Graph Tech Ratio Tuners

BuzzBD

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Chuck Moore very kindly sent me a set of the new tuners after I had expressed an interest in trying them. They arrived yesterday and I was excited to look them over. My initial thoughts are, I concur with Chuck that they are not a good fit for high end instruments, they are probably going to be a game changer for the lower priced ones, with a big grey area for those in the middle. Functionally, I expect them to perform well and seem to be smooth and solid feeling. As far as retrofits are concerned, there should be no problem replacing friction tuners. With open geared tuners, it appears that they will only cover one of the screw holes, as the post is centered on them. If you have any questions, fire away and I will do my best to answer them. I am getting ready to close the box on a spruce top concert that I will put them on. You can probably surmise from the picture that I like to keep things light and thus their appeal to me.
Bradford F1276BDB-DE02-4BE8-BD12-1F0A9DFD22D4.jpg
 
Why do you say this? "...not a good fit for high end instruments..." Appearance?

I've replaced friction tuners with Gotohs on only one instrument. It's a nice, old Pono soprano, but it's not a show piece, so the screw holes aren't a big deal.
 
Why do you say this? "...not a good fit for high end instruments..." Appearance?

I've replaced friction tuners with Gotohs on only one instrument. It's a nice, old Pono soprano, but it's not a show piece, so the screw holes aren't a big deal.

Only my personal observation Jerry but I agree with Chuck and Brandford above. If I am paying $1500 - $3000 for a high end ukuele I don't want a lower end plastic tuner on there, no matter how well they work. I love the stream lined look of Gohto UPT or Pegheads with no screws and plates showing.

That said I am ordering two sets of these new Graph Tech ratio tuners to replace one set of existing fiction tuners and one set heavy sealed bodied geared tuners.
 
Sorry Jerry if I was a bit too cryptic. My first thoughts when I saw them was, hey these are inexpensive plastic tuners, which duh, is pretty much what they are. Rightly or wrongly, many people equate plastic with cheap and disposable and thus my opinion on whether they are suitable for high end instruments. For the record, I would really like for these to be successful as they closely fit my criteria for perfect tuners. I will share further observations when I get them installed and in use.
Bradford
 
I'm going to find out direct from the Graphtech tomorrow at their booth at NAMM.


9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 33)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video
 
I'm going to find out direct from the Graphtech tomorrow at their booth at NAMM.


9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 33)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

Could you ask them if they plan on making their RATIO TUNE-A-LELE's out of some type of alloy in the future?
They do make some of their products out of different alloys, including thier "Resomax".
 
Could you ask them if they plan on making their RATIO TUNE-A-LELE's out of some type of alloy in the future? They do make some of their products out of different alloys, including their "Resomax".

The guy in their booth couldn't give me any future information. I also mentioned to him that the long shafts would not fit my Fluke and he said a couple other people mentioned that to him also. Here are a few shots of the tuners. I asked if these are the final product and he said yes, but they're still figuring out the packaging.

They feel very sturdy and precise, no slop what-so-ever. They're black and do have indents all over them, which doesn't really bother me, but I understand those who think it makes them look cheap. If they went with a smooth black finish I think they would look elegant.

GraphTech Tuner-lele.jpg



9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 33)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video
 
The guy in their booth couldn't give me any future information. I also mentioned to him that the long shafts would not fit my Fluke and he said a couple other people mentioned that to him also. Here are a few shots of the tuners. I asked if these are the final product and he said yes, but they're still figuring out the packaging.

They feel very sturdy and precise, no slop what-so-ever. They're black and do have indents all over them, which doesn't really bother me, but I understand those who think it makes them look cheap. If they went with a smooth black finish I think they would look elegant.

GraphTech Tuner-lele.jpg



9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 33)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

Photos appreciated, thanks. I personally don't like the look of them close up, I think I will stick with the planetary tuners I use.
 
I was kind of intrigued by these and in particular their use as a retrofit to replace gears on a ukulele.

Seeing these pictures has totally changed my mind. I think they look damn ugly...
 
I agree, those indents and seams are not pretty to look at. The close-up shots probably make them look worse than in reality. I was hoping for a solution that covers the original screw holes though. With this, you'll just be adding more screw holes.
 
They feel very sturdy and precise, no slop what-so-ever. They're black and do have indents all over them, which doesn't really bother me, but I understand those who think it makes them look cheap. If they went with a smooth black finish I think they would look elegant.



9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 33)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

The price is right, they are light, and they work well. Being on the bottom of the headstock, not many people are going to see them. I've never replaced geared tuners with bottom-side tuners on a good instrument, mainly because of the holes that would be showing. These would be fine for a uke that has direct tuning pegs but is not a world class instrument. They sure beat the price of Pegheds or Gotohs. As for size, they are still smaller(and lighter) than geared tuners. All those internal gears take up space. The will eventually have to make them with both long and short shafts. With a little thought, I bet they could make long shafts that could be easily cut down to a shorter length. "Once size fits all."
 
If the tuners do the job and work as advertised, I would be happy to get them on a custom uke and to put the money saved into getting a better sound. I don't see them as only being for low cost ukes, I see them as a way to get a lower cost custom or to get more stuff on a custom uke as well as being good on cheaper ukes. I can recall stupid comments about cosmetics as Aquila has introduced new and improved strings over the years. In the end, if there is an innovation which changes the pricing equation and allows more money to be spent in other more important areas, the price will trump the cosmetics and punters will get used to the new look.

I'm not entirely sure that's how it works in reality though. I can't see a custom builder who uses these over (say) Gotoh UPTs and then saves $40, using that $40 to 'make the sound better' - the uke build is what it is and I am sure they all strive for the better sound if they can. That sort of saving doesn'r really buy much in extra appoinments etiher as the material costs is dwarfed by the man hours cost (I'm thinking things like inlays).

In reality, if a custom builder was offering a uke, putting these on instead of something more expensive would really only result in the overall price being a touch cheaper. Which isn't to be sniffed at in itself though.

Not sure I will ever get used to this look though and would prefer to pay more for something that looked less like a set of four doorknobs!
 
On another thread about plastic tuners I referenced the thickness of some headstocks as an issue. I have two tenors that are too thick for Gotoh uptl and would be delighted to try these as the specs seem to show a longer shaft. Having said that I would instal these probably on the cheaper workhorse than my Kamaka.

Where is it possible to purchase these? Please let us know so I can get the ball rolling.
Thanks - Ian
 
On another thread about plastic tuners I referenced the thickness of some headstocks as an issue. I have two tenors that are too thick for Gotoh uptl and would be delighted to try these as the specs seem to show a longer shaft. Having said that I would instal these probably on the cheaper workhorse than my Kamaka.

Where is it possible to purchase these? Please let us know so I can get the ball rolling.
Thanks - Ian
Out of interest - which headstocks do you have which would be too big for the long shaft version of the Gotoh's? I thought they had LOTS of room?
 
The guy in their booth couldn't give me any future information. I also mentioned to him that the long shafts would not fit my Fluke and he said a couple other people mentioned that to him also. Here are a few shots of the tuners. I asked if these are the final product and he said yes, but they're still figuring out the packaging.

They feel very sturdy and precise, no slop what-so-ever. They're black and do have indents all over them, which doesn't really bother me, but I understand those who think it makes them look cheap. If they went with a smooth black finish I think they would look elegant.

GraphTech Tuner-lele.jpg



9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 33)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video

Thanks for the info.

Just curious. What kind of tuners where on the uke in the picture you posted originally?
Where they this style?:

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I'm not entirely sure that's how it works in reality though. I can't see a custom builder who uses these over (say) Gotoh UPTs and then saves $40, using that $40 to 'make the sound better' - the uke build is what it is and I am sure they all strive for the better sound if they can. That sort of saving doesn'r really buy much in extra appoinments etiher as the material costs is dwarfed by the man hours cost (I'm thinking things like inlays).

In reality, if a custom builder was offering a uke, putting these on instead of something more expensive would really only result in the overall price being a touch cheaper. Which isn't to be sniffed at in itself though.

Not sure I will ever get used to this look though and would prefer to pay more for something that looked less like a set of four doorknobs!

Totally agree. BTW, the wholesale price difference (the price builders will pay) between these tuners and Gotoh UPTs is only $19.
 
Thanks everyone for chiming in, it kind of verifies my initial impression that some people would be taken with them and others not. As I am no longer a custom builder per se, if they work as expected, I will be installing them on some of my instruments and using other options on others. So ultimately it will be the customer who chooses. For those wanting to know what kind of peg head thickness these will work on, it looks like a max of 5/8” thick. Just finishing up the final details on the ukulele now and should be stringing it up in a few days.
Bradford
 
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