You will not have any luck with stew Mac. They are the exclusive dealer for these tuners in the US and the only thing schertler wants them selling is the complete tuner sets. I don't know of any one at this point making buttons that fit them.
srpompon, I have Schertlers on my Mya Moe Bari and love the black buttons, but I can see that some would want something different. My question to you is: are these things easily removable in the first place? Hate to see a tuner broken just to yank off that button. Please let me know what you find out from Char (my guess-they're not going to have them at Mya Moe or else different buttons would have been an option from the build; they'll likely refer you to whoever they buy them from). Do update.
Man, these slotted headstocks are awesome, aren't they. To be frank, I adore 1:1 friction tuners and slotted headstocks with posterior facing tuners (like on our KoOlaus) equally, then down the list would be UPT Gotohs (yep, I'd take Gotoh Deluxe Frictions over UPTs!), (I don't like PegHeds at all but I have one remaining uke with them, my Mya Moe soprano), and last, almost to the point of deal-breaker, is geared "ears". I won't buy a uke with those if I can at all help it (although my KoOlau CE-1s both have them--you need a CE-1, srpompon!). Geared ears get it the way, get hit when the uke falls over, aren't where my hands are (in the back of the headstock), etc. I despise them as much as I do onions.
I'm just blowing steam and hogging digital space until you hear from Char. lol. I sure love your stable of ukuleles, srpompon.
I also love the tuners, work like a swiss clock, but the black buttons... mmmm...
Looks easy to remove, only one screw.
My Koolau don't have open slot but have beautiful brown buttons.
I visit Koolau last year, to pick up my CS, the CE are nice.... but i have a Godin and dont use to much the amp here.
For my Myamoes i want mapple or similar buttons for the coco reso and koa or snakewood buttons for the koa tenor, other idea is put a combination of a two dark brown and two clear brown in each one maching the mya moe combination haha, sorry for my english, i dont think anyone understant this... 8-(
The Schertler buttons are easily removable. The shafts have a flat side (D-shape) and the plastic buttons have a corresponding D-slot molded into them. The wood ones have a brass insert with the D-slot milled in.
I've made custom buttons for them by removing and reusing the brass inserts. Unfortunately, that involves destroying the ebony buttons but I thought it was cheaper than getting the brass inserts milled up.
I've got another set of custom ones to do in the next couple of months and may be willing to do a few more at the same time but it would not be cheap.
The Schertler buttons are easily removable. The shafts have a flat side (D-shape) and the plastic buttons have a corresponding D-slot molded into them. The wood ones have a brass insert with the D-slot milled in.
I've made custom buttons for them by removing and reusing the brass inserts. Unfortunately, that involves destroying the ebony buttons but I thought it was cheaper than getting the brass inserts milled up.
I've got another set of custom ones to do in the next couple of months and may be willing to do a few more at the same time but it would not be cheap.
I would double check what Kent has said in regards to the brass insert on your specific buttons. I have taken the buttons off the schertler tuners on my Mya-Moe, and they do not have a brass insert even though they are ebony buttons. I don't know if this is due to the fact that these are tuners made for a nylon string guitar, versus those made for a steel string guitar.
The only thing that I can be positive of, is the ones that I have are ebony buttons, and do not have a brass insert. The buttons appear to be the exact same shape on all versions of the tuners, but there may be a difference in ones with brass inserts and ones without. It is easy enough to remove the tension from your strings, and take the button off. You will be able to tell then.
Kent may know both sides of the story in regards to the buttons on the steel string version of the tuners versus the nylon string, as this is the only set of schertler's I have seen or possessed.
I would double check what Kent has said in regards to the brass insert on your specific buttons. I have taken the buttons off the schertler tuners on my Mya-Moe, and they do not have a brass insert even though they are ebony buttons. I don't know if this is due to the fact that these are tuners made for a nylon string guitar, versus those made for a steel string guitar.
Ok. So i got home and did a little fiddling around. Now Kent's comment makes more sense to me. I actually have an extra set of schertler classical tuners I was going to use for a project. I knew the mya moe ones do not have the insert. I actually believe the mya moe schertler tuners have a black plastic button. This would make sense as Kent said the plastic ones do not have the brass insert. So I took a button off the extra set I had from stew Mac. Bingo, it has the brass insert and is clearly ebony wood. If you compare that button to the one on the mya moe they are clearly different. I did check and the shaft the button sits on in the tuner is the same.
So it looks as if mya moe is using black plastic buttons. So the problem would be getting a brass insert if someone like Kent was to make some as yours currently do not have an insert
Yes, I'm betting that's a plastic button. It would be a real trick to make that cutout in wood unless you did it in halves and glued it together (which isn't easy either).
I sent an email to Stewmac to see if they are making the ebony buttons or if they come from Schertler. If Stewmac is making them, the inserts may be available. If Schertler, we may be able to get them if we could put together a bulk order of a thousand or more
I bet you will get the same response I did from Stew-Mac. For some reason I am always paranoid about non metal buttons cracking or breaking. So I talked to stew-mac to see if there was anyway that I could get an extra set of buttons for the schertlers. They told me, as they are the exclusive dealer for these tuners in the U.S., that Schertler has requested that they only sell these as complete sets. Now I imagine if you bought a set from them and had a problem, they would replace them, but they do not sell just the tuner buttons. I may send an email to schertler HQ and see what they say.
Edit: I just sent an email to Schertler HQ in Switzerland about if they would let us get extra sets of buttons. I will update when I find out.
[h=1]Product Details[/h]Swiss design and distinctive look! High quality 3-left/3-right Swiss-designed tuners that bring a distinctive new look to classical guitars. Schertler machines are precisely engineered with 18:1 gear ratio, nylon worm post bearings in a compact cast aluminum base, and adjustable knob tension. The result is impressively smooth and accurate operation. All models feature genuine polished ebony fitted with brass internal shaft bushings for durability, and eye-catching unplated brass crown gears.
For use with nylon strings only.
Also available for steel-string guitars with solid or slotted peghead.
• 18:1 gear ratio • 3-left/3-right with mounting screws • Removable ebony knobs • 9.9mm (.390") string post diameter • Individual machines suitable for custom spacing if desired
That is the description from Stew-mac, but if you go directly to Schertler's website there are other types of buttons. Metal ones, as well as plastic.
I have 2 sets of these and the buttons on one set are clearly ebony wood, and the ones on the other are something different. They are black, but the texture is different than the ebony wood ones. The black ones have no insert, while the ebony wood ones have a brass insert.
So there are multiple types of buttons.
I talked to Schertler, and you can order replacement buttons from them for $25 plus shipping from Switzerland.
