Hamps93 Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Hi! I bought a 1967 Gibson J-50ADJ last month. The tuners are not the usual 3-on-a-plate Klusons which would be standard on the J50's (see attached pic). These tuners are slipping, so I ordered brand new 3-on-a-plate Klusons which would be the period-correct ones with my mind set on changing it back to stock. Although after some research, I've found a few J-50s from this period with the exact same tuners as mine. Does anyone have an idea if these chrome-tuners were original on some J-50s back in the 60s? I can't really locate any potential covered up screw holes for the plate-Klusons. And what are they, I'm assuming some sort of Kluson? I wanna keep the guitars as much as original, so I will have to find replacement for these. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 I've never seen that style of tuners on a Gibson guitar in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamps93 Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 Neither had I, until I started digging a bit, found a few here: https://reverb.com/item/35614052-gibson-1967-j-50-adj https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-J-50/264730752444?hash=item3da32eb5bc:g:pVQAAOSw85JevXjF https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-J-50-1966/264773454661?hash=item3da5ba4b45:g:Z6IAAOSwjDJe8i~2 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-B-25-CH-1967-Vintage-Acoustic-Guitar-j0609/193626544149?hash=item2d150a9815:g:ovkAAOSw10FeLTU3 The last one lists it as "Original open back" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vw1300 Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 IMO they're not original. The open back tuners on those guitars look impossibly clean and shiny for being 50+ years old. All of those guitars are currently in Japan and are overpriced (at least for the American market) by about 100% anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Admittedly I have not spent a lot of time with Gibsons built after 1960 my experience being limited to 12 strings. And we have have learned that when it comes to Gibsons there always seems to be an exception to the rule. Just a while back I learned, based on examples, there was an entire run of serial numbers for a 1969 guitar which none of the books or sites had made note of. Then again, virtually all of the expert info on Gibsons seems to come from the same original sources so any omissions or gaps are simply perpetuated. Somebody with better eyes than mine though needs to look at the headstock shot closely. It does look like there might be small holes poking out underneath and just to the inside of the screws on the tuners on the upper pair. But even if so, Gibson could have originally routed the guitar for the standard three on a plate Klusons but used something else on a couple of batches of guitars. That so many examples were found with the exact same "replacement" tuners does make you have to wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Those look like Teisco tuners. May explain why they're all in Japan. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Teisco-Greco-Univox-Domino-Guitar-Inline-Set-of-6-Tuners-for-Project/333658380049?hash=item4daf96d711:g:f2MAAOSwZSxfEkQu https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-70s-Teisco-Greco-Univox-Kawai-Japan-Guitar-Set-of-6-Tuners-for-Project/333610389855?hash=item4dacba915f:g:O68AAOSwBuVez9v8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 (edited) These tuners were 100% original equipment on many Gibson and Epiphone acoustics built in 1967, and they are of Japanese origin. In particular, I’ve seen them on numerous roundshoulders from that year (including Texans), as well as the B-25 and it’s Epi Cortez clone. Edit: Again, these were only utilized by Gibson for a period of time in 1967. If you’re lucky, the headstock hole spacing might not have been changed, and 3-on-a-plate Klusons might drop in - covering many of the holes. Hope it ends up being an easy swap! Edited September 16, 2020 by bobouz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamps93 Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Wow thanks! Knew I'd get some knowledge here 😄 The mounting screws will have to drilled for 3-on-a-plate ones, I guess I'll to try to fix these up in first hand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Another on AGF now. Same tuners... https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=592267 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamps93 Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 Cool find, thanks! Any idea if some maintenance can bring them back to function as you'd want? Right now the turning is pretty rough and the top E & B-strings slip after awhile. Any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Very interesting, never saw anything like that either. My 1965 J50 ADJ has the 3-on-a-plate style tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 The Acoustic Gibson Forum strikes again ^ we can get rather sharp when the spirit grabs us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 On 9/15/2020 at 4:34 AM, Hamps93 said: Hi! I bought a 1967 Gibson J-50ADJ last month. The tuners are not the usual 3-on-a-plate Klusons which would be standard on the J50's (see attached pic). These tuners are slipping, so I ordered brand new 3-on-a-plate Klusons which would be the period-correct ones with my mind set on changing it back to stock. Although after some research, I've found a few J-50s from this period with the exact same tuners as mine. Does anyone have an idea if these chrome-tuners were original on some J-50s back in the 60s? I can't really locate any potential covered up screw holes for the plate-Klusons. And what are they, I'm assuming some sort of Kluson? I wanna keep the guitars as much as original, so I will have to find replacement for these. Thanks! That headstock side flare seems excessive for a '67 roundshoulder J-50. Got a picture of the whole guitar, from the front? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamps93 Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, j45nick said: That headstock side flare seems excessive for a '67 roundshoulder J-50. Got a picture of the whole guitar, from the front? Here it is 🙂 Edited September 17, 2020 by Hamps93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 10 hours ago, j45nick said: That headstock side flare seems excessive for a '67 roundshoulder J-50. Does seem pretty extreme, this is my 1965 J-50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamps93 Posted September 17, 2020 Author Share Posted September 17, 2020 Well, here's another -65: https://www.creamcitymusic.com/vintage-1965-gibson-j-50-dreadnought-natural/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Boyd said: I’m guessing the headstock taper variations are just a matter of lens angles. Notice how even Boyd’s two shots of the same guitar look vastly different (front vs back). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Good point. In the front view, the base of the headstock is closer to the camera and in the rear view the top is closer, so perspective makes the closest part look bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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