I like my locking tuners but having said that, they won't help if you have a string binding in the nut. I always use the pencil lead in the slots on the nut and have never had a problem with the strings binding.

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OK, I'll hum a little bit, got it now?

come to think of it... none of my guitars have locking tuners... and the standard tuners on my vm work pretty well i guess any after market standard tuner could work on a guitar!!! but my go to guitar for trem use is my marauder... that baby could suffer abuse!!!

this really helped me out for my strat build ^^ all i need is some decent standard tuners and i'll still save some cash

glad the hear its working
the pencil lead should last qhite a while actually.

the graphite particles get worked down into the microscopic fissures in the nut material and fill them in. this creates a ultra slick surface for the string to glide on. depending on how often you play will determine how soon the particles are loosened and pulled out of the nut slot

i takes only a few minutes to loosen the string and rub more in so just keep a mechanical pencil in your guitar case and you will have a lifetime supply

one tip though. when you change your strings clean as much off as you can and re apply. the excess powder will get in every nook and cranny up there and get stuck in exposed wood fibers. especially on maple where the finish has warn off, its just dirty looking.

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for maple as long as its just on the finish a Q tip and rubbing alcohol can get it off fairly easily. sometimes a can of compressed air works very well to.

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