SkyRider Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 ZERO SANDING, BUFFING, REAMING, and BUYING REDUCTION BUSHING! Took only 30 Minutes total from opening the package to playing my guitar. I have seen many J-45 tuner swap threads on AGF and Gibson forum lately. I assume this is because Rotomatics on modern J45 just looks wrong on this otherwise iconic guitar not to mention it's added weight. Yes, Rotomatics function well but some of us do care about aesthetics and weight of guitar. My J45 Tuner journey started with looking into Waverley's, Tonepros, and other vintage looking tuners. However most I found required press in reduction bushing and additional work to remove the "raccoon" eyes caused by washer in Rotomatics. I know these are small amount of work to some but I really wanted minimal straight swap so I decided to look further. Also to my surprise some did not like the function and design of the vintage style open gear tuners such as Waverly tuners and thought threaded were superior by design. This is when I came across Gotoh SXN510(V). It looks just like your typical Vintage tuner. However it was threaded design. The description on Gotoh web states these were made to be a straight swap to Rotomatics. It's lighter in weight, vintage looks, threaded design, and minimal mod (ZERO SANDING, BUFFING, REAMING, BUYING REDUCTION BUSHING) won me over. :) https://g-gotoh.com/international/product/sxn510v.html Gotoh SXN510(v) was lighter, looked appropriate (in my eyes), and least amount of mod I found. Please see pics! No, this tuner is not the exact tuners you see on vintage J-45's. However it's lot closer than Rotomatics and I am ok with that. I ordered these from: https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com windows screenshot tool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_78 Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 I must confes I prefer Klusons on Gibsons: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/144148-j45-standard-tuner-conversion-done-super-easy/ Tonepros tulips are also a direct swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Glad you found a solution that you like. But for me personally, that doesn't do it. I think the big washers on the Rotomatics are one of their most unattractive aspects, and they are still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 .....the big washers on the Rotomatics are one of their most unattractive aspects, and they are still there. Amen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Big improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 For me, replacing the tuners was to get rid of those big washers on the front of the headstock along with the huge buttons and added, unnecessary weight. If you're going to have to add 6 new screw holes you might as well just go with the more traditional look with some 3-on-a-plate tuners and use some Scratch-X 2.0 which will take care of the scratches caused by wet sanding out the marks left by the Rotomatic washers. Seriously, it only adds like 30 minutes to the overall install. OP's install does look good though and they look like nice tuners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.