Peghed or Gotoh UPT Tuners for KoAloha Concert?

Here’s a photo with all the tuners I mentioned. You can see the Ukulele Lite Planetary tuner laid on the back of the headstock of my Kamaka which has Gotohs installed. You can see the Koaloha button swap with the Ukulele Lite. Btw, the buttons on the Gotohs will not swap like this. You can see Pegheds on my Mya Moe, and my Cocobolo. I think the Gotohs would look too small on a lot of ukes. I just weighed one of the Planetary lites. It is 13.5 grams.

Gotoh claim their UPTLs are 15.9gm, and the UPTs are 15gm. I’m not going to pull them off my Kamaka to weigh. I just weighed a cheapy friction tuner I took off a soprano. It is 10.5gm.

This shows a Planetary Lite and a Peghed. You can see that the Peghed is tapered to fit a reamed hole, just like violin family tuning pegs. You can see that the Planetary Lite is stepped, not tapered just like the Gotoh UPTs. So the hole for the Gotoh or Planetary Lite should be stepped. Everyone says leave this to a professional, but anyone with woodworking skills who takes care against tear-out and to get the hole the right size is absolutely capable of doing it.

ksiegel said:

I have ukes with Pegheds, and ukes with Gotoh UPT. I bought the ukes with the pegheds that way, and the Gotohs were aftermarket replacements. (Paid for the installation).

Personally? They are both great tuners. Make your decision based on appearance and price.

And Have Fun!

-Kurt​

Click to expand...

Jerryc41 said:

I'm keeping the stock tuners on my KoAlohas because I'm afraid of messing with them. With the other ukes, I was willing to take a chance. I ordered my first Gotohs from Japan, where they make them when you order them. You can get just what you want, but you wait over a month and pay over $90. HMS may not have exactly what you want, but they have always had close enough for me, and price and delivery are much better.

Click to expand...

Jerryc41 said:

I'd be afraid to use a reamer in a drill, but putting the tape on the reamer (when he does it by hand) is essential. It makes sure all the holes are the same size. Those are beautiful tuning buttons!

Click to expand...

I just watched Joel do a instal with a reamer. Yes it is possible. But the hole is not the shape of the tuner. If I’m changing pegs I want to remove the least amount of wood. To remove the least amount of wood, you will need a stepped hole. Look at Gotoh’s diagram of the tuner.

StewMac, or course sell a stepped drill bit for the purpose of making a stepped hole for the UPTs, but all you have to do is be sure not to go too far with the larger bit.

Here’s a photo from stewmac showing a stepped hole and their stepped bit.

No, wait! They sell TWO stepped bits; 1-step Peghole Drill Bit and Rear Peghole Reamer

hey figured I'd bump an old thread instead of making a new one. Does anyone have photos of the Koaloha's with the hair cut (UPTs) installed?

Did anyone have to adjust the sizing from the standard tuners or was it a good fit?

I have a 20 year old KoAloha and don't mind the friction tuner as it stays in tune quite nicely and only needs adjustment once in a while. It just takes a bit of practice. I also have a 40 year old Kamaka six string and the friction tuners on that are a bit more temperamental and corroded. So I am thinking about getting the Gotoh for that. I have a luthier built uke with the Gotoh and they are very smooth and light weight, I don't think they would unbalance a KoAloha.