anyone here replace their standard Kamaka tuners with Gotoh Planetary tuners?

janeray1940 said:

Aloha all. So I came away from NAMM not with UAS - if anything, I came away loving the ukes I already have even more than I already did. But I did catch a severe case of Gotoh tuner envy! The Gotohs are standard on all of the new Kamakas now and my no-longer-new Kamakas are feeling a bit...inadequate.

So now I'm thinking about replacing my Kamaka tuners with Gotohs, and I'm wondering if anybody has done so. I've already done the obligatory forum search to no avail, just some posts about upgrading when ordering new or having Kamaka do the upgrade. My preference would be to do it myself, or have it done locally, so - here's what I'm wondering:

Can I do it myself without any fancy tools beyond a screwdriver? Are any modifications needed? If modifications are necessary, would it be a bad idea to have my local luthier do it? Or would this require sending my ukes to Kamaka and then waiting waiting waiting?

Thanks in advance for your knowledge

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BlackBearUkes said:

The Gotohs require a 3/8" diameter hole. Depending on the head thickness of the Kamaka, you can get the standard head thickness, shorter barrel, or the long barrel for thicker heads. Either way, its an easy job with the right tools. You will need more than a screw driver for this job. A good luthier can do this in about 20 minutes.

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dkame said:

You can do it yourself! If I could, I'm sure you can.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...allation-–-Kamaka-Tenor&highlight=gotoh+tuner

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nongdam said:

You can take it to a luthier and the cost shouldn't be much. I took mine to The Fretted Frog on Alvarado and Sunset and they charged me $25. I'm sure McCabes can do it.

BTW, I bought my tuners thru Andrew from HMS.

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janeray1940 said:

If I have McCabe's install them, is there an advantage (price perhaps?) to buying them myself via HMS rather than just having McCabe's buy them?

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hawaii 50 said:

from 2014 the Gotoh UPT are standard on all there ukes that use that type of tuner....
I guess Kamaka upgrading their ukes....you can order a slotted headstock soon too...they trying to giving the customers what they want.....

Andrew sells the Gotohs for $60.00

Andrew is Kamaka's number one dealer...so he can get deluxe models if he asks....I think

Kamaka gave him a double order last time around..they were all special!!

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nongdam said:

Check McCabes to see if they have them. I am not sure how quickly they get it but HMS has some in stock. It only takes a few days from Hawaii.

As for price, couldn't answer that

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hawaii 50 said:

Hey Daniel...

Andrew sells them for $60.00...he has at least 100 in stock gold or silver with different buttons....I seen them
he says most use the longer tuner so you have to ask for the shorter one...

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