Orionator Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Hello! This is my first time posting on this forum. I'll make it quick and get right to it: I recently bought an Epiphone G400 PRO that was advertised to have Wilkinson Vintage tuners. As you can see from the pictures, the tuners say Wilkinson Deluxe on the back. Now, when I received my guitar, I noticed that the back of my tuners said "Epiphone" Deluxe (image attached). I contacted Gibson support (and what a pain that was), and I was told that sometimes legitimate brands (such as Wilkinson) will "re-brand" their products when making them for specific instruments. Is this something I should be concerned about? Everything else on the guitar is near-perfect. Aside from some high frets, the guitar plays really, really well and sounds amazing. Thanks! :) EDIT: Pictures of the new ax were requested, so here they are :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Hello! This is my first time posting on this forum. I'll make it quick and get right to it: I recently bought an Epiphone G400 PRO that was advertised to have Wilkinson Vintage tuners. As you can see from the pictures, the tuners say Wilkinson Deluxe on the back. Now, when I received my guitar, I noticed that the back of my tuners said "Epiphone" Deluxe (image attached). I contacted Gibson support (and what a pain that was), and I was told that sometimes legitimate brands (such as Wilkinson) will "re-brand" their products when making them for specific instruments. Is this something I should be concerned about? Everything else on the guitar is near-perfect. Aside from some high frets, the guitar plays really, really well and sounds amazing. Thanks! :) I wouldn't worry about it. Epiphone is always changing details like this (most of the time to stamp Epiphone on it). chances are they will all have the Epiphone Deluxe tuners here forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 It's very possible the tuners are the same exact tuners, but just branded differently. I don't know what the "Wilkinson tuners" are that are "supposed" to be on that guitar, but it's kinda doubtful that for 350 bucks, they are as upscale as the name might lead one to believe. They look like standard "Kluson Deluxe" tuners made and branded by nearly everyone. (Kluson is no longer in business). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Photos might be helpful?! CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Photos might be helpful?! CB Yes - I want to see pics, too! It happened very often over the years that OEM manufacturers supplied parts manufacturer-branded and customer-branded as well. There often have been Grovers and Schallers saying Gibson or Fender, so why not Wilkinsons saying Epiphone? It's all good. But wait - we want to see PICS of your new Epiphone!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Photos might be helpful?! CB I followed the link provided, and the Wilkinson Deluxe do in fact appear to look identical to every other Kluson Deluxe tuner, save for the writing on the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I followed the link provided, and the Wilkinson Deluxe do in fact appear to look identical to every other Kluson Deluxe tuner, save for the writing on the back. I (initially) miss that link, somehow. But, those in the photo look amazingly like the OLD Klusons, in that the front and back edges are slightly rounded, as they were back then. Cool! Seems like they old ones had double ringed keys, but they probably came with double and single ringed models? I know the stock Klusons on my 1976 Gibson LP Deluxe, and my 1954 Gibson J-160E both had/have the double ringed key buttons. CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I (initially) miss that link, somehow. But, those in the photo look amazingly like the OLD Kluson's, in that the front and back edges are rounded, as they were back then. Cool! CB I had seen the link, but I thought it doesn't count in topics about NGDs. That made me wanting pics of the actual guitar - I thought this was your intention, too. Pics of the REAL thing, that is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I had seen the link, but I thought it doesn't count in topics about NGDs. That made me wanting pics of the actual guitar - I thought this was your intention, too. Pics of the REAL thing, that is! Well, of course, Cap! We always like photos of the actual guitar in question, as opposed to the stock ad photos, or sales site photos. I guess I just whizzed through the body of copy, initially, and didn't notice the underlined link. CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I (initially) miss that link, somehow. But, those in the photo look amazingly like the OLD Klusons, in that the front and back edges are slightly rounded, as they were back then. Cool! Seems like they old ones had double ringed keys, but they probably came with double and single ringed models? I know the stock Klusons on my 1976 Gibson LP Deluxe, and my 1954 Gibson J-160E both had/have the double ringed key buttons. CB That there, is an eye for detail. The ORIGINAL Klusons, did come in both double and single ring on the key. In fact, it used to be the case, before reproductions were available, that the single ring were very rare as that is what the the oldest Gibsons used to have, and of corse, as you know, they tend to deteriorate. Gibson switched from single to double ring sometime in the 60's. Something like that, anyway. These days, or corse, you can get anything, different looks, different quality. I can't keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 That there, is an eye for detail. The ORIGINAL Klusons, did come in both double and single ring on the key. In fact, it used to be the case, before reproductions were available, that the single ring were very rare as that is what the the oldest Gibsons used to have, and of corse, as you know, they tend to deteriorate. Gibson switched from single to double ring sometime in the 60's. Something like that, anyway. These days, of course, you can get anything, different looks, different quality. I can't keep up. I hear THAT! Amazing diversity of choices! It sometimes makes it difficult to even make a decision, with that much choice! LOL CB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orionator Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Thanks for the replies, everyone! I love how active this community is . I'm in mobile and at work right now, but I'll definitely have some pictures up when I get back home later today. She's a beauty :). Edit: Alright, pictures were added to the OP. Those are probably the best pictures I've taken of the guitar so far. It's a very promising instrument. It provides a wide range of tones thanks to the coil-splitting, and helps achieve tones for many different styles of music. In that I made, I'm using the bridge humbucker both tapped and untapped. I've never owned a guitar with single coils, so this one allows me to achieve tones that I've been trying to "mimic" for ages, but couldn't do so with just humbuckers. Overall I'm really happy with it and I can't wait to get some fret work done on it :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Willie Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 The Epiphone Deluxe tuners that came on my new Hummingbird Pro look just like Grover Deluxe tuners, but they don't perform like Grovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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