Hi Guys,

Im thinking of replacing my tuners/machine heads for Fender Deluxe Locking ones, i currently have the standard ones....my question is are they easy to fit and will they fit?

Thanks

You need to specify what tuners to have right now as it will affect which locking tuners you need. Fender/Schaller lockers use locator pins that require holes in the headstock for alignment and security. Schaller lockers use a screw.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I went with Sperzel locking tuners. I had to drill a very small hole for each tuners' seating pin to slip into. It was EASY. If you choose Sperzels just take your time and be precise. www.sperzel.com

Changing strings is so easy and fast now.

However my understanding of the Schaller tuners is that they are a drop in
direct replacement. I had a hard time finding for my lefty though.

Good Luck!

-Tagg

Sorry guys should have said..mine are:

Fender® Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines

the guitar is a Fender 2008 HSS.

Ta!

Then it should be a straight swap as long as you get the Fender/Schaller lockers design for the alignment pins. Wrench for the nut should be the only tool required.

This is what yours should look like:



You should see two little nibs sticking out on the near side.
Those are the locator pins.
Regular Schaller lockers use a screw.
Fender/Schaller lockers use those pins.
You might want to remove one from your guitar just to double check that yours uses those locator pins.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

If they look like this:



And your holes on the headstock looks like this:



Then they are a direct fit:



Those are awesome tuners. I love mine. Well worth the money.

RK

Awesome thanks for all the help guys, am i right in thinking that the string doesnt need to wrap round the post with the locking tuners ala musicman guitars?

Yes, you are correct. To do so would defeat the benefits of the locking tuners.

I actually pull the string taut, usually with a pair of needle nose pliers, through the post before I lock it down. This gives as much tension as possible before locking the string down and tuning it up.

Thanks man, whats the reason for them (locking tuners) being staggered?

The term staggered refers to staggered heights. The heights of each tuner post gets lower as you go from 6E to 1E. Eliminates need for string tree.

Imperative you install them correctly and don't mix them up. I advise placing them all on a flat table with the posts pointing up and using a ruler across the tops of the posts to confirm what order they need to be installed. Tallest is 6E. Shortest is 1E. If I remember properly there may only be 3 available heights in total.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Thanks for that is it ok to leave the string tree on? i dont fancy a small hole in the headstock...

Ive also just seen that some Deluxe Strats have the tree and others dont..hmmm...

I left my string trees on, but do not use them. I am like you and did not want holes.

rk

I left my string tree on and do still use it. Not sure if it really matters or not but maybe BMW-KTM could kindly let me know.

Thanks,

-Tagg

A set of Fender/Schaller locking tuners only have 2 heights in them. The taller set is for the low E, A and D strings. The shorter ones are for the G, B and high E strings.

As to whether or not you should use your string trees, it depends on which locking tuners you have. If you have a set of Fender/Schallers then you probably won't need to use the ones for the G and D string but you will likely need to use it for the B and high E strings. The simple way to find out is try it. If the open
strings resonate behind the nut then put the strings back under the string trees.

If you are using a set of locking tuners that each have different heights then odds are you will not need to use any strings trees because the tuners are much shorter overall.

Ah yes of course the EAD are one height and the GBE are lower, yes that makes sense....so it looks like i will still need the string tree as there was a lil resonance when i tried it without. Also i think the Deluxe's post height of the GBE are the same as standard tuners?