Kanile'a all geared tuners?

Debussychopin

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Does kanile'a have the option for friction pegs on any of their soprano or concert k1 models?

Their site doesn't have that 'option' showing without any other info and I can't contact them other than phone (hesitant to call just for that question sorry) and every Google I search shows the k1 (and other higher models) all w geared.

Is this correct, kanile'a doesn't offer friction pegs? Thanks
 
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So what I found out was most likely they don't. Anyone can confirm? Haven't seen a kanile'a w friction tuners yet.
 
It sounds as if you would prefer friction tuners -- as a beginner in the ukulele world but not a beginner in the string instrument world, can I ask why you want friction tuners?

As the husband of a professional violinist who teaches lessons and who often has to use my hand strength to work with tuners which are not properly fit in less expensive instruments (I'm not making any statement about the quality of kanile'a instruments!) I can understand a maker's reluctance to use friction tuners. One of the first things we did for my violin (completely with my wife's suggestion and blessing!) was to have a tailpiece installed with 4 fine tuners. So the pegs are used for gross tuning and then the final adjustment is done with the finger-screw fine tuners.

Knowing how friction tuners on violins are often subject to the vicissitudes of humidity (very hard to adjust when the weather is very humid, and slipping frequently when the weather is very dry) I am very glad to have geared tuners on my Kala tenor uke.

But I am new to the uke world and would love to learn more why people would want friction tuners -- other than tradition, I'm sure the continued use of friction tuners in the violin world has also to do with the acoustic changes that happen when metal geared tuners are screwed into the wood when compared to the wood-on-wood of the friction tuners.

Thanks for any insights you can offer a novice.
 
They don't have that option, but I suppose you could ask them to make you a custom one. Most likely, this will cost you extra big time, as they have to deviate from their standard procedure. They do have e-mail for inquiries, not just phone.

Another option would be to get a stock model and change the tuners yourself or have them professionally changed, but this will leave you with the drill holes from the standard tuners uncovered.

I assume the preference for friction tuners has to do with looks, as many dislike the "Mickey Mouse" ears on a uke and prefer the more traditional look of friction tuners that stand out in the back. For those who want that classic look, but with the benefits of geared tuners (more accuracy, no sticking, no slipping), there are now options like Gotoh UPT Planetary Tuners and Pegheds which go straight through the headstock, just like friction tuners, but they have gears hidden inside.
 
...I am new to the uke world and would love to learn more why people would want friction tuners -- other than tradition, I'm sure the continued use of friction tuners in the violin world has also to do with the acoustic changes that happen when metal geared tuners are screwed into the wood when compared to the wood-on-wood of the friction tuners.

Some people prefer friction tuners on soprano and maybe concert ukuleles because they (the people, not the ukuleles) say that the weight of the geared tuners makes the ukulele unbalanced -- top-heavy (headstock-heavy).
 
Hey all,

I have some friction tuners and I like them just fine on the concerts that they came with. I have a bunch of geared tuners that come on the lower end ukes as well. I like the friction tuners just fine, they are not an issue for me.

I have not tried any planetary tuners, or Gotohs either but don't feel the need to!

Debussy, from what I read about on the net, in order to go from friction to geared, the tuner holes need to be reamed for the larger geared sizes. I believe that the friction tuners are smaller in diameter. This is a good question for the luthiers on this site though. So if the company does not make them with friction tuners you might be out of luck. I would repost this or a similar question in the Luthier category. Just my 2cw.
 
I switched my Kamaka to the Gotoh planetary tuners I forget which ones exactly and while I don't dislike them they weren't worth the money for the minor advantage accrued.
Many people love them. (The Schaller? pegs originally installed were no lightweights either.)

Personally I don't like the look of the ears on sopranos, but it wouldn't put me off a Kanilea soprano.

As for the weight I don't know about the Soprano but the Kanilea K1 concert is no lightweight and the geared tuners don't IMHO make a difference to the balance. However, they seem to be 16 : 1 or so and you turn for-ing-ever to make minor changes. Other people would say they are very precise.

As for staying in tune the Gotohs (planetarys) are fine, the geared tuners on the Kanilea not really any better than either my Grover or Gotoh friction tuners.

To return to the point - I don't believe they do offer friction tuners they may offer a slotted headstock if you don't like the ears. My advice if you like the sound live with the tuners.
 
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Thanks everyone but it seems my point is still missed (as naturally, my post wasn't really clear) ..I dont mind the debate about preference of geared or friction , or the question of swapping out,
I just wanted to confirm if any of you know for sure kanile'a doesn't make any soprano models w friction peg was all. If yes, do any of you have a kanile'a soprano w friction peg (not altered after purchase, of course)
 
I just wanted to confirm if any of you know for sure kanile'a doesn't make any soprano models w friction peg was all.

I'm pretty sure the answer is no: they don't have a stock model with friction tuners.
 
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