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Steinberger spirit deluxe tuners hard to turn


guitar_randy

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Ihave the steinberger spirit deluxe and since new the tuners operate very poorly. They are difficult to turn and are very hard to turn. Is there a simple solution to remedy this so they operate better, more smoothly? Thanks

 

I have written a maintenance guide for the R-Trem which should help with this. Apart from cleaning and lubricating especially using teflon washers (you'll find them on ebay) between tuning knobs and housing help a lot.

 

Bernd

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  • 2 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...

Better to use roller bearings.    For less than $10 and 5 minutes of work, your tuners will move very smoothly and fine adjustments are possible.   This should be a required upgrade for everyone (at least for R-Trem's)

Purchase a thrust bearing with an inner diameter of 3 mm and an outer diameter of 8 mm.    For example:  https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Thrust-Bearings-Chrome-washers/dp/B0848TZGB9/

Remove the washer of the tuning knob and insert the bearing as shown in the picture along with one washer (the second washer won't let the claw travel enough).  The side of the bearing with the lip is facing down to the knob (but probably does not matter which way it faces).  The race  (groove) on the washer faces to the knob and bearing.

 

rtrembearing1.thumb.png.68b3f2a054907b4930156dd39cdc8020.png

[I had to edit the image to be small enough for this site.  Better images are in the link below].

FYI this was  from a post on the "Steinberger Headless and Hohner G2T, G3T Guitars" Facebook group,  https://www.facebook.com/groups/430484140435731/permalink/1918793054938158. That has better pictures.

 It is a vast improvement. Easy install too.  Used to think twice about adjusting for a small change because it took a lot of torque to move the tuners and was hard to do in fine increments. Used to envy the Steinbergers that had a hex wrench in the bridge to aid with tuning. Now it's very smooth and fine adjustments are much easier!

Edited by quadson
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  • 11 months later...
On 5/12/2021 at 7:21 AM, quadson said:

Better to use roller bearings.    For less than $10 and 5 minutes of work, your tuners will move very smoothly and fine adjustments are possible.   This should be a required upgrade for everyone (at least for R-Trem's)

Purchase a thrust bearing with an inner diameter of 3 mm and an outer diameter of 8 mm.    For example:  https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Thrust-Bearings-Chrome-washers/dp/B0848TZGB9/

Remove the washer of the tuning knob and insert the bearing as shown in the picture along with one washer (the second washer won't let the claw travel enough).  The side of the bearing with the lip is facing down to the knob (but probably does not matter which way it faces).  The race  (groove) on the washer faces to the knob and bearing.

 

rtrembearing1.thumb.png.68b3f2a054907b4930156dd39cdc8020.png

[I had to edit the image to be small enough for this site.  Better images are in the link below].

FYI this was  from a post on the "Steinberger Headless and Hohner G2T, G3T Guitars" Facebook group,  https://www.facebook.com/groups/430484140435731/permalink/1918793054938158. That has better pictures.

 It is a vast improvement. Easy install too.  Used to think twice about adjusting for a small change because it took a lot of torque to move the tuners and was hard to do in fine increments. Used to envy the Steinbergers that had a hex wrench in the bridge to aid with tuning. Now it's very smooth and fine adjustments are much easier!

Thanks Quadson, great tip !

I have placed the complete bearings without a problem.
However, for the best result lubrication of  the claws inside is necessary. I used copper grease.


bearings_optimized.thumb.jpg.59bba725c6d7891ff8ab6826373f4fb2.jpg 

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