In praise of vintage style tuners

Hmmm....never heard that before, but okay. I like the vintage kind too, I think they do have several advantages, although for me the hole through the shaft kind are quicker.

 

If Leo was alive today he'd ask why we're still using vintage tuners. Locking tuners all day every day of the week. Anytime I've broken a string, a new one is on in less than 2 minutes. Not so much with non-locking.

 

I don't think this is as factual as you think it is. First, vintage style tuners are a form of locking tuner. They lock the string inside the post, which is the entire point of locking tuners. Secondly, vintage style are not prone to wearing down of the locking pins, which can be a problem depending on the type of locking tuner. Lastly, there is absolutely zero difference in tuning stability with vintage vs locking; a common misunderstanding is that the locking mechanism locks the string "in tune", which I think most of us know is not true. The only benefit that locking tuners claim is that there is no string winds around the post. In practice, I've never seen this make any difference, even with heavy trem use.

The biggest benefit to me for vintage tuners is that I can make adjustments to my guitars (wiring, truss rod heel adjust, spraying some contact cleaner on the pots, etc) and then reuse the same strings very easily (it takes less than 2 minutes to re-string and tune up in this scenario). I had some locking tuners on a Fender before and I spent so much money on strings every time I was trying to make adjustments during the initial setup with the guitar. If you remove a string on a locking tuner, it must be replaced.

Also a small note, with vintage tuners I never run the risk of stabbing myself on the clipped string end poking out of the post

 

The tuners you have pictured are NOT "vintage" tuners. Maybe you should subjectively say what you mean by vintage tuners. If you have a "real vintage" guitar and the tuners work properly leave them on. If you don't break strings and it doesn't matter what tuners you use go with locking tuners. My 58 Tele has original tuners my MusicMan Super Sport has lockers. I don't break strings.

Good luck

 

my favorite type of tuners for sure.

 

Just bought my first set to go on my "vintage" stratocaster project. Gotoh SD91 nickel. Brushed them heavily with a stainless steel cleaning brush to to give them that satin, slightly oxidized look. Looking forward to the install and then my first try at using the split shaft string catcher.

 

Not to digress and threadjack... but are those from the "vintage" line with the smaller 8.5mm posts? Did they go in properly without reaming/drilling the Epiphone headstock? How's the quality: Tight like a smooth Grover or sloppy like an old Kluson (with a poor ratio setup).

 

I, too, find the vintage style split-shaft tuners to be ideal... unless they're crap units manufactured poorly, or loose and slippy, as old ones can become. The overbuilt gizmo approach to guitar hardware is just something I have personally never bought into. "Add a Bigsby because they look great." Nah. In tuners, I primarily like a firm fit on the headstock, reasonable gearing, and no slippage, and, secondarily, light weight and looks. I do believe that tuner mass can affect tone, and depending on what you want (if anything) super light weight might not suit an individual.

 

First thing I do on my Fenders is replace the existing tuners with Fender locking tuners. They came on my Gibby ES-339 would replace them on my other Gibby but it is vintage now. My second of choice would be the vintage split though.

 

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1. Get some small (like 4") sharp diagonal cutters and you can cut them short enough that it's unlikely you'll get stuck by the cut end.

2. Not sure what your loop-around is, but I put the string through the hold or slot, first wrap is always over the top of the string end, then the following rotations are always below the string end. Someone taught me that in the pre-locking days to lock them in better.

3. Flat-wounds don't tend to be as bright when new. D'addarrio has "half flat" if you want to run it up the middle.

 

I prefer the look & functionality of the vintage style tuners also.

I boggles my mind why Gibson is putting the bulky looking modern tuners (with the huge washers) on their "50s" & "60s" Les Pauls.

 

I love the split shafts also. My technique: Stretch the string to the proper post, cut 2 posts farther along (2 inches). Stick the end down the hole in the center, give it a hard crimp down so comes flat out of the slot, then another crimp sideways to start the wrap. Ta-da!

Note that GFS has some generic versions of these that look & work great. Only downside is that your turners need the exact Fender spacing because the back plates are flush to each other.

This past week I put new tuners on a Peavey Raptor, the posts are just a teensy bit wide, so instead I used the GFS sealed tuners that have two holes in the post at right angles. Seems to work well, I've only put one set of strings on so far. (Yes, I drilled out the 8.5mm holes to 10mm by hand -- another story.)

 

The low mass is absolutely crucial to the tone.

 

Love the low mass and the hoie for the end of the string. Wish the vintage tuners had beefier buttons to grab onto. The tiny buttons are challenging when trying to make very slight tuning adjustments and I always go sharp and have to back them down and tune back up again.

 

Vintage or hole thru post - doesn't really matter to me. Both work fine. I've never used locking tuners, so I can't say. Maybe I should try some. At any rate, the more often you change strings, the easier it gets, no matter what style of tuner you have...

 

Vintage Fender tuners are my favorite, too.

 

They can be considered "vintage". Those are the "F" tuners Fender used in the '70s...almost 50 years ago.

 

Some "vintage" styles are great, but not the ones shown by the O.P.

Heck, they won't even take an "E" string larger than about .049-.050. That's simply not OK.

 

I can confirm from experience. You can fit a .050, but it takes more elbow grease than should be necessary.