Sealed Gear Tuners, better?
- Thread starter hobnob
- Start date
coolkayaker1
Well-known member
None that I've ever found. Heavier for no good reason. I prefer open geared tuners.
itsme
Well-known member
No real benefit IMO. Theoretically, they keep the gears cleaners and sealed off from the real world, but unless you're playing in a dust storm or other adverse conditions, I don't see an advantage.
I don't think retailers are really pushing them, just pointing out "features" on what they're selling.
I don't think retailers are really pushing them, just pointing out "features" on what they're selling.
Skinny Money McGee
Well-known member
Has anyone actually compared the weight of an open gear Grover vs a Closed gear Grover mini Rotomatic? I'd be willing to bet they are very close to the same weight all things being equal like tuning knobs. (metal vs plastic)
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coolkayaker1
Well-known member
Gordon at Mya Moe weighed the geared tuners they use at something like 3.4 ounces (it's in one of his youtube videos). The PegHeads he compared them to were, as I recall, about 0.9 ounce. He did not look at open geared tuners. I don;t have to weigh them to know the open geared tuners are less than closed.
The questions then becomes does 1-1.5 ounces make a big difference at the headstock. Many ways to look at that one (body size and weight, etc.)
Other than a beach ukulele--you know what, even then I'd not want closed--I'd never actively choose closed gear tuners on any ukulele.
That said, my KOaloha tenor has them, as does my Bruko baritone. Go figure.
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OldePhart
Well-known member
Usually the closed tuners have higher ratios - but not always. On a ukulele a higher ratio doesn't really matter anyway (I actually prefer friction pegs on soprano and concert ukes).
John
John
cahaya
Well-known member
That prompted me to do a quick research on Kamaka, Koaloha, Koolau and the Kanilea standard tenor/soprano ukes. The Kamaka, Koaloha and Koolau tenors use sealed geared tuner for their standard tenor ukes. Kanilea uses open geared tuner for their tenor uke. Kanilea uses open geared tuner for their soprano while the other three Ks use friction tuners.
Tootler
Well-known member
I have ukuleles friction tuners, with sealed geared tuners and with open geared tuners and I haven't noticed any particular difference with balance or ease or difficulty of use with any of them.
I must admit that aesthetically, I prefer friction tuners on soprano and concert ukes, but as long as they do their job I can't say I'm unduly bothered which type I have.
I must admit that aesthetically, I prefer friction tuners on soprano and concert ukes, but as long as they do their job I can't say I'm unduly bothered which type I have.
UkuleleThreads
Well-known member
I have noticed that the sealed are smoother over time. I have them on a few of my ukuleles and they work great, I've never had to replace one.
