jjrpilot Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 I got this J45 new a year ago thereabouts. The chrome buttons on the Grover tuners just didn't look right as those classic J45's never had chrome. I know there are other tuner options but I didn't want to mess with extra holes or more drilling. I opted to get ivory colored acrylic buttons instead. They were shipped from Taiwan and arrived today. They fit PERFECTLY and I love the look so much better than the chrome. The color also matched the binding. It also lightened the guitar, as those chrome buttons weighed a ton! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Love it. Good swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Looks nice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Well done. Any kind of better is much better, and just getting the bulky Roto tuner buttons off of there is an improvement. The A string button in the photo shows that they even have a grained ivoroid appearance similar to the Waverly tuners. So- a quick spin of the small phillips head screwdriver and done? Feel free to share a link . . . I'm sure many here would like to know about that option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 The reason metal buttons look wrong on a Gibson is as far as I know Kluson, which started providing Gibson with tuning machines sometime in the later-1930s, never used them. Grover and Waverly yeah but not Kluson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 yep ! that looks sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, zombywoof said: The reason metal buttons look wrong on a Gibson is as far as I know Kluson, which started providing Gibson with tuning machines sometime in the later-1930s, never used them. These are the original tuners from my 1974 J-50 Deluxe, they are all-metal. I assume they are Klusons, based on the style. But I agree, the big silver rotomatic buttons do look wrong, which is why I replaced them with Klusons on my 2008 J-50. Before doing that however, I also replaced the original metal Rotomatic buttons with pearl-type plastic ones, and it looked much better. So - nice job jjrpilot! 😎 Edited September 26, 2019 by Boyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 (edited) 47 minutes ago, Boyd said: These are the original tuners from my 1974 J-50 Deluxe, they are all-metal. I assume they are Klusons, based on the style. But I agree, the big silver rotomatic buttons do look wrong, which is why I replaced them with Klusons on my 2008 J-50. Before doing that however, I also replaced the original metal Rotomatic buttons with pearl-type plastic ones, and it looked much better. So - nice job jjrpilot! 😎 So obviously Kluson did start using metal buttons in the 1970s. I cannot tell from the photo but I assume they are double line Gibson Deluxe Klusons. I believe the Grovers start showing up on the J45 in 1978 or so. Edited September 26, 2019 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 4 minutes ago, zombywoof said: I cannot tell from the photo but I assume they are double line Gibson Deluxe Klusons. Yes, here's a close-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrpilot Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 15 hours ago, 62burst said: Well done. Any kind of better is much better, and just getting the bulky Roto tuner buttons off of there is an improvement. The A string button in the photo shows that they even have a grained ivoroid appearance similar to the Waverly tuners. So- a quick spin of the small phillips head screwdriver and done? Feel free to share a link . . . I'm sure many here would like to know about that option. Super easy to install! Just unscrew the long screws, and simply put the ivory ones on! I got them off of eBay. Buttons! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSchooner Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Looks good! I put amber and tortoise buttons on my banjos that I got from Bob Smakula; they look so nice I've been thinking about replacing the buttons on my D-28 (Grovers) and F212XL (mini-Schallers). Thinking of tortoise on the Martin and black on the Guild to match the pickguards. Might just do it someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Well jjrpilot - you convinced me. I just got confirmation that my tuner buttons are on their way. I've been looking for a way to upgrade the look of the Grovers but it was so expensive in many instances. Most things ordered in from the U.S cost a ridiculous amount for shipping- even just here to Canada The cost from Taiwan was better than most companies will do from America. So I'm looking forward to a leaner,cleaner look soon. Thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holiday Hoser Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I'm liking these tortoise shell buttons I got from either StewMac or All Parts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALD323 Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 (edited) I've just ordered 2 sets of these white tuner buttons for my 2015 J-45...and for my Gibson J-45 Studio, hoping they will look better than the mental tuners and lighter in weight too. They seem very nice and have those sweet ivoroid lines in them. When they arrive and are installed I will report back. Hopefully others will do the same. They appear to be selling fast in the web site. Does anyone know if I must remove the strings to install these, or perhaps loosen the pressure, or can the buttons be put on without detuning or removing the strings. Thanks all! Edited September 30, 2019 by ALD323 added question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 Installing tuner buttons is is trivial. Just unscrew the old ones and screw the new ones in their place. No need to mess with the strings or anything, it should only take a few minutes. My only issue with a button swap vs. completely replacing the tuners is the big Rotomatic washers around the tuning pegs are so ugly. I'd say they bothered me even more than the ugly tuner buttons on my J-50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 I like the swap out, it's good when a plan goes well - nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted September 30, 2019 Share Posted September 30, 2019 You could "age" the white plastic buttons if you want, see the part about shoe polish here. Other forum members have done this, but I haven't. https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Trade_Secrets/Making_new_tuners_look_vintage.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Just an up-date on the replacements: I ordered them on Sept.26 and they arrived today exactly as described and $35 U.S. as promised. They fit very easily and weigh next to nothing compared to the Grovers. BTW the Grovers weighed in at 75 grams or 2 3/4 oz. Thank you jjrpilot for the recommendation! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrpilot Posted October 4, 2019 Author Share Posted October 4, 2019 35 minutes ago, olie said: Just an up-date on the replacements: I ordered them on Sept.26 and they arrived today exactly as described and $35 U.S. as promised. They fit very easily and weigh next to nothing compared to the Grovers. BTW the Grovers weighed in at 75 grams or 2 3/4 oz. Thank you jjrpilot for the recommendation! You bet! You have any pics? Ya they fit so nice and snug! Saving 75 grams in weight feels good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Sorry - I'm a tech dinosaur but the photo would look very similar to the one you posted. Mine's a '14 J-45 standard. I can't believe how much better they make it look. The great part about this is that I didn't have to swap out the entire tuner to get the effect - no drilled holes etc. , not to mention the expense. My issue was not with the tuners themselves-they do a good job-it was the esthetics and the weight. Thanks again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALD323 Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) Olie thanks for the updates...I just ordered 2 sets of these these as well, and can't wait to make my 2013 J-45 look better...as well as my new J-45 Studio model. These buttons will go on both. Like you, I like the way, they work perfect and found no reason to replace them...these Ivoroid acrylic buttons are beautiful too. Those who want these might consider ordering them as 44 sets of these have been sold already. These buttons look great, and the company in Taiwan who makes them are very honest and easy to work with, having responded with them repeatedly. I have requested them to attempt to produce Gibson Hummingbird Jade Tulip buttons for the gibson hummingbird rotomatics. You might want to drop a bug in their ear by email about the Jade Tulip buttons exclusively made for rotomatics..we could just end up with the perfect solution for those steely looking heavy rotomatics on a hummingbird. I told them I would order those Tulip buttons in a heartbeat should they decide to produce them...and so likely would many others who are stuck with those cold clunky rotomatic tuners Gibson insists on using on the hummingbird standard model. ..Many thanks to the original poster of this thread JJrpilot. Sooo glad you posted this! And thanks Olie for your update on these J-45 acrylic Ivoroid button replacements for the J-45. These buttons are a brilliant way to have your cake and eat it too! Edited October 4, 2019 by ALD323 name correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrpilot Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 On 10/4/2019 at 3:22 PM, ALD323 said: Olie thanks for the updates...I just ordered 2 sets of these these as well, and can't wait to make my 2013 J-45 look better...as well as my new J-45 Studio model. These buttons will go on both. Like you, I like the way, they work perfect and found no reason to replace them...these Ivoroid acrylic buttons are beautiful too. Those who want these might consider ordering them as 44 sets of these have been sold already. These buttons look great, and the company in Taiwan who makes them are very honest and easy to work with, having responded with them repeatedly. I have requested them to attempt to produce Gibson Hummingbird Jade Tulip buttons for the gibson hummingbird rotomatics. You might want to drop a bug in their ear by email about the Jade Tulip buttons exclusively made for rotomatics..we could just end up with the perfect solution for those steely looking heavy rotomatics on a hummingbird. I told them I would order those Tulip buttons in a heartbeat should they decide to produce them...and so likely would many others who are stuck with those cold clunky rotomatic tuners Gibson insists on using on the hummingbird standard model. ..Many thanks to the original poster of this thread JJrpilot. Sooo glad you posted this! And thanks Olie for your update on these J-45 acrylic Ivoroid button replacements for the J-45. These buttons are a brilliant way to have your cake and eat it too! No problem at all! Hope you get yours soon! The savings in weight alone is worth it not to mention we don't have to drill new holes etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALD323 Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 UPDATE: Hard lesson learned...but an interesting experiment I guess on the white j-45 pins I ordered from Taiwan to replace the metal rotomatic buttons. I recieved them today in short order about a week. They looked great, felt great, and looked even better on my J-45...BUT...after installing them on the guitar, and after admiring their new look for a bit..I began to play. They had gone out of tune from the button changing, which is all fine, I began to retune...until the A tuner button just busted off, with one single turn...in half..onto the floor. I had taken special care to not over tighten them and also in making sure the washers remained on each tuner before installing the white acrylic ivoroid buttons. I removed them all immediately. I guess I know know why the heavy solid metal buttons are put on the rotomatics. ...The pressure of the screw holding the pin onto the shaft could collapse that steel button if it were to tinny or light..so a sturdy heavy metal button is placed on it instead..one which by the way, will last a life time. Perhaps the plastics simply can not handel prolonged pressure of the screw holding them on the shaft?.. though they may last longer for others they did not work for me. Rotomatics are built to last a life time of use and abuse, I do not believe these plastic buttons will fare nearly as well. So if you use these plastic buttons while playing out, I would urge you to taking caution in bring the metal ones or an extra plastic one and a screwdrive to fix it, or you would be unable to play. The breakage happened in a single pop turn before the string had even reached tune. I would simply have flipped if this had occured on a gig unexpectantly..there would have been no way to fix it. .....and now I also understand why they sent me 3 extra white plastic buttons with the set. They break. Oh well, not to worry. And so now my metal rotomatic buttons are back on my J-45....whew!...and there they will stay unless I decide to do the drill and replace thing..which is simply not worth the effort to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 The news you bring is anything but positive -so far my experience has been all right but I'm a tad leery now. It could well be that the ivoroid buttons are not as sturdy as the Grovers. The new ones have the rectangular slot that fits snugly onto the shaft and seem fine thus far. Thanks, though for the warning. I guess the old saying " If it seems too good to be true..." could apply here too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 14 hours ago, ALD323 said: Perhaps the plastics simply can not handel prolonged pressure of the screw holding them on the shaft?.. That's an interesting theory, but my guess is that the quality of the product you bought was just poor. Plenty of us have 50 or 60 year old guitars with the original plastic Kluson tuner buttons. And this is also a good reason to order parts from well-known reputable companies like StewMac, who will stand behind their products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.