Friction Tuners. -_-

I've already posted about them before, so here's my final question concerning the subject:

How do they hold-up over time? Due to their nature, I would imagine they must require a LOT more maintenance than most geared tuners... eg; tweaking the screws, lubricating the threads, replacing the screws. Since I've played guitar for a long time, I'm most familiar with geared. In fact, I've had some terrible experiences with friction (tuners lol) in the past. I just love the way that they look on a soprano. I've had to constantly tweak the screws to get a set of pegs to hold tune on my Ayers, I eventually just installed some cheap open-geared tuners and never had another problem with tuning. In the price-range of ukuleles that I can afford (with S&H, customs fees, case) it's basically just a Makai or Ohana SK-35G... (Thanks for all of the input to everyone who viewed that thread!)

I personally would LOVE to buy the Ohana, but I could live without the headaches of having friction pegs. I know that they work for some, are quicker to bring up to tune, usually lighter weight, and more aesthetically pleasing, BUT... How do they hold-up over time? Most of them use cheap screws which can easily be stripped, and they require that you adjust them, whereas most geared tuners do not.

Do any friction pegs actually last for the life of the instrument?

Do they need to be replaced after a couple of years?

Sorry for the rant! I'm very interested to find out some info on the subject, thanks guys (and girls)!

P.S. To be more specific, that Ohana model uses (standard series?) Gotoh friction pegs.

i have a banjolele from the 20s and the original tuners work great. they're pretty simple, not much to go wrong. once you have the proper screw tension, good friction tuners should just work. you may need a tweak ever 6 months or so, maybe not.

Thanks for the input! Would you consider the Gotohs that Ohana uses to be "good" guality? Nice youtube vids btw, that banjolele sounds pretty cool!

benmealer said:

i have a banjolele from the 20s and the original tuners work great. they're pretty simple, not much to go wrong. once you have the proper screw tension, good friction tuners should just work. you may need a tweak ever 6 months or so, maybe not.

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the only problem with the vintage ones are the small screw size, and when previous owners use the wrong size screwdriver they can get pretty sloppy. but replacement screws are available at any good [old time] hardware store. so yea, they should last the life of the uke.

The Gotoh friction tuners are really nice. I was a bit skeptical to begin with but having used them to great effect on my Grafton tenor banjo (with much greater string tension) on both ukes I bought I chose friction pegs.
I think they are much easier and quicker to tune with than geared machines once you get the hang of them..and lets face it they look waaaaay cooler!
Peace..
Sheepy

Thanks for the info , maybe I'll give friction tuners another shot for the sake of buying the better ukulele. I've been hearing mixed opinions on the Makai ukuleles. I hate having to limit myself to sopranos that come with geared tuners, and I'm not a fan of changing parts on an uke either.

The cheap plastic friction tuning pegs might give you some trouble in the long run, but the better grade ones hold up fine.

Maybe because my first uke had friction tuners so that is what I learned on I have never had any problems with them and prefer them.

Friction tuners on my pre-war Martin O work perfectly with no maintenance!

Another vote for friction tuners. Never a problem. ever.

I have Gotohs on an old Stromberg Voisinet and they never go out of tune. I expect they're better than any I've used except for Planets.

Thanks for all of the input everyone! I guess they're worth another shot... or I might just wait until July and purchase a Mainland with geared tuners on it. It seems that Mainland is completely sold out at the moment.

Ataraxia said:

Thanks for all of the input everyone! I guess they're worth another shot... or I might just wait until July and purchase a Mainland with geared tuners on it. It seems that Mainland is completely sold out at the moment.

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You might want to reserve one, they will go quick.

hoosierhiver said:

You might want to reserve one, they will go quick.

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Thanks for the heads up!

PhilUSAFRet said:

Friction tuners on my pre-war Martin O work perfectly with no maintenance!

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Wow! That Martin must sound beautiful, I've never played a vintage instrument before. Most of my guitars and ukuleles were manufactured in the 00's. Did you have to do any repairs on the ukulele itself?

Gotoh makes two grades of tuners. I've had problems with at least one uke that had the "standard" tuners ("B" style) but I've got a couple with the premium Gotoh tuners ("A" style) and they're hard to beat. You can tell the difference by the way the "bell' section between the knob and the back of the headstock. On the "B" (standard) style tuners this is a single rounded ring; on the "A" (premium) style tuners it looks like a conical ring over another smaller ring. It's actually just the shape but that's how they look.

BTW, on the uke that had the standard tuners and gave me trouble, I replaced with A style and have been happy ever since. The A style are slightly wider in diameter, so you'll need to use some sandpaper around a pencil or something to widen the holes just a smidgen to avoid cracking the headstock by forcing them in. The difference is only a fraction of a millimeter, but enough to endanger the headstock if you don't open the hole up a bit.

John

That's exactly what I was looking to know, Thanks! So the Ohana 35 series uses the type "B" tuners then. I guess I'm probably better off with another uke then. I've used even the cheapest of open-geared tuners and never had problems with tuning or heaviness at the headstock, they just work and never have to be adjusted. In fact, in all of the time I've played guitar, I've never had to adjust any of my tuners at all. With these...

.. I had to keep adjusting the screws because they were constantly going flat after the first month of having the ukulele. The sad part is that these were the replacements of the original tuners, which seemed to be all plastic. I eventually just installed some open-geared tuners instead. I know that with better quality friction tuners, it doesn't really seem to be an issue... but I don't want to buy an ukulele that needs the tuners replaced almost immediately after. I have no problem with tuning an ukulele with friction pegs, but keeping it in tune is the issue I've had. I sure wish I could get used to them though, I love the aesthetics and traditional feel that they bring to the table. Perhaps I should only play ukuleles with geared tuners until I can afford a "K" brand uke... That way, I won't be disappointed by the quality of the tuners. Thanks!

Ataraxia said:

That's exactly what I was looking to know, Thanks! So the Ohana 35 series uses the type "B" tuners then. I guess I'm probably better off with another uke then. I've used even the cheapest of open-geared tuners and never had problems with tuning or heaviness at the headstock, they just work and never have to be adjusted. In fact, in all of the time I've played guitar, I've never had to adjust any of my tuners at all. With these...

.. I had to keep adjusting the screws because they were constantly going flat after the first month of having the ukulele. The sad part is that these were the replacements of the original tuners, which seemed to be all plastic. I eventually just installed some open-geared tuners instead. I know that with better quality friction tuners, it doesn't really seem to be an issue... but I don't want to buy an ukulele that needs the tuners replaced almost immediately after. I have no problem with tuning an ukulele with friction pegs, but keeping it in tune is the issue I've had. I sure wish I could get used to them though, I love the aesthetics and traditional feel that they bring to the table. Perhaps I should only play ukuleles with geared tuners until I can afford a "K" brand uke... That way, I won't be disappointed by the quality of the tuners. Thanks!

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If your strings were going flat after the first month, could it be that your strings were still stretching? Uke strings stretch forever- or at least it seems that way... Tuning before EVERY play session is a necessity for EVERY uke, k brands or cheapies, and every mid ranged uke out there.

Absolutely, I always tune before playing. I've played guitar for over 7 years and do the same with my steel-string acoustics (although it's far less necessary). The second I swapped them out for geared tuners, the tuning problems disappeared. Also, I always change my strings when necessary and they're usually done settling after only a week or so. It's important to stretch them after stringing the uke up, I don't see why it should take a month for strings to settle. The friction pegs seemed to hold up for about a month before they started slipping and needed constant fine-tuning.

Actually, I'm a bit OCD about tuning, which is why the issue of something requiring maintenance, eg; adjusting the screws, is such a deal breaker for me. I like to spend more time playing and less time tuning up. I also don't like having to carry a screwdriver around in my case for last minute adjustments before gigs. As mentioned, I'm sure it's not such a problem with the tuners on Kamakas or any other expensive ukes.

Thanks for the input!

if you get a ukulele with peg head tuners (or planetary tuners) you should be just fine. i got some on a soprano i recently purchased from here and although the strings were brand new and needed stretching they held very well. it took a while to stretch them out but they hold their tune so well now. and the peg heads are just fun to work with too. i am much more attentive when it comes to the tuners that are on a ukulele now that i feel i have had a set of nice tuners. it really makes a difference