Opinions: friction or geared tuners and why...go!

IrishKevin

IrishKevin

wait...what?
UU VIP
Joined
Feb 20, 2012
Messages
55
Reaction score
0
Location
Jacksonville, NC
I have yet to own friction tuners and I come across this argument frequently, I am not asking someone to decide for me, merely give insight to both sides so I can make an objective decision with replacing my current no-name tuning machines that go out of tune as quickly as I can tune them. I have wanted friction tuners, however I don't want the headstock looking like junk, I have came across some nice replacement machines, but I am weighing the differences. The Uke I want to modify isn't high end by any means but I love it and its sound. (Tanglewood tu-2 spruce top) the grovers are the right price but the Waverly machines are well made and made in the US. Well enough of me gibbering away, let's have the opinions!
 
Why is this an argument? It's about personal preferences.

This fake debate thing is kind of tedious...verging on lame. Ebony vs. rosewood, friction vs. geared, Ford vs. Chevy...

That's my opinion.
 
Everyone knows Chevys are better than Fords.

Only friction tuners on sopranos.

End of argument , debate, or whatever.

Ebony or Rosewood is personal preference.
 
Last edited:
Its a matter of speaking, that's why I asked for opinions not whether you feel it is trifle to ask for them....anyway, like I said I have never had friction tuners and I want to know the pros and cons, I can't have a preference unless I have played one, unfortunately where I am there aren't any shops that sell ukes with friction tuners. If I could fill the holes in the headstock so it looks clean I would give then a shot, any suggestions on how not to bugger my Uke?
 
I hate the look of geared tuners on a soprano , makes it look like a toy guitar. I just bought a new laminate uke for a beater and I'm changing the geared tuners to friction. Good friction tuners work fine.
 
Since I'm lacking in knowledge of tuners its hard for me to have a personal preference. I'd like to learn. Which friction tuners are good ones?
 
Also lacking in knowledge as far as friction tuners go, I have been reading up on them, I have seen the Peg-Hed brand tuners before and didn't know much more about them other than they are friction, turns out the are internally geared which is awesome, I believe I am going ti give them a shot and write a review. As far as traditional tuners I hear gotoh are excellent
 
Keep in mind I haven't owned any or played with any so I am not an authority, just saying what I have heard from friends and read
 
How are your present geared tuners going out of tune? Are the posts rotating by themselves? Are the worm gears slipping? I've never had a set of geared tuners slip, but I've seen plenty of friction tuners slip by themselves, if they weren't adjusted properly, and on some cheap ukes, you couldn't tighten them enough to prevent slipping at all. Just checking to see if you weren't just dealing with stretching strings instead of slipping geared tuners.
 
Grover 4w or 4b are great friction tuners. The w and b stand for white and black. It may be your strings just stretching, they need breaking in when new. Most stringed instruments need tuning regularly although when I take my Martin style 1 out of its case after not playing it for a while , its usually still in tune , weird .
 
The mini Gotohs are nice sealed tuners, I have used them a couple of times and they make the neck a little heavy. It doesn't bother me, but you might notice the difference if you are used to friction tuners. I have used the Grover and Waverly open-geared tuners and they are lighter and work well. The Waverlys are the most expensive and have 16:1 ratio, the Grovers are less than half of what the Waverlys cost and are 14:1. Pegheds are kind of in the middle cost-wise, 4:1 planetary gear and look like violin pegs. My preference is the Grovers for the price, or the Pegheads for the traditional look. The Waverlys are nice, but too expensive.
 
Yeah its the tuning machines, I have adjusted them but they are cheaply constructed, no its not the strings and I would have asked the same question. I love this soprano but it gets to be a nuisance have to adjust the tuning while playing and before I play. My kala has sealed tuners and they are great, hold tune very well and work marvelous.
 
IrishKevin said:
Yeah its the tuning machines, I have adjusted them but they are cheaply constructed, no its not the strings and I would have asked the same question. I love this soprano but it gets to be a nuisance have to adjust the tuning while playing and before I play. My kala has sealed tuners and they are great, hold tune very well and work marvelous.
Click to expand...

Seems you answered your own question.

I think you'd get responses more along the lines what you're looking for in Uke Talk. Here, I gotta agree with Rick - personal preference. For me, personal preference from a builder's perspective. We use what the customers ask for, sometimes. If someone asks me for Pegheads strung with Aquila's, well, this would be a customer similar to what Brad had recently, and I'd walk away.

-Aaron
 
Fair enough, thanks for all of the posts! And thanks for the links...I should have looked first Haha!
 
Funny how many who say geared turners weight-down the headstock leave their digital tuners clipped on ;)

Personally I'd get geared tuners on all my ukes unless it was a vintage/vintage-style Soprano for looks only. Even cheap geared tuners are more accurate than the most expensive friction tuners.
 
Friction tuners for me. I have three guitars and they all have geared tuners. I like the look of friction tuners on a ukulele and have never had a problem with them. Most people blame the friction tuners on other problems. The strings need to stretch and the owner may not know that because they just started playing the uke. Or the screw on the knob is not tight and they dont know that. I have had several cheap ukes with friction tuners and have had no problems.
But as someone said its up to you what you like and dont like, thats one of the great things about playing the uke. So many different shapes and sizes, colors and tuners.

Thanks for letting me sound off.
 
If I ever can afford to have a custom ukulele built, I want Pegheds on it. I'd leave the initial string choice to the Luthier, who knows what works best on his/her creation.

I have them (pegheds) on my Fluke and Firefly, and love 'em.

The only friction tuners I have are on my 1920s Stella and 1950s Harmony - all the others use geared tuners. That isn't to say that I don't like Friction Tuners, only that the majority of the instruments I own didn't come with them.

Some of the friction tuners I've tried on other ukuleles were fine, others were more trouble than they are worth.

Remember - your mileage may vary, and individual experience is not an indication of future performance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Opinions on Slatwall hangers?
Replies
0
Views
136
ghostrdr
G
B
What are your opinions on a Martin t1k?
Replies
12
Views
538
scarver
S
frets alot
Flight Opinions Wanted
Replies
10
Views
704
frets alot
frets alot
Jerryc41
Martin T1 Streetmaster - Opinions
Replies
11
Views
683
Jerryc41
Jerryc41
Wildjoy
Opinions on Makaio ukes?
Replies
3
Views
434
Charles Guy
Charles Guy
Top Bottom