Kluson Deluxe Tuners: Love Them or Hate Them? - NEW VIDEO!

They work fine on my Gibson.

 

I am surprised to learn that they would polarise opinion so much?

 

Just a guess: open-ended Klusons facilitated string removal /put-back when you needed to take off the neck to adjust the butt-end truss rod or install shims. Anyway, that's why I use them. Plus they're nice and light.

 

nice job...interesting stuff!

 

I love Kluson style tuners, especially the ones from Gotoh, they feel real smooth, and they hold tuning well. As a vintage replica builder though, they are a bit of a compromise, nobody makes 100% vintage correct replica Kluson style tuners. The modern ones have a nylon bushing on each end of the button/worm shaft, which makes the housing itself something like 1/64th or 1/32nd taller than the originals, the end of the button shaft doesn't protrude from the side of the housing, and the gear and winding post are steel instead of brass like the originals. That being said, Gotohs are much better than spending 700 dollars on a likely worn out, tarnished and scratched, set of vintage originals though. Sorry in advance for the rant, just had to get that off my chest

 

Kluson going out of business, made about as much sense as Packard going out of business.

Dumb executives at guitar manufacturers - who knew? :^)

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Anyway, I buy large quantities of the Gotoh splits for Fender style headstocks. The 3x3 version of this Gotoh, also works superbly on Gibsons. I try not to notice how crazy inexpensive they are when bought in quantity. And my opinion of Schaller is lower, every day.

 

I had to replace the tuners on my 2004 SJ 200 because one was damaged. They were Kluson tuners. The shop I bought it from sold me a new set at cost. While they work fine, I took the damaged old one apart. It seems cheaply made and not as stout as the Grovers I have on other guitars.

 

I pulled the F Logo tuners off my AV 72 Tele Custom and installed a set of Kluson tuners, and it's so much better now, I can't begin to describe how much better I like them, than the F logo tuners. I also installed a Kluson six saddle bridge I'm told is identical to the Gotoh version, and would never change back to the 3 saddle. Sometimes I'm wish washy about something, but not that six saddle bridge, it should be offered as an option on Fender guitars in my opinion.

 

Doing some neck swaps and am changing out Hipshots for Kluson Revolutions. I already changed out the stock Klusions and Grovers on my Gibsons previously. Now it is time for the partscasters. So far they are my favorites.

 

Put me on the 'love' side. I have a 1951 Magnatone lap steel and a 1963 Gibson Melody Maker. Both have the original Kluson strip tuners, which are working as they should 70 and 58 years later.

I bought a 2005 Epiphone '56 Gold Top that came with Grover Rotomatics. They worked fine, but the kidney bean knobs never looked 'right' to me. I swapped them for Grover Vintage Deluxe tuners. They look exactly like Kluson Keystones, but have the 10mm 'modern' shaft and are a drop-in replacement for the Rotomatics (the holes for the screws are different, but nobody can see the back of the headstock).

Thanks for sharing the video, very informative.

 

You replaced those beautiful German schaller F-tuners!

 

@Bob M - Nice video, very interesting how many changes "Kluson" tuners have been through. I had thought that all tuners with a sheet metal gear cover were Klusons. Open-gear tuners aren't in my collection; all the others are closed (sealed) tuners.

I have two guitars with "Kluson-style" tuners:

• A 1982 USA-built Fender Bullet S-3 (strat style). There is no branding on the back of the tuners, they are the "saf-t-post" style and have no lubrication hole on the back.
• A boutique thinline tele built in 1985. The builder did a very good job of replicating a 1968 Thinline. The tuners are not branded, but do have lubrication holes.

Can you give me the possibilities for the manufacturers of the tuners?

Thanks, and stay safe.

 

Bob says Leo Fender invented the Safeti String posts, is this true? I've seen them on early Bigsby guitars too.

 

I replaced this:



With this:

 

I can’t say what brand it was but I’ve seen safe T post tuners on an acoustic from the 20’s maybe even earlier, it may have been a late 1800’s model the more I think about it

Kind of surprised me, they definitely were original

 

I've used Kluson safety post tuners on several Tele builds; I like their Tele bridges too.

I also like the Klusons on my Les Paul.

I think they're the most vintage correct tuners available, although Gotoh tuners are pretty good too.

 

I love em’.
When I was a bone-headed teenager I did not know that the end of the string went into the capstan shaft.
I’d lay the string in the slot, and it kept popping out.
I booted an Oly White 62 Strat across my bedroom in frustration.
I was 16.
Anyways, now that I know how they work, they’re brilliant!