Has anyone put locking tuning pegs on their guitar?

[Budda]

They are if you have vintage style bushings, if not the conversion bushing looks excellent you would hardly tell. Massively better than any other brand version.

This was the plan (want to do my standard and R9). But some folks on another board had issues even with the conversion bushings. For $80cad ish i’ll try it lol.

 

[Andy Eagle]

This was the plan (want to do my standard and R9). But some folks on another board had issues even with the conversion bushings. For $80cad ish i’ll try it lol.

The tuners on the R9 are Gotoh and IME the magnum traditional locking SD90s fit perfectly without swapping the bushings even. No R9 ever needed conversion bushings unless some dick put Grover backlash POS on. If someone did ream the head anything and nothing fits.

 

[Budda]

The tuners on the R9 are Gotoh and IME the magnum traditional locking SD90s fit perfectly without swapping the bushings even. No R9 ever needed conversion bushings unless some dick put Grover backlash POS on. If someone did ream the head anything and nothing fits.

Original tuners on both guitars. I am touching nothing on the 68 reissue lpc

 

[rushfan]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

 

[Shredology]

Well, for me, every guitar I have owned (except acoustics) If the guitar didn't have locking tuners I put them on. It definitely helps but I also believe this may NOT be your issue. But, Can it hurt? Nope, can only make things better.
Just my opinion of course/

This

 

[skolacki]

I put Ratio staggered locking tuners on my MIM Charvel DK-24...

They are a direct drop in replacement for the stock (2-pin) tuners.

I’ve looked at these and it seems like a good concept. I notice on my Strat in particular that the G is very touchy for tuning. It has Fender branded lockers. It seems like a higher ratio would make it easier to tune without jumping back and forth multiple times. I always tune up to keep the backlash out but it overshoots on the G. More so than my other guitars.

Edit: looked at the Ratio’s again. The lowest gear ratio is on the G. I use nut lube but could still have some issues there.

 

[fractalz]

Thomas does some pretty odd things that don't help. The string stretcher wears out pretty quick and IS a cause for kinks in the string if you are not careful . Useless POS actually and you can do a far better job with your fingers.

My fingers can't keep up with the stretcha. I do notice if you go too fast things heat up and I've even melted a groove in a stretcha.

I have never been able to stretch strings to the point of being stable with my fingers, but if you can, great.

The stretcha is particularly helpful with a floating trem. The alternative is a couple hours of things falling out of tune and tedious tuning.

Not sure I'm being helpful at this point so I'll bow out.

 

[ScottyB]

I used the Ratio locking tuners on my Epiphone LP Custom as well. Easy drop in and a great upgrade.

 

[Budda]

I had ratio locking tuners and wasnt a huge fan. Just used to the old ways I guess haha. Put gotohs on and leaving it that way.

 

[marsonic]

I have the hipshot ones with the plate on some of my guitars. I didn't want to drill them. Zero complaints.

That being said...since I used Mike Hickey's technique (he probably didn't invent it; a video where he described it is just where I learned it), I haven't had a tuning issue with normal gibson-esque tuners. I changed them largely for aesthetics (I hate the look of vintage-y klusons) and figured I might as well go for locking if I was going to change them anyway.

Tuning stability, IME, is mostly about nut dressing and whammy bar setup (except I don't own a whammy bar anymore). I also use Big Bends Nut Sauce, but that's almost as much to delay replacing a worn nut as it is to improve stability, at least inside my head. I do strongly prefer Nut Sauce to graphite. Graphite makes a mess. Or I use too much. Whatever.

 

[markwayne]

IMO - Locking tuners are a solution for a problem that shouldn't be that common on a well-strung guitar. Nut binding is far more often the cause of most tuning issues. And yes, as someone pointed out above, Gibson guitars tend to need lots of attention to the nut.

I went through a period of putting locking tuners on my guitars out of habit until I started to notice an impact on tone. Many of my Fender-style guitars didn't respond favorably to the increased mass on the peg head. The resonant frequency of each guitar seemed to move down an octave or more. I have since switched back to Kluson, vintage, slot-head tuners on most of my Fender-style guitars without any increase in tuning problems and somehow the guitars, for lack of a better term, ring with a more focused midrange.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Original tuners on both guitars. I am touching nothing on the 68 reissue lpc

They will fit perfectly.

 

[unix-guy]

I’ve looked at these before. I thought the strings would wear grooves in it pretty quick. I don’t enjoy stretching strings. If you say it’s legit I’ll buy one. The link to Amazon says not available but Reverb and StewMac have them. Looks like cheap knock offs on eBay too.

Thomas does some pretty odd things that don't help. The string stretcher wears out pretty quick and IS a cause for kinks in the string if you are not careful . Useless POS actually and you can do a far better job with your fingers.

Been using one for at least 5 years. Mine has NO wear and has not led to anything but well stretched strings.

I did it old school for 30 years but this is just better from my perspective (for me).

 

[skolacki]

Been using one for at least 5 years. Mine has NO wear and has not led to anything but well stretched strings.

I did it old school for 30 years but this is just better from my perspective (for me).

Mixed reviews on these. eBay knockoffs are under $5 shipped. Maybe the same as the Stretcha maybe not. They look the same anyhow. So I’ll buy one and see for myself. $5, why not.

 

[unix-guy]

Useless POS actually and you can do a far better job with your fingers.

I typically defer to your advice on luthiery items but I vehemently disagree with this one. I'm pretty sure we've had this discussion before

I get that you don't like it but that doesn't mean it's a POS. It's a useful tool that has served me well.

Curious if you actually used the Stretcha brand of one of the knockoffs?

 

[unix-guy]

Mixed reviews on these. eBay knockoffs are under $5 shipped. Maybe the same as the Stretcha maybe not. They look the same anyhow. So I’ll buy one and see for myself. $5, why not.

I'd suggest buying the Stretcha brand. It's only a few bucks more...

 

[Andy Eagle]

I typically defer to your advice on luthiery items but I vehemently disagree with this one. I'm pretty sure we've had this discussion before

I get that you don't like it but that doesn't mean it's a POS. It's a useful tool that has served me well.

Curious if you actually used the Stretcha brand of one of the knockoffs?

How many strings do you change because I tried it for a while and decided it was a POS. I can fit a LOT of strings in a week though.

 

[unix-guy]

How many strings do you change because I tried it for a while and decided it was a POS. I can fit a LOT of strings in a week though.

I'm sure nowhere near as many as you Probably 15-20 re-strings per year...

As I've said, it works great for me and I've had zero problems. It stretches strings consistently faster than I can do by hand and that's a win in my book.

Maybe for a pro it's not as great but most guys on here aren't pros and I think can benefit from using it.

Did you use the Stretcha brand?

 

[mr_fender]

On a Gibson or Epiphone, odds are it's the nut binding. D and G string tuning issues are quite normal there. There's a metric crap-ton of friction in the nut due to the extreme headstock angle and string splay of those inner strings. If the nut's not cut just right, there's a really good chance it will bind. Lube definitely helps (that's what she said...).

The amount of slide through the string slot depends on the length of the string beyond the slot. With the Gibson 3x3 setup, the longest strings are also the ones with the most nut friction. The high and low E's are usually ok since they are short and nearly straight pull.

 

[Dave Merrill]

I’ve looked at these and it seems like a good concept. I notice on my Strat in particular that the G is very touchy for tuning. It has Fender branded lockers. It seems like a higher ratio would make it easier to tune without jumping back and forth multiple times. I always tune up to keep the backlash out but it overshoots on the G. More so than my other guitars.

Edit: looked at the Ratio’s again. The lowest gear ratio is on the G. I use nut lube but could still have some issues there.

Totally agree about touchiness trying to fine tune. Why is it like this?

Never investigated Ratio tuners, but for years I've wondered why tuners don't always have higher gear ratios than they do, to avoid the lack of precision.

What would the downside be?