Jesse Waldman Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Hello fine folks and thanks in advance for any help you can offer! I recently purchased a 2018 Gibson L-00 Standard and am very happy with it overall. One thing I was hoping to do was replace the Grover mini-rotomatic tuner buttons with small white or off-white plastic ones. After searching online for a couple months I cannot find any at all. I'm wondering if any Gibson folks might have an inside scoop on if these exist and if so where I can purchase any. Thanks so much in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 (edited) I don't believe you'll be able to find old style small plastic ovals for those. I'd start at StewMac and begin the search for vintage style compatible machines. I've swapped out a bunch, hate the Grover Roto's for their clunky look. You'll end up with a visible screw hole on each, and have to double check on post spacing and bushing diameters. Here's a start. https://www.ebay.com/itm/KLUSON-PRESTIGE-KP-3H-NP-3-3-OPEN-BACK-TUNERS-IN-NICKEL-W-PARCHMENT-BUTTONS/143717576865?_trkparms=aid%3D1110012%26algo%3DSPLICE.SOIPOST%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190711095549%26meid%3D3646aec4fee842e59257b476629e7fc7%26pid%3D100047%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D133548681356%26itm%3D143717576865%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSellersOtherItemsV2%26brand%3DKluson&_trksid=p2047675.c100047.m2108https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kluson-3-per-plate-Double-line-tuners-w-oval-white-buttons-fits-Gibson-Kay-Epi/233862881681?hash=item3673506191:g:CXQAAOSwWjlgBD4Nhttps://reverb.com/item/29220622-kluson-guitar-3-3-oval-white-button-double-line-nickel-tuning-pegs-gibson Edited February 10, 2021 by jedzep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 I am confused. You just want to change the buttons but leave the Rotomatics? I am with jedzep on this one - Grover Rotomatics just look so wrong on a Gibson acoustic. But on the other hand if it ain't broke don't fix it. In terms of tuners themelves though these are pretty close to what they would have looked like on an L-00 ca. 1937 on. That is, of course, if it matters. On earlier versions the plates were squared off for each tuner.. Golden Age Restoration Tuners for Solid Peghead Guitar with Square-end | stewmac.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 10 minutes ago, zombywoof said: I am confused. You just want to change the buttons but leave the Rotomatics? I am with jedzep on this one - Grover Rotomatics just look so wrong on a Gibson acoustic. But on the other hand if it ain't broke don't fix it. In terms of tuners themelves though these are pretty close to what they would have looked like on an L-00 ca. 1937 on. That is, of course, if it matters. On earlier versions the plates were squared off for each tuner.. Golden Age Restoration Tuners for Solid Peghead Guitar with Square-end | stewmac.com They are the mini-rotos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 (edited) Yeah, I went through all that with the mini Rotos on my Blues King L-00......no dice but I haven't looked recently. My tuners are actually very good, I also have the Golden Age on others guitars and they are so so. Someone suggested paint the mini roto buttons white, may have been nail polish? If your tuners work well, paint them, or you will have holes everywhere. BluesKing777. Edited February 12, 2021 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 These are the ones on the L00 reissue. They look like the Golden Age ones I did not care for the feel of the ones that came on my recent 2020 '42 Banner SJ so I replaced them with these Waverley's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 12 hours ago, Dave F said: These are the ones on the L00 reissue. They look like the Golden Age ones I did not care for the feel of the ones that came on my recent 2020 '42 Banner SJ so I replaced them with these Waverley's The ones on the L-00 RI look to be the same I linked to. They are very close to the tuners you got on post-1935 L guitars. Nobpdy that I know of is making a repro of the tuners found on earlier versions. When I got my '42 J50 the origial tuners were gone. I, however, had a nice set of originals in my parts box. So while OEM they are not original to the guitar. It is a shame though that Antique Acoustics is no longer making tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 (edited) My wife's 1960 J200 came with gold Rotomatics. They are still on it. The strangest original tuners I have ever run across on a Gibson were those on a 1958 J200. It sported a set of leftover Epiphone Kluson Sealfast tuners that somebody had done some etching work on to turn the Epi Epislon into a "G." An OEM set of these tuners stamped with the "G" sell for a small fortune today. Edited February 13, 2021 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 I usually keep my eyes open for vintage tuners at bargain prices. I nabbed this clean set a while back. A nice example of the early '30's Waverly's used by Gibson. I've found that most of the peghead tuners like these just need a stem swap and they're ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 1 hour ago, zombywoof said: It is a shame though that Antique Acoustics is no longer making tuners. True dat. My L-00 Legend has the AA tuners. The buttons are the most accurate repros you can find, in both shape and color. They are not like the ones on the Waverly tuners, nor the Golden Age tuners. They are a bit more sculpted, rather than "fat" like the other repro ones you can buy at Stewmac and elsewhere. I had to replace the crumbling buttons on a set of 1950 Klusons, and first put the Stewmac version on. Then I found the AA ones at Elderly, and there is no comparison. The AA tuners are a bit stiff, but they also have a higher gear ratio than the originals. If you can find them, buy them and stick them in your parts box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) I replaced the Rotomatics on a J-45 Standard a while ago and here's the thread with some pictures of how it turned out. Here's the thread, which is sort of a mini tutorial about how I went about replacing the tuners, what bushings to use and how to get rid of the "raccoon eyes" from the Rotomatic bushings. Kluson now also makes a set of 3 on a plate with vintage white buttons in 18:1 gear ratio. Those should be pretty darn smooth. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJX6VVX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Edited February 14, 2021 by sbpark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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