I have a MIM Deluxe Players. I want to remove the vintage tuners and replace them with locking tuners. Which brand should I get, Sperzel, Gotoh, etc. By the way I don't want to have to drill the headstock for the tuners to fit. And I want them to be gold so that they match the rest of the hardware. All suggestions and help on the matter are greatly appreciated.

Sperzels are the best in my mind...I have them on 2 strats and I moved one of the guitars across the country and it was still in tune when it arrived.

You will need to drill a little bit, but it's worth it...or have a pro do the drilling.

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You're going to need the tuner holes bored out to get any of the locking tuners installed. I like Fender's and Sperzel's locking tuners equally as well. I hear Grover has locking tuners too, but I haven't tried them or even seen them yet.

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do you have any suggestions of drill bit size and how to do it?

I think the hole size on the fender locking tuners is 11/32. the big trick is to drill the hole out from both sides of the headstock so as not to splinter the wood when the bit punches thru. Also, make sure your bit/drill is straight up and down so as not to alter the angle of the tuner hole.

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The Schaller locking tuners (the ones on the MIA Deluxe) will go on without drilling holes. Right?

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I don't quite follow what is the purpose of a locking tuner. What does it do? I mean when you play or bend a string or whatever is the string moving on the post on a normal tuner causing potential problems?

Why do some people use locking tuners?

I recommend the schalller locking tuners they are NIcE!

The Schaller locking tuners have a better mechanism for locking down the string so it does not slip. But I am pretty good about stringing up guitars, so I don't remember the last time I had problems with string slippage (Strat or other guitars). So - to be honest - I am with you 357mag...

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I'm going to say like every one does! I love Schallers! They are the best and you know why? Because that's what I have!!
Seriously folks, most of the ones named do a fine job! but.......Schallers are the best

I have Fender branded Schaller's on 3 of my Strats. They're excellent and have never broken or failed to hold a string. I've had a set on my '98 Jeff Beck Signature Strat since I bought it new (11 years) and the tuners are still going strong after many, many string changes.

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Personal preference. I have sperzels on mine and I love them since I've had them so long. Great tuners, I have no complaints. They do exactly what I need: look great, can fine tune very well, string changes are a snap, easy to use.

The knob on the back is a "little" too thing though, and sometimes grinds into your finger. I'm used to it, but it bugged me at first. Schaller's are a little too big for me, but I can see where someone might like them better.

In any case, check that knob on the back to see which you like. Other than that, any good quality locking tuner is great, and you'll wonder how you lived without them.

I have a set of Fender/Schallers on my Strat Ultra. My guitar is 18 years old. The purpose of the locking tuner is to allow the tuning of the string to remain in tune, despite the use of the tremelo bar or bending. Usually the guitar stays in tune, and I just take it out of the case and play. I am currently using the tremelo for a song that I will perform with a choir. My practice sessions involve extreme diving, and the guitar is still in tune!









In contrast, if I use the tremelo on the 1971 Strat, I gotta tune the G and B strings immediately. I would buy a guitar with the high end equipment already installed. The previous owner of this guitar tried to remedy the tuner problem, by installing Schaller non-locking tuners. It still goes out of tune, every time. Also it ruined the resale value of the guitar!

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2007 Classic Player Baja Telecaster
1991 Strat Ultra
1990 Gibson ES-347
1986 Yamaha SBG2100
1980 Gibson L6-S
1971 Stratocaster
Fender Stage Lead Combo
Marshall MOSFET 100 watt Amp

The reason a locking tuner holds it's tuning better than a regular tuner is because it eliminates all string slippage on the tuning post. On a regular tuner, you wrap the string around the tuning post 3 or more times. When you use your whammy bar all those windings slacken and then grab each other differently when you let your whammy bar go back to rest. This results in tuning problems.

With a locking tuner, you pull the string straight through the hole in the middle of the tuner. Turn the knob on the back of the tuner to lock the string in place. Then you tune the string up to pitch and it's in tune within 1/4 to 3/4 of a turn on the tuning post. This results in zero drag from the string windings which in turn eliminates all string binding at the tuning post when using the whammy bar.

I use a little Big Bends Nut Sauce on the bridge pieces, nut, string tree and the pivot points on my whammy. That coupled with my Fender/Schaller locking tuners results in extremely stable tuning. As good as a Floyd Rose? Yes for everything but dive bombing (Floyd's better at diving) and I can string my locking tuners in 10 minutes as compared to 40 minutes on my Floyd Rose. I'll take the locking tuner, American Deluxe two-point tremelo setup any day just because it's so much easier to use than a Floyd.

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