offense at all, yep they squeak in both directions and all (4) squeak.
 
This is about the most odd uke problem I’ve heard.

My feeling is that it may be time to disregard the oddness and go to first principle of if it squeaks lube it.

Oil in there gives me concern so I might try graphite. You can get a very small tube of the stuff that is dry and puffs out when the tube is squeezed. I have used it on difficult door locks both on house doors and cars. Works great on them. Think it cost less than a dollar.

You would might want to do something like putting a sheet of paper over the shaft so that it poked through while protecting the rest of the uke from overspray though I can’t see it hurting anything. If it’s going to work it should probably take a very small amount and I’d give a couple of practice squeezes first and some tuner turns so it works in.
 
No offense at all, yep they squeak in both directions and all (4) squeak.

try using a pin tip moistened with the lightest machine oil you can find to barely moisten the juncture of the post and bushing from the face side of the head stock. I'm talking about less than a drop of oil.
 
Top Bottom