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Post subject: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 7:35 pm
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I have a question and would appreciate your opinions. I have almost always been "a if it's not broke don't fix it" guy. I have a 2012 American Standard with the Custom Shop pickups in Mystic Red with a Maple Fret Board that I really Love. the tuners hold their tune very well but I was wondering if adding Locking Tuners would be worth the while. She only weighs 7.3lbs and feels perfect in my hands so do I add the extra weight and would it make it neck heavy. Everything is working great as is but I do lie the convenience of having Locking Tuners for String Changes or leave a perfectly fine guitar just as it is. I kind of feel like leaving well enough alone but is it worth the convince? Thanks for your advise, it's appreciated, Stevens


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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:05 pm
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Leave it alone. It takes a little longer, but stretch and seat the strings when you change them.


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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:17 pm
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Thanks for your opinion, it stays in tune fine and the neck is perfect so why add more weight? I guess it was a stupid question and it is true-"If it's not broke don't fix it"


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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 11:57 pm
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Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve tone and improve it in the direction of your choosing..
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve playability for your style of play.
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve reliability over the long haul.
Make mods to improve on something presently unacceptable to you about the appearance of the guitar.

Don't make a mod if it fails to accomplish one of those things mentioned above.

(my rule of thumb)

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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 12:22 am
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My American Deluxe Strat came with locking tuners, and my experience of using them led to me changing out the tuners on my Mexican Strat for locking ones.

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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 1:40 am
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So there you are, Stevens - 2 opposite opinions and 1 in the middle!!!

One thing, though - you won't notice any difference in weight/neck-heaviness. And if you fit the 'F' logo'd lockers (as per the Deluxe), they drop straight in, and can be removed as easily if you change your mind.

Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 2:51 am
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Peter S wrote:
One thing, though - you won't notice any difference in weight/neck-heaviness. And if you fit the 'F' logo'd lockers (as per the Deluxe), they drop straight in, and can be removed as easily if you change your mind.

Cheers - Peter.


It took about 15 minutes start to finish to remove strings, remove the original tuners, fit the replacement locking ones and restring and tune up on my Mexican Strat.
Restringing is a bit less of a chore with the locking tuners.

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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 4:37 am
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Quote:
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve tone and improve it in the direction of your choosing..
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve playability for your style of play.
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve reliability over the long haul.
Make mods to improve on something presently unacceptable to you about the appearance of the guitar.

Don't make a mod if it fails to accomplish one of those things mentioned above.

(my rule of thumb)
And a darn good rule it is. I agree 100%.

Had a Hwy. 1 I got from a guy on Craigslist. He had Fender Locking Tuners on it...but also gave me the original tuners in the Locking Tuner box. I hated the looks of the Locking Tuners, so I swapped them back out. Held it's tune just fine.
Sold the guitar...but still have the Locking Tuners. They will sit in the box until I find a use for them (maybe on my Bullet project guitar) or until I die, and burden my family with them.

If the guitar stays in tune...why mess with it? I may be weird...but I actually enjoy changing strings (except with a Bigsby bridge---what a pain).


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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 12:08 pm
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stratmangler wrote:
My American Deluxe Strat came with locking tuners, and my experience of using them led to me changing out the tuners on my Mexican Strat for locking ones.
Ditto.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the the stock Strat tuners. In my experience the only advantage of locking tuners over standard ones is that they allow me to change strings much more quickly and effortlessly.

HTH

Cheers!
BM

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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 12:11 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve tone and improve it in the direction of your choosing..
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve playability for your style of play.
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve reliability over the long haul.
Make mods to improve on something presently unacceptable to you about the appearance of the guitar.

Don't make a mod if it fails to accomplish one of those things mentioned above.



(my rule of thumb)
Great list, BMW-KTM. I would add one more entry to allow mods for aesthetic reasons which may have absolutely nothing to do with improving tone or playability.

Cheers!
BM

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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 4:43 pm
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Bluer Monkey wrote:
BMW-KTM wrote:
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve tone and improve it in the direction of your choosing..
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve playability for your style of play.
Make mods when they are guaranteed to improve reliability over the long haul.
Make mods to improve on something presently unacceptable to you about the appearance of the guitar.

Don't make a mod if it fails to accomplish one of those things mentioned above.



(my rule of thumb)
Great list, BMW-KTM. I would add one more entry to allow mods for aesthetic reasons which may have absolutely nothing to do with improving tone or playability.

Cheers!
BM


All very solid advice.

I don't like the concept of locking tuners. If I want to tweak the tuning I want to tweak the tuning not unlock it first and then remember to relock it.

As a life long wielder of screwdrivers, and other tools of mass destruction, there is always the adage "If it ain't broke, fix it 'till it is." :roll:

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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 9:33 pm
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The biggest advantage
Quote:
fast string changes
and disadvantage
Quote:
If I want to tweak the tuning. drop D,G or whatever alternate scale restringing may be required
have been made. As far as weight goes the locking tuners are about 1/2 an ounce heavier.

Alternative methods of use can be used as well with locking tuners to allow for mid set tuning changes if you don't have a few guitars at your disposal; lock the tail and wrap as you would a regular tuner to allow for alternate tunings or until you realize you generally always play in E flat or whatever. Most people change to locking tuners to prevent slippage and create a more stable tuning platform while making string changes faster. Some people alter winding methods, that works to.

In the end its your rig.


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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 3:26 am
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John Sims wrote:
I don't like the concept of locking tuners. If I want to tweak the tuning I want to tweak the tuning not unlock it first and then remember to relock it


If I want to tweak the tuning I tweak the tuning.
I don't have to unlock anything. It's not like we're discussing something like a Floyd Rose setup.

I take hold of the tuner button and rotate it, just like I do with non locking tuners.
The locking bit of the tuner is the string in the string post, that's all.
The advantage is that you lose most of the string slack in one easy hit, so there's no windings to consider with respect to tuning stability.
You still tune up from slack, so all those open tunings and dropped tunings are still available if you want to use them.

I have plenty of guitars with standard tuners, and some of them are a pain in the backside to string.
With the locking tuners it's 5 minutes to remove the old strings, fit the new strings and clamp them in the string post, and then tune up.
I don't put off changing strings on the Strats with locking tuners.
It's a lot more laborious on the other guitars, so I'll put off changing strings, and quite often I'll only change them when a string breaks.

This Youtube video may have A N Other manufacturer's guitar in it, but it's exactly the same process


Vintage style

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Last edited by stratmangler on Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:42 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:31 am
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Bluer Monkey wrote:
In my experience the only advantage of locking tuners over standard ones is that they allow me to change strings much more quickly and effortlessly.

For me, changing strings is the least of the benefits. A bigger one is that I can tune down to pitch, and not have to go past the point and then slowly up again to get a stretch on the wound part of the string.

The main downside, again for me, is that I several times have had plain strings come loose with Schaller/Fender locking tuners, even when tightly fastened. This could in part be because I use quite thick nickel-free steel strings[*], which are harder and give less grip and bend for the clamp than nickel or nickel-coated strings do. Other locks might be better there, and thinner/softer strings are probably better too.

[*]: Ernie Ball Cobalts (dark) or RotoSound British Steel (bright). The only string types I know of where the manufacturer has stated that they're nickel free.


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Post subject: Re: LOCKING TUNERS- WHAT"S YOUR OPINION?
Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 5:31 am
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arth1 wrote:
... The main downside, again for me, is that I several times have had plain strings come loose with Schaller/Fender locking tuners, even when tightly fastened. ...
The same happened to me - a couple of times - and I assumed it was because I didn't tightened the nut correctly. I guess it's a little hard to judge exactly how tight is "do not over tighten".

Cheers!
BM

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