Replacement Tuners for Grovers

[Joe M]

Are there any drop-in tuners that will fit on my Dove to replace the HEAVY Grovers that are on it now? Really would like the tulip buttons, or keystone, or whatever else they're called, that look so much better on a couple of other Gibbys that I have.

[Paul14]

Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but I just replaced the tuner buttons, to silver tulips. 

[Dave F]

Show us what you have. Most of the tuners out there are dimensioned very well where you can tell if they will fit.  There are a lot of members that have ckck out tuners (including me) .

Good luck!

[Murph]

I like the big Grovers on my J-45 better than the little Grovers on my J-15.

[62burst]

I believe it is Buc here on the forum who knows the model number of Grover tuners to use, possibly these: https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Tuning_Machines/Solid_Peghead_Guitar_Tuning_Machines/Grover_Vintage_135_Series_3and3_Tuners.html

Just bear in mind- don’t the Grover Rotomatics ( if that’s what you have) that you’re looking to replace have a only a single screw on the lower inside?  Hopefully this would be covered by the base plate of the 135 tuners.. Worked for me.

 

Or- were those tuners Buc was talking about Gotoh tuners?

Edited August 14, 2019 by 62burst

[Paul14]

I replaced the Grover’s on my J-45 with Kluson Deluxe tuners. You just need to drill the top hole. Not a big deal.

[Joe M]

8 hours ago, 62burst said:

I believe it is Buc here on the forum who knows the model number of Grover tuners to use, possibly these: https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Tuning_Machines/Solid_Peghead_Guitar_Tuning_Machines/Grover_Vintage_135_Series_3and3_Tuners.html

Just bear in mind- don’t the Grover Rotomatics ( if that’s what you have) that you’re looking to replace have a only a single screw on the lower inside?  Hopefully this would be covered by the base plate of the 135 tuners.. Worked for me.

 

Or- were those tuners Buc was talking about Gotoh tuners?

Mine are the Rotomatics and I think you're right about the ones that Buc mentioned. Looks like I'd have to drill another hole to make them work, like Paul14 suggested. Thanks for the tips, guys.

[62burst]

1 hour ago, Joe M said:

Mine are the Rotomatics and I think you're right about the ones that Buc mentioned. Looks like I'd have to drill another hole to make them work, like Paul14 suggested. Thanks for the tips, guys.

 

Yes, and always good to put a little masking tape around the 1/16" drill bit just shy of the length of the body of the screw to use as a depth gauge.

 

Edited August 14, 2019 by 62burst

[Dave F]

2 minutes ago, 62burst said:

Yes, and always good to put a little masking tape around the 1/16" drill bit just shy of the length of the body of the screw to use as a depth gauge.

I never use an electric drill. Just hold the drill in a pin vise and use my fingers. With the tape as mentioned.

[62burst]

Almost forgot- not only is there a lot of metal hanging on the back of those tuners, but there’s a lot of metal going through the headstock, too. So you’ll most likely need the 3/8” conversion bushings, as well: https://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Tuning_Machines/Tuner_Parts/3_8_Conversion_Tuner_Bushing.html

Edited August 15, 2019 by 62burst

[Boyd]

31 minutes ago, 62burst said:

Almost forgot- not only is there a lot of metal hanging on the back of those tuners, but there’s a lot of metal going through the headstock, too. So you’ll most likely need the 3/8” conversion bushings, as well

 

Pretty sure you won't need those for the tuners in your earlier link. The spec for those tuners calls for a 13/32" hole (for the nominal size 3/8" tuners). The StewMac bushings you linked to are for installing "vintage" style 1/4" tuners.

Personally, I really prefer the vintage Kluson 1/4" tuners and replaced the Rotomatics on my 2008 J-50 with them a number of years ago. But that is significantly harder than just swapping tuners. Installing those bushings is not trivial. 😉 and there's also an issue because the oversized washers on the Rotomatics will probably leave a visible mark on the front of the headstock than will need to be sanded/polished away. I had no problem doing all of this, but I'm experienced with tools and it took awhile.

 

[62burst]

54 minutes ago, Boyd said:

 

Pretty sure you won't need those for the tuners in your earlier link.

I think you're right. The conversion bushings might've been used when going from the Rotos to 3 on a plates. Was going to go with these StewMac Golden Age jobs (shown below with some rotomatics, two of which probably weigh more than the whole 3 on a plate) for the old maple J-45, but ended up getting a salvaged pair of original tuners.