Not all friction pegs are equal

silveraven · Mar 30, 2014

The Big Kahuna said:
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.

Hey Niq, I found this thread from ages ago when I was thinking of swapping out the tuners on my Luna Honu too. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?50614-Luna-Honu-Tribal-Turtle-earectomy

Haven't got around to actually switching to friction tuners because I haven't found a luthier/technician I can trust in my area. :-/

The Big Kahuna · Mar 30, 2014

Brilliant, thanks for that

The Big Kahuna · Mar 30, 2014

Looks like a tiny bit of countersinking is required for the taper. I've got a countersink drill bit and also a cone-drill:

Should do the trick if I tape the head with gaffa tape first. It's not as if it's a £ 1,000 uke

guitarsnrotts · Apr 13, 2014

Tried retro-fitting a number of cheapo ukes with upgraded friction tuners. A best buy IMO are the Grover 4's either W - for White buttons or B - for black. Also used them to replace some old tuners on an early 70s Kamaka. By using SS flat washers rather than the bushings I was able to swap out the old tuners without having to do any drilling of the headstock.

Tootler · Apr 13, 2014

Interesting review, Baz. I suspect you could replace the washers on those cheapo tuners for a few pence from a good DIY shop and make them tolerable but they'll probably never be better than that.

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.

I find the same. Even the cheap ones on my £15 Lidle soprano work OK. The important thing is to adjust them correctly. I suspect many people who complain about friction tuners don't realise you need to adjust them or how to do it.

Planetary ones feel odd, IMO, because they still work on friction but the gearing means you need to turn them more ( they also need less friction to hold them). I have planetary tuners on my banjo uke and they're very good but I'm still not used to how much I need to turn them to bring the string into tune.

bnolsen · Apr 13, 2014

guitarsnrotts said:
Tried retro-fitting a number of cheapo ukes with upgraded friction tuners. A best buy IMO are the Grover 4's either W - for White buttons or B - for black. Also used them to replace some old tuners on an early 70s Kamaka. By using SS flat washers rather than the bushings I was able to swap out the old tuners without having to do any drilling of the headstock.

Is there any difference with using the washers as compared to the bushings? I recently replaced the tuners on my fluke with 4b's which was a tight fit but the tuners work well. If anything these tuners are too good in that I don't actually know when they are turning or not. The old tuners had these little "skips" in them so I could more easily zero in faster. I have a similar complaint with the tuners on my martin oxk...they're too smooth!

bazmaz · Apr 14, 2014

Tootler said:
I find the same. Even the cheap ones on my £15 Lidle soprano work OK. The important thing is to adjust them correctly. I suspect many people who complain about friction tuners don't realise you need to adjust them or how to do it.
QUOTE]

Sorry - disagree - for only a few quid, the difference between somehting decent like Grover 4's is night and day - why put up with tuners that grip and stick? I even swapped out the stock Grovers on my Flea and Fluke for that reason. Plus its a very easy change.

bazmaz · Apr 14, 2014

bnolsen said:
Is there any difference with using the washers as compared to the bushings? I recently replaced the tuners on my fluke with 4b's which was a tight fit but the tuners work well. If anything these tuners are too good in that I don't actually know when they are turning or not. The old tuners had these little "skips" in them so I could more easily zero in faster. I have a similar complaint with the tuners on my martin oxk...they're too smooth!

Dont get the 'too smooth' thing personally - that Is just what I want - the smoothness of gears coupled with a more direct turning action, lighter weight and better looks on smaller headstocks.

With the 4B's - there are a ton of parts inside that make for the smoothness - it's not just a case of them using a different washer.

Kayouker · Apr 18, 2014

bazmaz said:
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.

The truth revealed.

Kayouker · Apr 18, 2014

bazmaz said:
Sorry - disagree - for only a few quid, the difference between somehting decent like Grover 4's is night and day - why put up with tuners that grip and stick? I even swapped out the stock Grovers on my Flea and Fluke for that reason. Plus its a very easy change.

More truth revealed, lol...

strumsilly · Apr 18, 2014

I love the friction on my Koaloha, hate the ones on my '56 martin, they are the grovers with the fiber washers. they have to be really tight to hold, and then they are a pain to dial in.Grovver even sent me new washers, and they still are fiddly. I know this is blasphamy, but I am in the process of putting grover geared on. the uke is a great player , but has been refinished and the logo even sanded off. so it's not a collector anyway. maybe it has something to do with the headstock being thinner.

Down Up Dick · May 18, 2014

I had some questions, but I watched the video and can see that my very old and cheap tuners are my problem. I'll look into some better ones. I have to tighten mine very tight, and they still loosen. This old pineapple Uke had wooden pegs in it, but serious things happened to it in my absence, and, when I got it back, it only had one or two left so I bought new (cheap) ones. This was in 1963! They worked ok for a long time, though it was mostly a wall hanger. I'd like to use wooden pegs again, but I have no idea where to find 'em. I don't imagine they'd hold very well anyway. Mostly, the Uke is just for looks, but I play it once in awhile. Thanks for the video.

DazW · May 18, 2014

I also love friction pegs and have in the past bought a few ukes online showing pictures with friction pegs, but arriving with geared tuners. Kamoa soprano, Kala SMHS to name a couple. I also nearly bought a spruce top Ohana recently until I noticed it said in the small print that the uke now has geared tuners. Its usually suggested that this is a good thing and considered an upgrade by some stores. I agree frictions are a little fiddly if theyre new to you, but they do look much better on a soprano in my opinion

Not all friction pegs are equal

silveraven

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The Big Kahuna

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The Big Kahuna

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guitarsnrotts

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Tootler

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bnolsen

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bazmaz

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bazmaz

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Kayouker

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strumsilly

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Down Up Dick

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