Modern to vintage tuners ?

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viking

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Guys , Ive found a forgotten body and are now looking at a neck for it. Might as well assemble something over the Holidays.
I will buy a Fender neck , just the usual Telecaster neck with the 2 small holes for each tuner. Will a vintage tuner cover these 2 holes on the Little e tuner ?
 

SixStringSlinger

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JamesAM

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I have these on my Tele and they're perfect.
Same. I had a partscaster with a Britt Daniel neck with these and they were great.

Op, if you want a cheaper vintage neck with the wider holes for vintage tuner bushings, look for a vintera or road worn neck. I’m not sure of the profile or width, but they’ll fit vintage tuners.
 

KelvinS1965

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I changed the tuners on my MIM Player series Jaguar from the modern type they came with, to my favourite vintage slotted tuners. The only issue in this case was that the holes were larger than I needed, but I was able to buy some 'adapter' bushes. Can't remember the details now, but could find out if it helps.

These were a set of aged Fender tuners I bought for a Strat project. I Obviously I had to drill the small screw hole for the new tuner, but the pair of holes from the original tuner were hidden as you can see:

Headstock rear one tuner.jpg


All the tuners fitted, shown from behind:

Headtsock rear.jpg


From the front; the adapter bushes are a little larger than the standard ones are (10mm hole in the Player, verses 8.8mm or there a bouts for a Vintage headstock, like my 50s Classic Tele):
Headstock front strung.jpg
 

KelvinS1965

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Only issue with the Classic gear tuners is that they have the nut on the front of the headstock, which IMHO doesn't look so good. I suppose arguably the larger size of the adapter bush on mine doesn't look as nice as a headstock that originally had vintage tuners, but not much you can do other than plug the holes and redrill. There would still be a visible 'circle' of wood around the bush as well, unless it was a painted headstock.
 

viking

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Thank you guys !
I was only in doubt if the vintage casing would cover the holes on the 6th tuner.
I could have mentioned that I have installed many- many sets of vintage tuners. Its all I use , and I am aware of all the conversion bushing types , sizes and whatever......Its all good though , someone is probably doing this for the first time , and maybe reading this as well !

Im quite sure that I have done this before , but couldnt remember if I had to plug holes !
It sucks to get old !
 

Boreas

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Thank you guys !
I was only in doubt if the vintage casing would cover the holes on the 6th tuner.
I could have mentioned that I have installed many- many sets of vintage tuners. Its all I use , and I am aware of all the conversion bushing types , sizes and whatever......Its all good though , someone is probably doing this for the first time , and maybe reading this as well !

Im quite sure that I have done this before , but couldnt remember if I had to plug holes !
It sucks to get old !

They cover the holes just fine. And I always leave them, in case the next guy wants to switch back. IMO, I think the standard tuners are smoother, but I prefer the looks and functionality of the vintage type.
 

KelvinS1965

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Thank you guys !
I was only in doubt if the vintage casing would cover the holes on the 6th tuner.
I could have mentioned that I have installed many- many sets of vintage tuners. Its all I use , and I am aware of all the conversion bushing types , sizes and whatever......Its all good though , someone is probably doing this for the first time , and maybe reading this as well !

Im quite sure that I have done this before , but couldnt remember if I had to plug holes !
It sucks to get old !

I guess my pictures were more than you needed then, but hopefully someone else might stumble across this thread. Any excuse to post up some pictures of my work anyway. :)
Also; We're not old; we're just seasoned players. (Since you're the same age as me :) )
 

Vizcaster

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wow I didn't know those "classic gear" tuners existed. Awhile back the only kluson style tuners with bolt bushings were from Tone Pros and they didn't make them for very long.

But of course these new ones don't give you the satisfaction of getting all those little screws in the back without breaking one off in the hard maple. With the taper there's always a point where the pre-drilled hole isn't big enough!
 

telemnemonics

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I can’t stand tuners with needles sticking out and always run vintage, including all the hassles returning vintage necks to split shafts from Schallers etc.
Tried the new classic gear two pin split shafts a year or so ago on a used neck drilled for two pin, and they really are just fine.
Lower quality I think though compared to the MIJ Gotoh split shafts, but work fine on my main guitar.
I assume they are made by Ping.
 

Festofish

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I love the look of modern tuners. Somebody replied to a thread here a while back about how light weight and perfect split shaft vintage style tuners are because there’s no string poking out. I’d never thought of it that way and I’d have to agree. Vintage style split shafts are the way to go.
 

Boreas

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wow I didn't know those "classic gear" tuners existed. Awhile back the only kluson style tuners with bolt bushings were from Tone Pros and they didn't make them for very long.

But of course these new ones don't give you the satisfaction of getting all those little screws in the back without breaking one off in the hard maple. With the taper there's always a point where the pre-drilled hole isn't big enough!

I have one set of Classic Gear tuners that I installed on my Strat. My other split shaft tuners are slightly lesser quality and not quite as smooth. I have a set of Kluson Revolution tuners that are nice, but on the pricey side. But they are high-ratio and quite smooth.
 

cousinpaul

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i bought the neck used for my parts tele. It came drilled for Sperzels so I put them on it. I'm wondering if there might be a drop-in Kluson style replacement. Anybody know of one?
 

Boreas

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i bought the neck used for my parts tele. It came drilled for Sperzels so I put them on it. I'm wondering if there might be a drop-in Kluson style replacement. Anybody know of one?

I don't know if they are drop-ins, but check the Kluson Revolutions for their specs. They are also staggered, which likely contributes to their cost.
 

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