Restringing Gibson G-Force tuners

[RLee77]

I’ve had my Gibson LP Special P-90 doublecut for a a few years now, and love it. Even the G-Force tuner system which it came with, which a lot of people seemed to dislike. I really love the neck and great feel of it; the G-Force is handy since I play in different tunings a lot, but I didn’t buy it for the autotune feature.

Anyway, yesterday I finally got around to replacing the strings for the first time , and discovered the pure evil awfulness of these locking tuners. OMG they are difficult to work with! I’m an old hand at restringing, and it took me 20 mins just to get the low E done. The top-knob-locking tuners require a torturous double bend to fit correctly, and then when you tighten the locking knob it tends to dislodge the string from its notch.

Now I’m seriously considering replacing the tuners with standard types. Guess I’m just venting here. Anyone else swear a lot when restringing these horrible things?

 

[bendercaster]

I have to watch a video everytime I change strings, because the process is a little unusual, but I don't recall having that hard of a time with them once I know what I am doing.

 

[WillyWonky]

I changed strings twice on my HP Flying V. I needed the manual and an engineering degree each time…

got lucky and sold the tuna system for $200 and bought some split posts….

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[RLee77]

I changed strings twice on my HP Flying V. I needed the manual and an engineering degree each time…

got lucky and sold the tuna system for $200 and bought some split posts….

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Nice deal on selling the auto tuners. What kind of split post tuners did you get? After getting my first guitar with split posts (the tele I built) I found I like those the best, so easy to restring.

 

[RLee77]

I have to watch a video everytime I change strings, because the process is a little unusual, but I don't recall having that hard of a time with them once I know what I am doing.

Just watched a video, and there is a slightly better method than what I was doing, but with the low E, it’s still a pain.

 

[bendercaster]

Just watched a video, and there is a slightly better method than what I was doing, but with the low E, it’s still a pain.

Agree that the low E is a pain--its tough to screw that cap back on over that thick wound string.

Overall, I think these were really underappreciated guitars though. That adjustable zero nut is a great addition and aside form making it super easy to set the action at the nut, it stays in tune better than any other slanted 3x3 headstock guitar I've ever had. I actually really like the auto tuners too, especially at gigs, but I have considered replacing them. They are big and bulky, and I live in fear that the battery is going to die during a gig.

 

[RLee77]

Agree that the low E is a pain--its tough to screw that cap back on over that thick wound string.

Overall, I think these were really underappreciated guitars though. That adjustable zero nut is a great addition and aside form making it super easy to set the action at the nut, it stays in tune better than any other slanted 3x3 headstock guitar I've ever had. I actually really like the auto tuners too, especially at gigs, but I have considered replacing them. They are big and bulky, and I live in fear that the battery is going to die during a gig.

I agree, this doublecut LP, at a great price, is definitely one of my fav guitars. I especially like the wide fretboard and overall feel of it; it just fits me. A keeper.

 

[WillyWonky]

Nice deal on selling the auto tuners. What kind of split post tuners did you get? After getting my first guitar with split posts (the tele I built) I found I like those the best, so easy to restring.

Mosrite guitars had similar tuners, but currently the best 3+3 splits are Wilkinson.

I do believe I had to get 10-10.5mm bushings separately...

 

[RLee77]

So in full disclosure, after reading the manual for the proper method, and doing the remaining strings, it’s actually not that bad, especially if you use the auto-wind up/down feature. The thick low E is obviously the most troublesome.

 

[Chipss36]

You are replacing strings after a few years?

really?

I can not even comprehend that…….

 

[RLee77]

You are replacing strings after a few years?

really?

I can not even comprehend that…….

Right? But in my defense I was using other guitars, and just recently started playing this one again. I go through cycles.