Gotoh UPT Knockoffs

[Michael Smith]

Has anyone tried the knockoffs of the Gotoh UPT tuners out of Taiwan?

 

[John Colter]

I bought some planetary geared tuners from Eagle Music Shop in the UK. They cost £63 for two sets - i.e. 8 tuning pegs. I don't know where they were made but these are probably the ones you mean.

I fitted one set to a soprano and they are easy to fit (a straight 10mm hole). They work smoothly, hold tune tune perfectly and the extra weight is not noticeable to me on a soprano.

I would recommend them.

 

[Timbuck]

I just received a couple of sets ....They look ok to me....These need a 3/8"hole...or is it 10mm .

 

[John Colter]

Near as dammit...

 

[mikelz777]

I haven't heard there were UPT knockoffs. What name do they go by and where does one find them?

 

[Jerryc41]

Has anyone tried the knockoffs of the Gotoh UPT tuners out of Taiwan?

I have seen other brands of planetary tuners. Look on eBay.

planetary tuners for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for planetary tuners at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

 

[badhabits]

I these are the one in question, supposedly der jung (sp?)?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/222744249378

Had no idea grover made them either (albeit long, for banjo).

 

[EDW]

The ones I have seen are often under the brand name DerJung. You see them on some of the Millar ukes like the Phil Doleman model. From all accounts, they are decent tuners.

I have not seen any US distributors of these and they are often sold on various sites (ebay, Amazon, Reverb, etc) as coming from Taiwan. While you can save on the cost of the tuners, usually the shipping cost that is listed pretty much negates the savings.

 

[pondweed]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225614792491
so these then?

 

[John Colter]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225614792491
so these then?

That looks exactly like the ones I bought - they're very good.

 

[Contrails]

You can find them on aliexpress. I bought a set but have yet to use them. I have a Pono Soprano that was made in the early years from the factory in china and those tuners aren’t that good so am planning to swap them out.

 

[Moore Bettah Ukuleles]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225614792491
so these then?

I understand the Gotohs come in two different lengths, UPTL (long) and UPT (short) so keep that in mind when you order this type of tuner. I use UPTLs for my headstocks with a 12mm thickness.
‘BTW, like the caveat on their page:
”Please note. Due to the estimated tool might slightly different. The estimated result will have reasonable errors”

 

[Wildestcat]

As John says, Der Jung planetary ukulele tuners are excellent quality machines. You don't have to pick them up from eBay or Taiwan - they are available from Eagle Music in the UK under their "Leader Banjo Co" brand, or from Edgar at Magic Guitar Parts in Germany, whose international shipping service is excellent. I'm not convinced by the "Gotoh knockoff" description as the DJs are appreciably bigger, with a fatter body and larger button. I had to modify my tapered headstock design slightly to allow for the buttons! I drill a 9.5 mm mounting hole with a high quality bit. The anti-rotation pin is also larger diameter than the Gotoh and needs a pilot hole drilling, which can be a little tricky so close to the mounting hole.
Maximum headstock thickness is 11mm.

DJ128C-UB Planetary Ukulele Tuner - DEJUNG ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.

Head Type Planetary Ukulele Tuner Finishes Chrome, Gold Gear Ratio 1:4 String Post Standard Weight 14 g / pc E.G.

global-derjung.com

 

[don_b]

I have long been interested in the idea of eliminating the “ears” on my supa wow and replacing them with Gotoh UPT but have balked at the cost. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Pegasus Guitars]

For what it's worth,for those selling ukes, Gotoh tuners are pretty well respected. If you are trying to sell a quality product, paying a few more dollars for a known quality product, may be worth it from a sales point of view. You never have to be concerned about whether the product will or will not be good enough.

 

[Michael Smith]

Probably should not have used the word knockoff. Change that to similar. It's a good point about spending a couple grand on a custom instrument, you want the best hardware. The Gotohs have gotten pretty pricey. Minimum order directly from the Japanese distributer was around $3000. I would have done it but the paperwork became onerous.

 

[Pegasus Guitars]

Yep, when you get into the thousands, $20 or $30 dollars more for tuners loses relevance. When you do your estimate for the build cost, you can just figure the small change into price if you think you need to. I'm pretty sure that anyone who pays a lot for a custom uke is never going to say use the cheaper tuners to save $30.00!

 

[UkeStuff]

You can find them on aliexpress. I bought a set but have yet to use them. I have a Pono Soprano that was made in the early years from the factory in china and those tuners aren’t that good so am planning to swap them out.

Do you have a link? UPT and Ukulele Planetary Tuners are not generating any results on AliExpress.

 

[Contrails]

Do you have a link? UPT and Ukulele Planetary Tuners are not generating any results on AliExpress.

I hope this link works as I bought it through their app

| Ukulele black and silver upright quasi-button string button Ukulele accessories winder instrument accessories

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMMhOI2

 

[Ukecaster]

I hope this link works as I bought it through their app

| Ukulele black and silver upright quasi-button string button Ukulele accessories winder instrument accessories

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMMhOI2

$31.06 + $4.79 shipping is about half the usual $70.00+ UPT price tag