Can anyone direct me to proper locking tuners, for a PRS SE 594?

[Informal]

About a month ago, I saw a deal on a PRS SE 594 on Reverb.. The price was great IMO ($695 including a free Plek job)
Seemed like a good deal to me... As I was scrolling through the pics... One popped up with their Company name and number, saying "Call us for Plek details and other possible discounts"

So I called, ended up doing the deal outside of Reverb.. which I thought was a bit shady... But they are a brick and mortar store out of Nashville, with good feedback.. And offered an additional $100 off with no tax or shipping... So for $595 total, I got a brand new 594, with a Plek job... Totally stoked.. great guitar.

I knew I was going to swap the pots and pickups with stuff I had on hand, and that's done... But now I want locking tuners... Every set of locking tuners that I've found... End up with a string height too tall.

Any suggestions? I found some Gotoh's for about $60 and several knockoff brands that look exactly like the Gotoh's for half that price... But they all have a string height that is a 1/4 inch or so too high.

Trying to keep it at $60 or less.... But will possibly do $100ish if there are no other options..

Thanks.

 

[FuncleManson]

I'm not sure what you mean by the string height being 1/4" too high. I used Gotoh SD90-MG-T on an LP Special-type project and they worked great. The bottom of the strings measure only about 3/16" above the face of the headstock.

 

[Informal]

F

I'm not sure what you mean by the string height being 1/4" too high. I used Gotoh SD90-MG-T on an LP Special-type project and they worked great. The bottom of the strings measure only about 3/16" above the face of the headstock.

View attachment 1177872 View attachment 1177873

For lack of a better way to describe it.... The hole you thread the string through.. Pops up a 1/4 inch or so higher on all aftermarket vintage locking tuners versus the ones that it came with... Which severely changes the break angle from the nut...which put it's in danger of hovering before it seats in the nut.

 

[AAT65]

PRS sell SE locking tuners, supposed to be a direct drop-in replacement for SE guitars. You can buy direct from PRS, but I think you can get them on Amazon too…

 

[John C]

PRS sell SE locking tuners, supposed to be a direct drop-in replacement for SE guitars. You can buy direct from PRS, but I think you can get them on Amazon too…

They work for SEs with the standard SE tuners; the SE McCarty 594s have vintage style keystone tuners.

@Informal - it's been a while since I looked at the PRS SEs - these have push-in bushings, correct? Besides the Gotohs @FuncleManson suggested there are also Kluson Revolution locking tuners - but you have to get the set with the push-in bushings. I had a set of the "collared" style on the LP Tribute I used to own (they have the larger posts/hex bolt attachment).

Kluson®

Stew-Mac sells these for a lot less than the price on the Kluson site.

 

[Informal]

They work for SEs with the standard SE tuners; the SE McCarty 594s have vintage style keystone tuners.

@Informal - it's been a while since I looked at the PRS SEs - these have push-in bushings, correct? Besides the Gotohs @FuncleManson suggested there are also Kluson Revolution locking tuners - but you have to get the set with the push-in bushings. I had a set of the "collared" style on the LP Tribute I used to own (they have the larger posts/hex bolt attachment).

Kluson®

Stew-Mac sells these for a lot less than the price on the Kluson site.

$140+ tuners for a $600 guitar, is a bitter pill lol.

The PRS ones are grossly overpriced as well, and almost always out of stock.

Wish I could find some Gotoh's with a shorter string post.

Thank you guys for the suggestions.

 

[John C]

$140+ tuners for a $600 guitar, is a bitter pill lol.

The PRS ones are grossly overpriced as well, and almost always out of stock.

Wish I could find some Gotoh's with a shorter string post.

Thank you guys for the suggestions.

I understand; they've gone up quite a bit since I bought a set in 2021, and Kluson's MSRP prices are really pricey.

Stew-Mac sells them for a little less than Kluson's MSRP - $113.40 for the non-collared version and $102.90 for the collared version. I got the collared version for $85 in April 2021.

 

[ferlin]

I sent mine to this shop and they converted to locking. https://www.johnmannsguitarvault.com/service-mod-shop/

 

[KokoTele]

Speaking as someone who regularly installs locking tuners for customers… they offer zero advantage on a non-tremolo guitar. They’re a little bit easier to restring, but if you learn a proper technique then they don’t even make changing strings easier.

Not a direct answer to your question, but maybe it will keep $100 in your pocket.