Hey guys, I'm looking at putting some Gotoh Kluson-style "vintage" tuners on my strat. Do any of you guys have experience with these tuners?

http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cg ... RRENCY=CAD

Also, I was looking at these, and was wondering how they would compare...

http://www.grotro.com/Mainvintage.html

Thanks guys, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-gcc

Hi golfcartconspiracy: I have a set of vintage Gotoh's nearly the same as those, 'cept mine have adjustable height poles, which I find a good feature. Here are mine:

http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Gotoh_ ... 91-05MNHAP

Those were from WD Music in the UK. Strangely, WD USA doesn't seem to sell Gotoh's, so I can't find an exact match for you your side of the pond.

Anyhow: very well made reliable tuners in my experience.

For some reason my (limited) experience has never been quite so good with Grovers. I like the way they look, but they seem not quite so positive in their action, and maybe I'm mistaken but they don't seem to hold pitch quite so well. Could be other factors involved there so take that with a pinch of salt. But...

Good luck - C

just bumping this up... anyone else?

How about the locking ones? They look just like those but they have locking posts and like the ones the last guy mention are height adjustable. I bought one of the first sets of them when they first came out maybe 15 years ago and have been using 2 sets of them since then. I love em. So much easier/quicker to re-string and stays in tune better. Why would you buy anything else?

I have Gotoh Vintage style locking tuners on my 57' RI strat. I would definitely go with them over the Grovers. Also, If I may, I would like to recommend the fixed height over the adjustable height. If you want tuning stability, I believe the fixed height will do the job more reliably.
I should ask however, if you use your tremolo on your strat? If you do, may I recommend that you not change the original vintage tuners? they will work better than any non-locking replacement tuning machines that you'll find anywhere. If you want to know how to adjust your guitar to work this way, I'd be happy to walk you through the set up.
If you do not use the tremolo, and have it blocked, then you don't need locking tuners.
Just some food for thought.

-Harley

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I didn't even know they made them with fixed height. But i'm curious, why do you feel fixed is better? I stagger mine and if nothing else it keeps very little pressure on the string trees so they don't stick there. but i also like being able to adjust each string's breaking angle at the nut.

I'll be glad to answer that.
I have three guitar with locking tuners on them one with Gotoh's which are all the same height, and two with Sperzels which are staggered. I have more trouble keeping the Sperzel equipped guitars in tune, than I do the Gotoh equipped guitar. Also, My 60' Custom Strat is completely Stock with the original Kluson styled tuning machines, and that stays in tune better than the Sperzels as well.
The stock tuners will work beautifully with the tremolo if you restring your guitar properly, and just pay attention to a few small details.
With adjustable hieght tuning machines, you have more moving parts. This means that you have more of a chance to suffer a mechanical failure. The Sperzels I mentioned earlier are staggered tuners, and for reasons I can't explain as of yet, that seems to cause more problems with the tuninng of my guitar when I use the tremolo.
I also own two of the MIK Showmaster Elite guitars which come with some very over-engineered locking tuners. These are absolutely worthless IMHO. I'm replacing them with more simplified tuners which will be more reliable.
Here's an Engineering rule of thumb: The more you overhaul the plumbing, the easier it is top stop up the drains.

Keep it simple

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I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

AN update on this subject; On my 1980 "Strat" model, I removed the string trees and the tuning stabilized with the staggered tuning machines. Apparently, with staggered string posts, you shouldn't use string trees as they appear to add friction to the setup.

_________________
I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!