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Les Paul Tuners Question


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Hi Guys,

 

I had a general question on stock tuners Gibson that have used on LP's over the last twenty years.

 

Below is a picture of LP Standard I was thinking of buying with Gotoh tuners.

 

DSCF0197.jpg

 

I know that recent years LP's have been shipped with Green keystone tuners Green (Kluson) but my question is did they have different options in the 80's/90's?

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I'm not sure if there were different tuners to choose from but back then but it was in style to switch out the tuners for 3rd party makes that were supposed to be of better quality than the stock Gibson's. A lot of people are now repenting to have done so because the value of the older vintage guitars is higher if it is completely stock (all original). Not to mention many times the back of the head stock ended up with some ugly extra holes in it. It is however fairly common to find the original tuners on e-bay for around $100 to $150 for a nice clean set. I have bought late 60's early 70's tuners at that price so 80's and 90's tuners you could probably find even cheaper.

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I believe the stock Gibson tuners are made by Gotoh, and there is nothing wrong with them. Most if not all of the tuners are now made in Asia, a lot of the companies have moved production or sold to foreign buyers. Kluson is now made in Korea I think, and the Kluson look-a-likes on your Standard are generally considered to be a bit better than the Korean ones. Over the years, Gibson has used Kluson tuners, Schallers and Grovers. 99% of all tuning problems are not caused by the tuners, so if you have a tuning problem look elsewhere before spending the money. Locking tuners can make string changes faster on an LP, but if a tuning problem is due to a badly cut nut, they will not fix it. Locking tuners are made for tremolo guitars, and that is where they can really help with tuning stability. There is nothing wrong with changing the tuners out of you don't like the look of them, but don't do it because you heard they were crap, they aren't. You can get repro tuners with different colour keystone (like you have now) buttons, or you can go for different styles like the Grover kidney beans.

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Agreed, Raptor. The stock Kluson style tuners are much maligned for no really good reason. Most of the tuning problems with Gibsons can be aimed squarely at the nut and ill fitting slots. I play 10-46's on my Gibsons and have no problems. I hedge my bet with Big Bends "Nut Sauce" to lubricate the nut - nary a tuning problem to be had.

 

The only issue I have with the Kluson tuners are those long stems. They just beg to be bent at one time or another. I bent one badly on my Studio, so I replaced the tuners with Grovers.

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I think kluson was recently bought by tonepros and they are making the tulip key ones but with completely new titanium internals I just put a set on my 07 standard and they are sweet 100 times better then the stockers and look just as good, also they use the same holes so the stock ones could go back on if necessary, but I cant imagine why youd put them back on.

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From what I've read, the original klusons of the early part of last century were prone to slippage and backlash due to the imprecise manufacture of the gears, but those problems, to a large extent, just plain do not exist in modern tuners regardless of style or appearance. Back in the 60's, grovers started becoming the goto becasue their method of manufacture was superior to the contemporary klusons. Raptor, as usual, speaks the truth, change em out if oyu don't like em but not because you think it's going to fix a tuning stability problem.

 

Another factor is weight. Doesn't really make a difference on a les paul, but grovers weigh more than kluson style tuners and on a light bodied guitar can aggravate a neck dive problem if one exists.

 

I prefer kluson style for appearance myself because I think they look classy and I don't like grabbing a cold metal button when i go to tune smile.gif If I could find 6IL sets, I'd have replaced the machines on my explorers already.

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Sorry bro, Righty here, or i'd so be all over that, but what am I gonna do with 6 or 12 tuners for the wrong side? lol They make the Fender ones 6IL but they have metal buttons which defeats my primary reason for getting them.

 

A while back I bought Grover locking rotomatics for one of my flying v's. They work, and they're obviously a nice drop in repalcement if you had grovers installed previously, but the posts are super tall on them and it makes it kinda look like you have a forest or a colelction of organ pipes on the headstock of the guitar. On the upside, there's no wheel you gotta tighten or anything, they lock automatically.

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