Graphtech ratio tuners

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Hi! I'm thinking of intall those tune-a-lele tuners on my soprano. Have anyone tried it? How is it work?
 
I’ve got an Aklot tenor 5 string that I’m thinking the same. Most reports are good. They are not as nice as Gotoh but then much less expensive and very light. I’ve tried two local stores and they are always sold out. I guess I will order on line. For the cost, weight and given reports on this forum are they work fine……..it’s likely worth the cost. Let us know how you do on conversion and I will post my experience as soon as I get them! Good luc
Note: I did replace the crappy friction tuners on my tenor Fluke and now it’s a much better tuning instrument. So, this should be OK. From what I’ve read, I will need to fill the existing hole with a dowel and redrill. Existing hole is pretty big but I will also save a huge amount of weight on an already neck heavy head stock!
 
I had a set of Graphtech ratio tuners on a Kala Elite Custom T and three of the tuners failed within a month—spun freely. I also saw them fail on another Kala Elite on the wall at HMS! That was way back in 2020 so maybe they improved quality control and/or design since then. While they worked, they were very smooth, smoother than the Gotoh Planetary tuners I replaced them with. The Graphtech ratio tuners are the least handsome tuners I have owned...
 
I had a set on a Fluke tenor. They worked very well for me, but I never liked the feel of the Fluke so I sold it.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 36)

Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
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I never tried the Graphtech tuners, but given that MyaMoe has them as an option, I am surprised about the bad experiences people have.
The only planetary tuners I have tried are the pegheds on my fluke. Having tried those 4:1 tuners, 6:1 Graphtech sounds like they should be smoother.
 
Like plastic frets, I can't help but think that they will wear faster than the equivalent metal planetary-geared tuners. And, as previously stated, they look cheap. Not something I want on an expensive instrument. (I dislike the black plastic buttons on the open geared tuners on my Kanile'a K-1Ts. They have very prominent mold seams.)

I play all of my tenor ukuleles with a strap. So a few extra ounces of weight in the tuners is not important. But I can see how it might be for sopranos and concerts without a strap.
 
Agreed Graphtech tuners should not be on a higher end instrument. I’m sure I would not even want them on my Pono AT. I’d go the extra mile for Gotoh if I wasn’t happy with the Grover/DeJung open tuners. But I am happy with Open back.

I do think that they are a great innovation for lower end instruments……..like the Aklot five string I gambled on.

I do like my pegheds on my Fluke. To me it wasn’t playable with friction……too much hassle……to tune.

So, there is a place but would it not be cool to have Graphtech do a metal version. Perhaps not use so many set screws to ho,d tuner in place.

Anyways, I’m having trouble getting supply of Graphtech for five string. When I do, I think I will pull the trigger. Current guitar tuners are 22.5 oz and the graphtech are 5 oz.. nuff said on that.
 
I like these tuners quite a bit. I had them installed on my custom soprano because I like how they look. They have a sort of vintage vibe to them in my opinion since they don't have any metal. They're also extremely light weight, probably the lightest tuners I've used. That said, they certainly aren't on par with Gotoh planetary tuners in terms of quality. Tuning with the ratio tuners isn't quite as smooth but still way easier than friction tuners. As mentioned above, they've had a tendency to break in the past but I believe Graphtech have made some improvements on that front. I had one on my soprano that rattled but of course it was easily just replaced which isn't a big deal since they're fairly inexpensive. I probably wouldn't install them on a tenor or larger uke, however, because of the increased tension. They should be fine on a soprano.
 
I like these tuners quite a bit. I had them installed on my custom soprano because I like how they look. They have a sort of vintage vibe to them in my opinion since they don't have any metal. They're also extremely light weight, probably the lightest tuners I've used. That said, they certainly aren't on par with Gotoh planetary tuners in terms of quality. Tuning with the ratio tuners isn't quite as smooth but still way easier than friction tuners. As mentioned above, they've had a tendency to break in the past but I believe Graphtech have made some improvements on that front. I had one on my soprano that rattled but of course it was easily just replaced which isn't a big deal since they're fairly inexpensive. I probably wouldn't install them on a tenor or larger uke, however, because of the increased tension. They should be fine on a soprano.

I agree with everything Dohle said, except I haven't had any problems with the Ratios on two different ukes. They help a light ukulele seem even lighter and I like the 6:1 ratio a little better than the 4:1 on the smoother and higher quality Gotoh planetary. When turning them, there's a little bit of a tight feeling for an instant and then it smooths out very nicely.
 
I've used them on several sopranos that I've built and have been very pleased with them. Absolutely no complaints. I haven't noticed any difference in tension when tuning, nor have I experienced any slipping.
Mike
 
Hi! I'm thinking of intall those tune-a-lele tuners on my soprano. Have anyone tried it? How is it work?

I installed one set, and the tightness varies from tuner to tuner. I have another set that I haven't installed. There were reports of breaking early on.
 
I never tried the Graphtech tuners, but given that MyaMoe has them as an option, I am surprised about the bad experiences people have.
The only planetary tuners I have tried are the pegheds on my fluke. Having tried those 4:1 tuners, 6:1 Graphtech sounds like they should be smoother.

There was a report that Graphtech was going to design tuners for upscale ukes. I certainly wouldn't want those cheap ones on a M-M. You can't beat that $30 price, though.

EDIT: Nothing new here. - https://graphtech.com/pages/makeukesing
 
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they might be more popular if the holes were consistent with another tuner baseplate...pick one. and weren't so ugly, but that's another thing. I'd try em out, but retrofitting my ukes would require filling and drilling.

kala uses them on some models now, don't know whether that is a testament to their cost or usability/durability (I've gotten numerous individual and full set replacements free from kala because their stock tuners on lower end models are garbage)
 
Agreed. Standardizing on the Grover open gear 9b hole spacing would be great.

As much as I like the Graphtech tuners, I really have to agree with this one. In general, the fact that the tuners need screwing is probably their biggest disadvantage in my opinion. I just don't like screw holes on the back of the headstock.
 
Do you think I can install them without using a drill? Just pushing the screw with the screwdriver maybe?
 
Do you think I can install them without using a drill? Just pushing the screw with the screwdriver maybe?

The screws are so tiny that a drill would be useless. Just poke a hole in the wood with an awl or something similar. If you don't make a large enough hole, you'll probably strip the head of the screw trying to tighten it. If the screw gets too tight before it's all the way in, back it out and make the hole larger.
 
Agreed with a bunch of comments above:
1. Ditch the small screws……eliminate if possible or space to Grover open back. I like set pin and no screws at all.
2. Have a couple of bushing for peg head holes so you done need to fill and drill. My Aklot Five string is 10mm hole and these use 8mm so Graphtech said I needed to fill with dowel and drill. Not crazy hard but….
3. I like idea of re imagined low end set up and higher end set to compete with peghed and Gotoh. My Aklot is worthy of the $30 set but a few Pono’s and my custom are not. They are Gotoh or nothing. All currently have nice Grover open back so not all that interested in changing.

There has to be a huge market for planetary tuners. Also, I’m not sure why all the lower end ukes don’t just put on the graphtech
 
There has to be a huge market for planetary tuners. Also, I'm not sure why all the lower end ukes don’t just put on the graphtech

My guess is that those cheap and nasty open geared tuners - and even some of the nicer ones that are still unbranded - are so heavily mass-produced that it's always cheaper to use those compared to anything Graphtech produces. The cost of those cheap geared tuners must be less than a dollar a pop for manufacturers so I don't expect to see these ratio tuners on cheap or even lower mid-range ukes any time soon.
 
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You are correct. The open gear knock offs gotta bet dirt cheap. Still it would be nice to see economy of scale take over on am improved Graphtech as noted in people’s comments. Some of the real cheap open geared have the staggered screws. I’d like to see all be compatible with Grover hole alignments
!
 
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