Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Removing Gforce tuners


newfiesig

Recommended Posts

I read a lot of contradictory posts on removing gforce tuners from Les Pauls.

 

Has anyone actually done this? Did holes have to be drilled for the new tuners?

 

Whether or not you have to drill holes depends on what you are replacing the Robot Tuner's with, yes? If I were doing it, I would go with good old GIBSON DELUXE Tuning Machines (ALSO: check to see what was the stock Tuning Machine on the Les Paul STANDARD TRADITIONAL Model that particular year)......from what I remember they have holes that line-up and will only require that you get the new screws in straight and not over-tight to the point of stripping.

 

FWIW, if your taking the G-Force off the Guitar make sure to get a set of Tuning Machines that have holes that line-up with the existing holes on the back of the Head-Stock. This way there is NO DRILLING and later on, NO HOLES will be visible and you can put the G-Force Tuner's back on, later, especially if your selling the Guitar. IDK, its just that drilling holes in GIBSON Guitars, OMG, especially a Les Paul STANDARD, seems so wrong to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turns out that L&M will do it for me for free. They started providing this service for people who bought guitars with gforce in order to sell them.

 

Now I just have to decide on tuners...

 

I assume they did charge for the cost of the new tuner set?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assume they did charge for the cost of the new tuner set?

 

I haven't got the guitar yet (shows up Thursday), but yeah, they will be charging for the replacements. Which is fine as I would rather pick out what I want rather than be pigeon holed into a cheap set that they throw in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't got the guitar yet (shows up Thursday), but yeah, they will be charging for the replacements. Which is fine as I would rather pick out what I want rather than be pigeon holed into a cheap set that they throw in.

 

 

Thank you. Labor costs being what they are, that’s a great incentive

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nobody seems sure about what replacements will drop straight in.

There were a couple of threads 2 years back where such sets were identified, but the board has been re-organised since. They are lost.

 

I'm in no hurry to do this, but since I've had 2 G-Force malfunctions, I'd like to source replacements (without drilling holes).

My G-Force has lasted 3 years, and I will miss the easy string changes, but I need to rely on them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nobody seems sure about what replacements will drop straight in.

There were a couple of threads 2 years back where such sets were identified, but the board has been re-organised since. They are lost.

 

I'm in no hurry to do this, but since I've had 2 G-Force malfunctions, I'd like to source replacements (without drilling holes).

My G-Force has lasted 3 years, and I will miss the easy string changes, but I need to rely on them!

 

From what I'm tracking, there are two different size peg holes (vintage and modern). The GForce (I believe) would be considered modern.

 

Please someone chime in if this is not accurate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what I'm tracking, there are two different size peg holes (vintage and modern). The GForce (I believe) would be considered modern.

 

Please someone chime in if this is not accurate.

Step 1 Take off G Force

 

Step 2 See if the tuners you want to install fit

 

Step 3 If said tuners do not fit very carefully ream out the hole for said tuners. I used a drill and covered the holes with masking tape so I would not damage the finish

 

Step 4 Drill Small pilot hole to secure tuner to headstock

 

Step 5 Play that mother.

 

Seriously I did it on a '57 ES-225TD I had. The vintage original tuners sucked arse and would not stay in tune, and I installed modern ones. Not a big deal. See if you can guess what album some of those are.

 

WnKxHSo.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Step 1 Take off G Force

 

Step 2 See if the tuners you want to install fit

 

Step 3 If said tuners do not fit very carefully ream out the hole for said tuners. I used a drill and covered the holes with masking tape so I would not damage the finish

 

Step 4 Drill Small pilot hole to secure tuner to headstock

 

Step 5 Play that mother.

 

Seriously I did it on a '57 ES-225TD I had. The vintage original tuners sucked arse and would not stay in tune, and I installed modern ones. Not a big deal

 

WnKxHSo.jpg

 

Step 3 is where I have the issue. I don't want to ream out the holes. I would rather find a set of tuners that fit into the holes with no modification.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I can do it anyone can. Remember go slow and use tape. You can even buy manual reamers that will drastic reduce the wood chipping if it all.

 

I'm sure I can do it (I recently built a table set out of walnut). It's just that I would rather not remove wood from my guitar if I don't have to. And as long as there are tuners out there that fit the current hole, I don't have to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Step 1 Take off G Force

 

Step 2 See if the tuners you want to install fit

 

It would be nice not to have to buy them 1st, but I cant see any hole position/centers being listed.

 

See if you can guess what album some of those are.

 

 

 

Well, Skull**** stands out a treat [thumbup]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry that I don't know if the G Force holes are big enough for good Grovers or Gibson or Kluson or Schaller vintage lookalikes. That's the question you asked. You can easily find the specs for specific tuner sets on the web, since everyone (who is halfway careful) has the same "does it fit?" question. I'm sorry not to have that info, but you can easily find it. Now, how can I turn your question into a post about me...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry that I don't know if the G Force holes are big enough for good Grovers or Gibson or Kluson or Schaller vintage lookalikes. That's the question you asked. You can easily find the specs for specific tuner sets on the web, since everyone (who is halfway careful) has the same "does it fit?" question. I'm sorry not to have that info, but you can easily find it. Now, how can I turn your question into a post about me...?

How about you start a thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...