Keith Tuners

I have never been able to decide whether to put Keith tuners on my bender Tele. I have just picked up a bargain set on E-bay - actual Keith tuners, not the Schaller version. However, they are the 1-4 set so both have the larger diameter spool. I know the usual recommendation is that the low E string tuner uses the smaller diameter spool tuner from the 2-3 set. Have any of you with Keith tuners got the larger diameter peg fitted to your low E? If so, does it work OK or is the smaller peg really necessary? I would be interested to hear your comments before I take the plunge and have the tuner holes in the headstock drilled out to the size needed - the tuner diameter is larger than the holes in my CIJ '62.

I bought the same set years ago, put one on a Tele and the other on a Strat. You just need to open up the hole to get the larger diameter string in the one tuner. Simple physics tells us that there would be a difference in the travel of the two tuners to acomplish the same amount of drop but the difference is not enough that I notice it at all.

OT tidbit... when I bought my first set of Keith tuners 20 years ago, they came in a Schaller box (got them really cheap out of the parts box at an old music store which had gone through a few repairmen over the years). Just assumed they were Schallers. I needed another one this spring so I popped on another pair of Schallers. When they arrived, I noticed they were just a bit different so I looked closer at the old ones and discovered they are Original Keith tuners! The Schallers are workable (takes a lot of fiddling with them to get the two stops set each time you tune) but the Keith's are FAR superior in quality and performance.

in the Keith tuner. I've had the larger diameter tuner on one of my guitars for many years. All you have to do is just get a pair of wire cutters and grab the end of the winding on the string and pull it. It'll start unwrapping from the string core. You just pull enough off so that the core will go through the hole and then protrude a little on the other side and then cut off the winding you've separated from the core. Then you just tune it up as usual with two or three complete wraps around the post. I've never experienced a problem doing this and the tuners been on the guitar since 1975............JH in Va.

FWIW, I've seen a Custom Shop Waylon signature tele with the larger diameter Keith tuner on the low E.
HOWEVER Gene Parsons installed 2 Keith tuners ( A string and high E) on a 2010 American Special tele b-bender for me. Lo & behold, he put the smaller diameter post on the A and used the larger diameter post for the thinner high E.

Again, FWIW.

Keep on twangin'!

Hope you guys don't mind me butting in for a minute, but have any of you guys with these tuners ever had a problem with your tele fittin the same in the case after the tuner installation? I've never had one yet but always wondered since they stick further out the back of the headstock. Sorry for hijacking I'll hush now haha.

nope no problem with the case. Ive had several sets of Schallers on low-high E and did not haveenlarge the hole on the tuner for the low E unless I was using a heavy guage E string

+1 for Don's post.
I've been using a gig bag for the bender. ..
But you can search the tdpri archives, this has been discussed at some length in the past. I seem to recall some fellas crushing a very small area of the case styrofoam behind where the headstock would rest to create a pocket for the tuners to rest in.

Okay thanks guys for the info, now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Now my turn to hijack....
Anyone with Keith tuners ever find the flathead centre thumbscrew needs to be tightened often to stay put& not slip out of tune i.e.flat?

Hi all you B bender players. Can someone tell me where I can buy these Keith Tuners at? Another question: I have the newest designed Timara string drops on now and since the Keith tuners are pretty much behind the headstock is there a way that I could have Keith tuners installed and then also be able to keep the Timara string drops on? So that the keith tuners could be fine tuned say a whole step down and maybe the Timara string drops go down a half step. (or vise-versa). I'd apreciate any feedback and thank you.


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