Advise please

j4e

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I am looking at two Martin ukuleles, the 2K and the IZ model. My question is with the tuners. I understand the tuners on the 2K, I am unsure about the tuners on the IZ model. Are they just peg tuners or are they geared peg tuners. As you can most likely tell, I am fairly new to this ukulele world. I am coming from the guitar side of music. I learned over there it is better to buy a good instrument right from the start than struggle trying to play something that is naturally hard to play because it is not set-up right. Also it makes one commit a lot more to the instrument because you have an investment in the item.

If the tuners are just pegs, are they harder to keep in tune? I heard in the one youtube video the Martin rep say that they were peg tuners with gears? Just trying to get a better understanding on the difference.

As far as the two ukuleles, I like both, I love the look and appeal of the Koa, but I also like the sound of the Mahogany. I did hear that the IZ model is not a numbered series which means it will be in production until the sales go down to far for the extra effort. Tough decision, the difficulty of the tuners may make my decision a little easier.

Thanks for any advise you can give me.
 
The tuners on the IZ model are Peghed tuners. These are geared tuners that look like traditional pegs. Either one of those ukes will work for you.
 
I have Peghed tuners on a few of my ukes, and I like them very much. They use a planetary gear which allows them to be straight pegs like the old friction pegs, but with much better tuning accuracy. They use a 4:1 tuning ration (meaning the peg turns once for every 4 turns of the button). If you're used to guitar, 4:1 is a relative low ratio (most geared guitar pegs use 16:1), but it is more than enough for good tuning accuracy.
 
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