Kluson Deluxe vs Pure Vintage vs Gotoh tuners

[ratylird]

I have a question regarding tuners.

I’m currently building a replica of John Frusciante’s Red Fiesta strat but I’m not sure what tuners to go with.

Ive saw online that he uses Kluson tuners but looking at an image of his guitars (see image attached), it looks like 2 different sets are used across his guitars as the buttons seem to be different sizes (see front two strats have larger buttons that the back 2).

I purchased some Klusons deluxe tuners but haven’t installed them yet incase they’re the wrong ones. I have another guitar waiting for replacements so they won’t go to waste if they’re wrong.

Can anyone help out with this? Could they be Fender Pure vintage tuners, Gotoh?

 

[Fretting out]

I like the new klusons and kluson is what it would have had on it originally
Depends how crazy you want to get with it

I’m pretty sure the pure vintage and new klusons are the same As far as button size I’ve used both

 

[jfgesquire]

They look the same size to me.

Kluson tuners are just a name now owned by WD Music, but they are an excellent and responsive company.

Gotoh tuners, ping, and a few other brands are really not much different, very similar specs.

One small difference is that Kluson brand are 1/4", while some others are 6mm.

Tuners and bushings may not be interchangeable and bushing O.D. may be different, too, and I'm not just taking about the 10mm holes either.

Edit... Maybe it's an optical illusion because the last two are further away?

 

[ratylird]

I did think it may be an optical illusion but when you put them side by side, they do look slightly bigger.

check out the image below. Ones on the far left and far right look bigger than the 2 in the middle.

From left to right (61, 55, 62, 61) all are said to have original hardware but the two from 61 are the ones that seem to have the bigger buttons.

 

[Dacious]

The Gotohs are like the old vintage Klusons. They're stamped cases and bases with little folded tags that hold the top on the bottom.

The cheaper copies have a cast pot metal back and base. There are two posts from the top through the base which are staked or crushed to hold the two together.

They are visually similar. I'd go with the Gotohs as they're long-lived. If you don't care about life the Pings and 'Kluson' tuners sold by WD work.

 

[Sax-son]

I've tried them all and the Gotohs are the best in my opinion. That doesn't mean that the others are bad, it's just that the hold up the best. I will continue to chose them in the future.

 

[ratylird]

The Gotohs are like the old vintage Klusons. They're stamped cases and bases with little folded tags that hold the top on the bottom.

The cheaper copies have a cast pot metal back and base. There are two posts from the top through the base which are staked or crushed to hold the two together.

They are visually similar. I'd go with the Gotohs as they're long-lived. If you don't care about life the Pings and 'Kluson' tuners sold by WD work.

ideally I’d like to stick with klusons as that’s what fender used during that time. But it all depends on the buttons.

Am I the only one that actually sees a difference in size in the images posted above? Haha

 

[ratylird]

I like the new klusons and kluson is what it would have had on it originally
Depends how crazy you want to get with it

I’m pretty sure the pure vintage and new klusons are the same As far as button size I’ve used both

don’t suppose you have a pic for a side by side comparison? Searched everywhere and I can’t find one :/

 

[jfgesquire]

ideally I’d like to stick with klusons as that’s what fender used during that time. But it all depends on the buttons.

Am I the only one that actually sees a difference in size in the images posted above? Haha

These are the current vintage Kluson manufactured for WD Music...

 

[capitalbear]

ideally I’d like to stick with klusons as that’s what fender used during that time. But it all depends on the buttons.

Am I the only one that actually sees a difference in size in the images posted above? Haha

Obviously, you are. There's NO difference in size if you compare vintage and contemporary Kluson tuners.

 

[ratylird]

These are the current vintage Kluson manufactured for WD Music...

View attachment 862943

any difference between these and the “double line” kluson deluxe?

 

[ratylird]

Obviously, you are. There's NO difference in size if you compare vintage and contemporary Kluson tuners.

maybe they’ve been replaced with other tuners. Any tuners you’d recommend that look similar to klusons but have a slightly bigger button?

 

[jfgesquire]

any difference between these and the “double line” kluson deluxe?

There are "no line", "single line" and "double line" tuners.

If you look at the box mine came in, there's a column for the manufacturer to check how many lines the tuner has.

So that's different.. the box.

That, and the number of text lines stamped on the back of the tuner. Other than that there is absolutely no difference in size or shape of any part of the tuner.

Go to the WD Music website and you can see that is the only difference, regardless the number of lines, or the color.

https://www.wdmusic.com/kluson-6-in-line-deluxe-series-tuning-machines-details.html

 

[LutherBurger]

This may or may not be helpful:

I found this photo at reverb.com. it shows Kluson-branded tuners with a model number that is suspiciously similar to my Gotoh tuners' model number.

image removed

My Gotoh tuners are model #SD91-05M, and their finish is Nickel. As far as I know, this is the same made-in-Japan model that Fender sells under the name "Pure Vintage".

So it appears to me that it doesn't really matter which brand you choose, because they're probably all made by Gotoh.

 

[jfgesquire]

This may or may not be helpful:

I found this photo at reverb.com. it shows Kluson-branded tuners with a model number that is suspiciously similar to my Gotoh tuners' model number.

image removed

My Gotoh tuners are model #SD91-05M, and their finish is Nickel. As far as I know, this is the same made-in-Japan model that Fender sells under the name "Pure Vintage".

So it appears to me that it doesn't really matter which brand you choose, because they're probably all made by Gotoh.

In another thread, somewhere in this great universe known as TDPRI, I learned that WD only owns the name Kluson in the US. In Europe, the name license is owned by someone else.

I will endeavor to find the link or the screen shot I took.

Ahh, here it is, Kluson Germany (Deutschland) as in kluson.de

 

[jfgesquire]

This may or may not be helpful:

I found this photo at reverb.com. it shows Kluson-branded tuners with a model number that is suspiciously similar to my Gotoh tuners' model number.

image removed

My Gotoh tuners are model #SD91-05M, and their finish is Nickel. As far as I know, this is the same made-in-Japan model that Fender sells under the name "Pure Vintage".

So it appears to me that it doesn't really matter which brand you choose, because they're probably all made by Gotoh.

Edit:. Changed my mind.....I wonder when WD acquired the rights... And if the SD91-05 stamped box is before WD got the rights or are in fact imported, and made under a different license.

 

[capitalbear]

maybe they’ve been replaced with other tuners. Any tuners you’d recommend that look similar to klusons but have a slightly bigger button?

If you've read my post: NO, since there's no "bigger" tuner buttons.

 

[Antoon]

I recently bought both the current WD "Klusons" and the Gotoh "Klusons" and apart from slight differences in dimensions I could not see or feel much difference.

 

[Fenderbaum]

Gotoh all the way.
Just sent a defective Supreme tuner to Kluson that lasted 4 weeks. Those dudes at Kluson AND WD cant even answer their emails.

Kluson are made in Korea
Gotoh in Japan..

Only the official Kluson manufactured Klusons have the double line / Single lines.
No difference between them. Just made with DL/SL/NL to be vintage correct to any old vintage Strat.
Other than that. Regular Gotoh SD91 and PING are plain casings.
Gotoh SDS510 have "510" emblem stamps on casings if you go for them.
SDS510 are the top selection for any Kluson style tuners, no wiggly tuner posts. They cost a little but you get some proper tuners.

As for the Button sizes.. I have all three Gotoh/Ping/Kusons brands in my house. And they are all the same size.

Fender uses PING on off-the shelf Strats lower cost models and Gotoh´s on CS/High End strat.

As mentioned. WD owns Kluson in USA.
Göldo /Dieter Gölsdorf seems to own the licence in Europe

 

[Fretting out]

any difference between these and the “double line” kluson deluxe?

The only difference is the years used, double line came in sometime in 64, pre 64 are single line and even before then There are “no line” from 52-56