Tuners upgrade

[addisj]

I have decided I need to upgrade the tuners on my Squire Custom II as I bend alot and she gradually goes out of tune as I am playing.

I have never swapped out tuners before, anyone know of a good set that will be a straight swap?

thanks in advance!

[rattus77]

Try wilkinsons they are excellent aftermarket tuners.
http://www.axesrus.com/axemachine.htm#6inline

[Gandy]

You could try a line of Fender standard tuners or fender vintage style tuners, they don't often go out of tune.

[gitold]

Your tuners are fine You need to strech your strings.Tuners have to be really bad before they make your guitar go out of tune.When you put new strings on pull on each string at the 12th fret until it's out of tune.Repeat untill it stop going out of tune.Do this to each string.Every few days do this same process and I think you'll find your tuning problems have gone away.Better tuners will give you smoother tuning but they won't keep your guitar in tune.The sealed tuners on your Squire are not slipping ,trust me..I have lots of guitars with good and cheap tuners including a Squire Tele and they all stay in tune just fine if I strech my new strings.Even my 50's Supro with terrible 50 year old klusens stays in tune.

[purpletele]

90% of tuning problems are at the nut. Take it somewhere to get your nut dressed before you shell out xash for some tuners. You likely will just end up with new tuners and a nut that still needs work.

[teleftcaster]

Originally Posted by purpletele

90% of tuning problems are at the nut. Take it somewhere to get your nut dressed before you shell out xash for some tuners. You likely will just end up with new tuners and a nut that still needs work.

I agree the problem is more likely at the nut. From what I understand, the nuts on the massed produced guitars are rarely cut well. IMO I would pay the $30-$40 first on a quality bone-nut cut properly by a tech.

[ayetee]

I have two Squier Customs and they both come with Gotohs which are fine tuners. As the other posters have said, the problem may not be the tuners.

[gitold]

Another thing .Go to your local store or Musicians Friend and buy some Big Bends nut sauce.Put it on your nut ,bridge pieces,etc. I started using this 2 years ago and I've only broke one string on my 5 guitars since.I used to use vasoline and grafite but I still broke strings.This will also really help any nut problems.It's $19 a tube and I'm still on my first tube after 2 years and 5 guitars so a little goes a long way.A miracle product.

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by purpletele

90% of tuning problems are at the nut. Take it somewhere to get your nut dressed before you shell out xash for some tuners. You likely will just end up with new tuners and a nut that still needs work.

+10

[GilmourD]

Originally Posted by addisj

I have decided I need to upgrade the tuners on my Squire Custom II as I bend alot and she gradually goes out of tune as I am playing.

I have never swapped out tuners before, anyone know of a good set that will be a straight swap?

thanks in advance!

Guarantee you won't see any difference with new tuners. The cast tuners on a Squier Custom II are just fine.

You have one of three problems:

1. Poorly cut/lubricated nut
2. Unstretched strings
3. You aren't tuning UP to the note but rather tuning down when you're sharp

With #1, your strings are catching on the nut when flexed. You can try to alleviate this by using a #2 pencil (I prefer click pencils) and "writing" in the nut slots. If that doesn't work, take the guitar to a tech that can either make you a good nut or tweak the slots in your existing nut.

With #2... Well, new strings need a little stretch to settle into holding a tune. Just give the bottom four a good yank and then tun back up. The B and high E... Just bend the snot out of them like you're SRV then tune them back up.

With #3... The way gears work is that when there's no pressure on them there's a little slack. Some gears have better tolerance than others, but all tuner gears function the same when there is pressure. The pressure comes from string tension. If you tune up to the note you want you're going to get pressure on the gears which will hold them in place. If you tune down, you're allowing for slack.

[z-clay]

I agree with the nut theory. I'd replace that factory plastic nut with a good bone one.

[addisj]

Thanks for your replies. The Nut info is something I didnt know about. I do always stretch strings when I put new ones on.. however these were put on by the shop owner.
I put new decent ones on (as these were only ernie balls) and now she stays in tune!

I just cant believe how much I like this Tele and I cant believe how cheap they are.
I just cant fault it. Tempted to buy another for a 'backup' (justification), feel like I have found a treasure.
When I pickup one of my other guitars for a change I find myself glacing over to the custom II and plugging her back in again.