Tuning Machines - Small Difference/Big Difference

Jerryc41

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I'm looking for tuners to put on a Fluke I'm getting in a few days. I've used Gotohs, regular geared tuners, and Pegheds. I want geared tuners that aren't expensive, and I found a style I like.

These are neat, and they require only one screw. The problem is that on the silver tuners below, the screw mount is set at an angle, so they won't be a good fit on the Fluke/Flea. If I rotate the tuners to get the screw hole onto the wood, the body of the tuner sits above the headstock.

I found a set of tuners with the screw mount at a right angle (gold below), so they will work perfectly on the Fluke.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PLSZXYL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PG8GKG5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tuners 1.jpg Tuners 2.jpg
 
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Why don’t you try to get set of tuners from the manufacture I believe you can buy them as a separate item, and the screw placement should be correct.
 
There's a new tuner coming to the market very soon, Graph Tech Ratio Tune-alele for $30 a set that Graph Tech sent me to test recently. They're geared and straight, heavy duty plastic and work perfectly, no play in them what-so-ever. They have two screws parallel so mount very securely, but the shaft is slightly bigger so the Fluke tuner holes will need to be reamed slightly (very slightly, on one I went too big and had to add tape around the shaft). Also, the mount area around the shaft is slightly bigger than the thickness of the Fluke head, but that doesn't bother me at all.

Ratio tuners.jpg



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I'm looking for tuners to put on a Fluke I'm getting in a few days. I've used Gotohs, regular geared tuners, and Pegheds. I want geared tuners that aren't expensive, and I found a style I like.

These are neat, and they require only one screw. The problem is that on the silver tuners below, the screw mount is set at an angle, so they won't be a good fit on the Fluke/Flea. If I rotate the tuners to get the screw hole onto the wood, the body of the tuner sits above the headstock.

I found a set of tuners with the screw mount at a right angle (gold below), so they will work perfectly on the Fluke.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PLSZXYL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PG8GKG5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

View attachment 119396 View attachment 119397

Do you find tuners like this hold tension well? I'm still trying to sort out why the banjouke I made goes slightly out of tune from just sitting overnight. Haven't figured out exactly what it is yet. Wanted to try a no knot tailpiece, but I'd have to put on some other kind of bracket to get it to hold and there's only 2" of space to work with.
I've tightened up the tuners I have and it still slips. Who knows, it could be the neck moving some (it is a homemade beastie afterall). I'm just trying to fix it because I like that it has a 10" pot and it actually does sound pretty good. I like it better than the one firefly I tried which sounded really buzzy to me.
I know you tried building one before, so I thought I'd check your experience
 
Jerry, what brand are those? They look like mini Gotohs, as used on some electric guitars. How about the bushings that will mount in the holes inside the headstock, do they fit without mods, or do the holes need to be expanded, or reduced? I, for one, like tuners that operate from the back, not the sides.
 
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