loose tuners on my uke

rasputinsghost

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My very first Uke (my Kala KA-ST)'s tuners are becoming loose. Not the actual screws affixed to the headboard, but just the moving part that the gear rotates - I have to very gingerly move it left or right to tune them. Is there anything I can do about this? Thank you.
 
All the tuners?

How old is the 'ukulele?
 
my spongebob pineapple had cheap geared tuners that were sorta loose from the get go. over the couple months I've had it they've all become even more so. some more than others. granted, as my main travel uke, I play the thing a lot. it was to a point where it was getting unuseable, so i swapped them out for some Grover geared tuners and problem solved. the tuners on my Kalas have not had problems
 
October? If the looseness is affecting the tuning, or your ability to tune it then I'd speak to the dealer. If the tuner is a dud you should be in warranty.

That said, it's not at all unusual to find a tuner that has some play before the cog and worm bite together. It can be a problem, but more often it just feels like a problem. Frequently from a functional point of view the tuner actually tunes and holds perfectly well.

If yours is a problem then speak to the shop you bought from.
 
buddhuu said "That said, it's not at all unusual to find a tuner that has some play before the cog and worm bite together."

This is common in a lot of tuners so always tune up to pitch so the cog and worm will be in contact when you stop tuning. If you tune down to pitch there will be a small gap between cog and worm and when string tension pulls the two together you go out of tune.

A lot of people blame the tuners when it it's "operator error".:)

Jude
 
Check that the screw that holds the cog on the post is tight. I've found they back out and make the tuner sloppy, mostly on my older ukes.
 
How do you properly tune up to pitch? Thank you for the advice.
Tuning up to pitch just means to bring the string to pitch while tightening as opposed to tuning beyond (sharp) and backing the tuner to lower the pitch. If you do go a bit far, back a ways beyond and tune back up to pitch.
 
[...] This is common in a lot of tuners so always tune up to pitch so the cog and worm will be in contact when you stop tuning. If you tune down to pitch there will be a small gap between cog and worm and when string tension pulls the two together you go out of tune. [...]
Yup.

Check that the screw that holds the cog on the post is tight. I've found they back out and make the tuner sloppy, mostly on my older ukes.

Ye-e-e-s..., but don't overtighten. That screw is not supposed to hold the tuning in the same way that a friction peg does, so it doesn't need to be anywhere near as tight. Just tight enough to secure it in place. Slippage is more usually down to the play routinely found in tuners coupled with incorrect tuning technique than it is down to loose cog screws.

As you say though, they do tend to back out and work loose over time, so always worth checking.
 
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