Not all friction pegs are equal

bazmaz

bazmaz

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Hi bazmaz I have quite a few ukes with standard tuning keys, two weeks ago I bought a koaloha kcm and I had a slight worry about friction pegs but after couple days use dont know why I was concerned l love em to bits.
Steve.
 
Only poor quality, sometimes improperly adjusted friction tuners are difficult to use
 
For that matter, not all geared tuners are created equal. I've encountered some geared tuners (both open and sealed types) that were absolute rubbish.

My preference is for geared tuners over friction, but as long as any tuner turns smoothly and holds tune, I got no problem.
 
Five Ways said:
Hi bazmaz I have quite a few ukes with standard tuning keys, two weeks ago I bought a koaloha kcm and I had a slight worry about friction pegs but after couple days use dont know why I was concerned l love em to bits.
Steve.
Click to expand...

Same new uke, same experience here. Now I'm in the market for another soprano and am looking for one specifically with friction not geared tuners.
 
Steve - the ones on Koalohas are sublime in my opinion - as far as I can tell - exactly like the better quality pegs in this video.

It's just sad that bad frictions pervade.

Had a new uke in today for test. Ultra cheap frictions, three of which were sticky to use. The fourth was so sticky I turned it and sheared the inside of the button so the button turns but not the post.....

Thankfully, I have a bag of parts, and swapped them all out for something better.
 
Barry, that video is absolutely essential watching for all ukulele owners.

As you may recall, like you, I, too, love friction pegs. Frankly, although I have one uke with UPT Gotoh planetaries, they feel a tad "unstable" compared to friction tuners--not in the tuning, but the feel of the knob, hard to explain, but I know you know--and I can adjust UPTs slightly with the screw, but only so much, and -- bottom line--I prefer friction pegs of quality.

The Gotoh Deluxe, like on a Kiwaya, are heaven on earth (and better than even modern and vintage Martin pegs, by far).

I have never had an issue with KoOlaha pegs (also used by M Pereira and other luthiers), either.

Thanks for showing the ins and outs of friction tuners.
 
i like friction tuners better tbh. i got a pono and was nervous and annoyed at first but now its something i enjoy
 
Friction tuners work fine even the cheap ones. My wife's concert has the cheapest tuners there are and they work great ,no problems . I think if they are adjusted correctly even the cheap ones work well. The cheap tuners I'm talking about are the black ones in the video , except they are white.
 
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Pukulele Pete said:
Friction tuners work fine even the cheap ones. My wife's concert has the cheapest tuners there are and they work great ,no problems . I think if they are adjusted correctly even the cheap ones work well. The cheap tuners I'm talking about are the black ones in the video , except they are white.
Click to expand...

Someone always has to make it a color issue! ;)
 
Just had a genuine email about the video - someone claiming I don't know what I am talking about and the cheapest pegs in the video are just fine 'if you know what you are doing'.


<shakes head>
 
Do you feel that there is a big difference between say $19.95 tuners from Mainland and $50 Goto deluxe?
 
huge difference Henry - the cheaper ones like the Mainlands use about 5 parts, and the friction is plastic on plastic. The better quality ones add in all sorts of washers and sleeves that make them turn like butter. The Mainlands are a small stup up from the the middle pegs in the video I posted.
 
What is your feeling about friction pegs that are just that, friction PEGS. I see a lot of what appear to be very nice ukes with pegs that are just carved wood (possibly ebony) pushed into holes with only one moving part, the peg itself. Is it possible to make ukes with those kind of tuners in such a way that they work smoothly?
 
Yeah I know some people who use them - essentially traditional violin pegs. Not used them myself, but I think for them to work well its all about a match in the taper of the peg and the hole they are fitted to.
 
Thank you for this thread, Baz. Reading this dispelled a lot of my fears about the frictions on the Gretsch G9112 resonator ukulele. I've just adopted one, and those friction tuners are a dream to use. (They're the Grover ones.)
 
Ignore me :)
 
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Out of interest, Baz, if I wanted to change the geared tuners on my Luna Honu soprano for friction tuners, what should I go for, and where should I get them from over here? Mrs Kahuna would like to learn, but the tuners are junk. I have a brand new set of Ko'olau Gold strings (thanks Andrew) which I don't want to put on until the tuners are changed.
 
Thanks - that's a very informative video. It does make me wonder. I've got a Vita Uke with tuners that are at least 70 years old, and they still work smooth as butter. I'd be shocked if they have plastic parts inside because plastic deteriorates. In fact, the higher end tuners were kind of scary to me because they rely so fundamentally on plastic.
 
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