blackbok Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 ok - so first question for me in the shiny new forum... I have an LP junior -- one of the cheap black ones-- I put in an old Gibson pickup that i had - it sounds good -......BUT the tuners are of very dubious quality - the worst I have ever seen... I've changed / modified most parts of a guitar but never changed a set of tuners -- any recommndations for replacements???? and will they fit in the same holes or do i need to fill and drill etc???? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I've got a Junior bolt-on that I'm gonna make a LUDICROUS project out of... You're right about the tuners, I immediately threw mine in the trash... I could hear those things go out of tune as I was strumming the first 3 or 4 chords! I think I'm gonna get keystone tuners from Guitar Fetish for it.. Not sure about the size.. I don't mind re-drilling, so I don't usually think about that.. I believe the holes are 8mm.. (I don't have the neck right in front of me right now..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daneman Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I know that on my Junior I used Epi made green key style tuners and the shafts did fit the holes,which was good cause the stock bushings are stuck but good!!So I used those too,no one else can tell.lol So I'm thinking most green key styled kluson clones are gonna be pretty close. If you have to you can open the shaft holes up a bit w some sandpaper wrapped around a dowel,insert in the hole and spin slowly ,keep blowing off excess and take your time.Doing this will eliminate trying it with a power drill. This works particularly well if the holes are just a bit tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 You're talking about the $99 Junior, right? The bushings on mine were made of plastic.. I just ripped 'em out with a pair of needle-nose pliers! The sandpaper approach is a good idea, if you want to enlarge the holes just slightly... You can also use a reamer if you're drill-shy... I usually use my drill press with no ill effects... (Now I'm just talking about bolt-on necks here.. Might get a little awkward with the body attached) Just have to make sure you put a block of wood underneath to prevent chipping.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokestack Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 If you want some good value vintage Keystone tuners which would make sense for a budget project ...try the Wilkinsons. For someting a bit "posher"...Gotoh . And like Daneman said..if you want to go with some modern cast tuners like the Grovers, it's not too difficult to open up the holes in headstock from 8 to the requied 10mm. Folks wanting to perform the same exercise in reverse can buy appropriate press fit "reducer" bushings which which fit the 10mm holes and accept the 6 or 6.3mm posts of "vintage Kluson" style tuners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbok Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 thanks for the replies-- what about the screw holes for the mounting screws -- presumably they won't line up on a new set of pickups??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daneman Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I thought we were talking about tuners? If so, no the holes probably won't line up for the screws.You can fill ( glue and toothpick)and match color with a sharpie or some nail polish if you want,but I didn't bother.How many people are going to look?And as far as that goes,The extra holes proove that you've upgraded them. And it usually isn't that noticeable anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daneman Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Here is mine. I just blacked the edges of the holes w a sharpie. So you can see the holes but they don't really jump at you. Sorry my camera,and the lighting here combine to make for poor detailed up close pics,but hopefully you can see what I mean. Oh and Lerxst,this is a 2000 Samick Indonesian Jr,and the bushings are metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 They must be cutting all the corners that they can on the more recent (humbucker) Juniors... I have to admit, mine is/was AWFUL... The neck aint worth a damn.. Most of the frets are poorly seated with jagged ends that threaten to cut up your hand, and the fretboard looks like it was sanded by a monkey with ADD.. The only thing I'm saving from that guitar is the body.. I got a new neck for it, and like I said earlier; I'm going to make an elaborate project out of it that will have some of y'all questioning my sanity.... I'll keep you apprised of the progress, once it's underway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daneman Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Cool Lerxst, I for 1 am looking fwd to seeing your finished project. I'd been thinking about getting a slab of mahogany,and buying a neck to make a homemade Jr/special project myself. My junior plays real well,and several of my guitarist friends play it for fun when visiting. Fretwork is excellent. sounds real good.Plywood body tho.Doesn't matter.Love the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerxst1281733995 Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Cool Lerxst' date=' I for 1 am looking fwd to seeing your finished project. I'd been thinking about getting a slab of mahogany,and buying a neck to make a homemade Jr/special project myself. My junior plays real well,and several of my guitarist friends play it for fun when visiting. Fretwork is excellent. sounds real good.Plywood body tho.Doesn't matter.Love the guitar.[/quote'] Boy, it doesn't take long for me to fall behind on the posts now! What I'm going to do with/to the Junior is make it a chambered guitar... I figure since the resonant quality of plywood is nil, I'm gonna rout out as much as I can, going right through the body.. Leaving an outer frame and a "center block" to which I will attach a figured maple top and back.. I'm gonna go nucking futs with this... F-holes, binding, sunburst or maybe an amber/honeyburst finish... the whole yippee... It won't look like any Junior you've ever seen.. I just hope that it looks (and functions) like a guitar when I'm done! Who knows what it'll sound like? I just have a couple of other projects that I need to finish before I can start on this in earnest... I already stripped the body, so at least the most unpleasant part is out of the way.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daneman Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Wow that sounds really cool Lerxst I'm not sure I'm quite that ambitious!! I'm thinking of building a Lennon LP special based on a Jr.You know the brown one ,you can see him playing it on the "Cold Turkey" vid on the youtube thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Get some Sperzel locking tuners. You thread the string through the peg (no tension, but other than that I usually need 3/4 turn or less to get in tune), turn the screw at the bottom of the tuner, cut the excess off (leave like half an inch?). The string won't come out of the peg until you loosen the lock. The Sperzel tuners I have are sealed and permanently lubricated, they're totally smooth and work great. It takes a little drilling to install; I grabbed mine off Amazon for $50 and paid some professional tech $45 to install them (do you really want to do the woodwork yourself?), with awesome results. Replaced the crap that comes on the Epi LP Special 2 (lowest budget model I could find, did you expect it to have good tuning machines?). Make sure you get the 3 x 3 tuners if you have that type of guitar, or a 6 in line if you have that. It's easy to tell; if your tuning pegs are all on the same side, you need 6 in line. If there's 3 on the left of the headstock and 3 on the right, you need 3 x 3. A Les Paul uses 3 x 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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