Graph Tech Ratio Tuners

I have to correct myself, I was wrong about the measurements of the Ratio Tele-uke tuners, the spool is 23.75mm/.935" long, which will just fit a Fluke. Looking forward to getting a set.

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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: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

I have to correct myself, I was wrong about the measurements of the Ratio Tele-uke tuners, the spool is 23.75mm/.935" long, which will just fit a Fluke. Looking forward to getting a set.

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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: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

Does anyone know whether these tuners have been redesigned and are available for sale?

I have a cheap banjo uke with defective tuners. The retail price is the most I want to spend.

Will these tuners work in the larger hole size of sealed tuners? It looks like the footprint might cover the screw hole on the back of the headstock. Does anyone know whether this is so?

rrieth said:

Does anyone know whether these tuners have been redesigned and are available for sale?

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I don't see anything new on the website, but you might want to check with a dealer in your area (if there is one) or contact the company.

http://www.graphtech.com/where-to-buy/dealer-locations

A few weeks ago I received a PM from Graph Tech if I would evaluate a set of the Ratio Tune-a-lele tuners. I just received them a couple of days ago and installed them on my Fluke.

The good; they're solid, very strong and well designed. The gearing works very well, and feel much better then the Grovers that came with the Fluke. There's no play what-so-ever in the mechanism, tuning is precise. Of the four, two where slightly tighter to turn, but also much better than the Grovers that needed to be tightened so much to prevent back slip, they were difficult to turn. The black finish is very nice, I have no problem with the little indents on the knobs, which I think are there to add grip. The indent markings around the collar don't bother me at all either. Both are hardly noticeable.

The not so good; I had to drill out the holes to fit the Ratios, and that needs to be precise so that the ferules will be snug. My first attempt was slightly too large so I had to wrap the ferule with a little tape to keep it in place. Also, because the Fluke has a slot head and the friction tuners come in from the side, the collar of the Ratios hang over the edges slightly, but has no affect on the sound. They also have two small screws to secure them, which might be a deterrent for people replacing friction tuners that don't have screws.

In my opinion, there is no bad, and I know what the naysayers think, but my attitude is don't nock 'em 'til you try 'em. I would definitely recommend the Graph Tech Ratio Tune-a-lele tuners, not only are they very well made and work great, they're only $30 a set when they come available, according to Graph Tech.

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This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

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

kohanmike said:

A few weeks ago I received a PM from Graph Tech if I would evaluate a set of the Ratio Tune-a-lele tuners. I just received them a couple of days ago and installed them on my Fluke.

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This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

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

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Thanks for that. I'll buy them as soon as they become available.

I wrote then a while ago and was asked to be patient, which I am. However are these getting near the market now? I have a soprano that needs a set.

Do the screws line up with, say, Grover geared tuners?

Hey Mike, what's the width of those tuners, in mm? I just checked my Flea headstock, and the thickness appears to be tapered, about 15mm thick at the the lower G and A holes, and 13.5 mm at the upper C and E holes. I assume the tuners overlap the edge more on the upper 2 tuners? Too bad they couldn't make em 13mm wide, for no overlap on MF instruments. Maybe something to mention to them, if they are looking for feedback. There's a lot of Fleas & Flukes out there, a slimmer-width version would be nice, but I guess you can't please everyone. I know that an overlap would bug me, YMMV.

Ziret said:

Do the screws line up with, say, Grover geared tuners?

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I'm not sure.

Ukecaster said:

Hey Mike, what's the width of those tuners, in mm?

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I don't have a problem with the slight overlap.

Here are the measurements sent to me by Graph Tech.

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This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

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

Ziret said:

Do the screws line up with, say, Grover geared tuners?

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Need to know this myself.

The screw holes with these tuners do not line up with Grover open geared tuners. The post is centered on the Graph Tech tuners and the posts on the Grovers are offset to one end.

Thanks. I'll stick with the Grovers then.

BuzzBD said:

The screw holes with these tuners do not line up with Grover open geared tuners. The post is centered on the Graph Tech tuners and the posts on the Grovers are offset to one end.

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I contacted Graph tech and asked to purchase a set. They will sell me the beta edition, without fancy wrapping and I have asked for two sets. I am excited!

That is good news, I will try and get some too.

Wouldn't it be easy enough to sand down the sides of those plastic mounting plates to make them even with the headstock of the Fluke?

Jerryc41 said:

Wouldn't it be easy enough to sand down the sides of those plastic mounting plates to make them even with the headstock of the Fluke?

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The Ratio tuner width is 17.75 mm, from the diagram above. My Flea headstock is 13.5 mm thick at the upper tuner posts, so you'd need to take off about 2 mm on each side of the tuners there, to make them flush. To me, it doesn't look like there's enough room on the tuners for that.

If I really wanted geared on a Flea or Fluke, and didn't want to spend on Pegheads or UPTs, I'd probably get a set of Gotoh 9B for $15-20, and file off the decorative metal points on the sides. Thankfully, the stock frictions on my Flea seems to work fine, not requiring much adjustment at all, once the strings have settled in.

extra nr

frianm said:

I contacted Graph tech and asked to purchase a set. They will sell me the beta edition, without fancy wrapping and I have asked for two sets. I am excited!

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They are on their way, which makes me excited. I shall fit them to a Luna tenor and an old Gretsch Camp ukulele that I received partially stripped and a work in progress.

Ziret said:

Thanks. I'll stick with the Grovers then.

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If you have stock Grovers and want to upgrade, I can recommend the 4s or 6s. It's possible you may have to file open the post hole ever so slightly to slip them in, but the result is worth it. They're still 1:1 ratios, but the silicon sleeve on the peg makes tuning much less of a crapshoot.

The two sets of tuners arrived yesterday and I have one set fitted to a rescue of a 1920s Gretsch Camp uke. I like these tuners - I am used to the Gotoh upt ones and these at half the price are great. Aesthetically they are not quite so attractive and on this old headstock they are rather close to the edge on one side. As this was a rescue and not an attempt to return the instrument to its original state, I am very happy.
In the FWIW category take a look at the last photo. The wood for the neck was hugely flawed, filled and painted over - clearly I prefer to let it all be seen! This was produced as a cheap ukulele, for travel and camp use. It is not in tune with itself and the strings, are over towards one side of the neck. The strap button was not inline with anything as the rear block is off center. I did remove the neck and reset it as it was loose already. The finish is Tru Oil and buffed with 0000 steel wool to remove some of the shine.
My next project is to put the other set on a Luna tenor.