hawgadi Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Hey gang, I have an awesome new J-45 TV with a red spruce top. Love it. Phenomenal response and tone, and got a great deal on it. Just did some saddle adjustment (the shop where I bought it has no tech), and it's playing beautifully. Only issue I have with the guitar is the tuners. Don't hold tune very well and are sticky and tight. I'm used to Waverlies. Here are the tuners I have. Don't know who makes them, and want to get some replacements from StewMac: It's a little hard to tell who makes the tuners on the StewMac site, and I don't want to get the same ones I have now. I'm looking at these: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Golden_Age_Restoration_Tuners_for_Solid_Peghead.html and these: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Vintage-style_3-on-Plate_Tuners.html Don't really care too much about historical accuracy, as the guitar seems a little off in this regard anyway. Looking for the best tuners. I assume I have to replace them with the 3-on-a-plate kind, or there are going to be holes, and I don't want to deal with that level of a repair job. Any recommendations of those tuners or other replacements? Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayla Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Perhaps StewMac themselves manufacture them, or have them made for them exclusively. Why not email them and ask? FWIW, my suggestion for replacement tuners would be: Waverlys with oval ivoroid buttons, but I don't know if you'd have to drill new holes (looks likely), if the tuners you currently have would leave marks on the back of the headstock (probably), if you'd be willing to do so, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brums Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I like these http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/6/Waverly_Guitar_Tuners.html and these........................ http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/7/Waverly_Guitar_Tuners.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I have the restoration tuners on my LG-0... they fit the existing holes, but I had to re-drill: Originals in the front, replacements in the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Hawgadi, I sent you an e-mail about your TV's tuning machines. I'd llike to buy those from you if you want to get rid of them. I also have a set of open back Gotohs like Gibson uses to trade. Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Here are the tuners I have. Don't know who makes them' date=' ... .[/quote'] These look like the Antique Acoustics Replica Tuners from Blazer and Henkes, which are the tuners on the Legend series guitars. If that's what they are, they sell for around $160 -- you should be able to sell them for enough to buy those 3-on-a-plate closed-back Kluson-like tuners from StewMac and pocket close to $100. (Personally, I'd stay away from the Golden Age tuners, since the plate is the wrong shape.) -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MapleManiac Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I guess I'm not the only one with J45 tuning problems. I might spring for Waverlies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 If the guitar is new I would wait a bit before messing with the tuners. A new guitar is still settling in, and in springtime the humidity goes up and down, which can cause it to go out of tune. Those worm gears don't really slip. I would lubricate them so they turn easier and more smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmith9509 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 After replacing the factory Grovers with Waverlies on my J45MC, I would do it again with another guitar- even if it meant re-drilling. I like them a lot more than any other tuners I've tried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayla Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 After replacing the factory Grovers with Waverlies on my J45MC' date=' I would do it again with another guitar- even if it meant re-drilling. I like them a lot more than any other tuners I've tried.[/quote'] +1 (though I replaced Klusons on a J-100). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawgadi Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 If the guitar is new I would wait a bit before messing with the tuners. A new guitar is still settling in' date=' and in springtime the humidity goes up and down, which can cause it to go out of tune. Those worm gears don't really slip. I would lubricate them so they turn easier and more smoothly.[/quote'] Sounds like good advice. I've lubed them with Tri-Flow a couple of times so far, and they seem to be better, if still rather stiff. Also did an adjustment to the saddle (brought it down 1/32) and it's playing easier and the intonation seems better, which is helping the perception of being out of tune a bit as well. Interestingly it seems harder to make it buzz with the saddle lower. That I did not expect. Not sure if the nut setup is perfect, but it's working pretty well for now, and I'm happy to have done the saddle work myself. Thanks Frank Ford and Frets.com! Thanks everyone for the responses. I'm going to take Jerry's good advice and live with them for a couple of months (I think) and see if they break in. Sounds like they're supposed to be decent tuners I take it. Frank, if I do sell them and get a replacement set, you'll be the first to know. Got your other message as well. Thanks! Very helpful everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawgadi Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 These look like the Antique Acoustics Replica Tuners from Blazer and Henkes' date=' which are the tuners on the Legend series guitars. If that's what they are, they sell for around $160 -- you should be able to sell them for enough to buy those 3-on-a-plate closed-back Kluson-like tuners from StewMac and pocket close to $100. (Personally, I'd stay away from the Golden Age tuners, since the plate is the wrong shape.) -- Bob R[/quote'] Awesome, thx for the info. Can you clarify what you mean by "wrong shape"? You're thinking they won't fit, or something else. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Waverlies probably are better tuners but the ones on there have a nice vintage vibe so I would suggest give them a try for a while. All of my solid wood guitars, especially the newer ones, have been going out of tune lately because of the wild humidity swings in the Bay Area. I believe it does help to tune up to pitch rather than down, because when you go down to pitch there is a tiny bit of play left in the gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Can you clarify what you mean by "wrong shape"? Oops! I thought the plates on the Golden Age tuners were slightly "squattier", just from looking at them, but I checked the specs on the StewMac site against the measurements of a set of the Blazer and Henkes and the Golden Age plate is the same width and just a hair longer. You'd have to swap bushings, because of the smaller shafts, and possibly drill holes (I didn't check those measurements), but the plates wouldn't be a problem. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michealjones Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 You've got to read this new book called The Talent Code-- the introduction is about a girl who did a month's worth of practice in five minutes -- there's an excerpt here (The Talent Code) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 You've got to read this new book called The Talent Code-- the introduction is about a girl who did a month's worth of practice in five minutes -- there's an excerpt here (The Talent Code) And you've got to read this new book called The Book of Spam: A Most Glorious and Definitive Compendium of the World's Favorite Canned Meat -- the introduction is about why Spam is unbelievably awesome -- there's an excerpt here (The Book of Spam) -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayla Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Waverlies probably are better tuners but the ones on there have a nice vintage vibe so I would suggest give them a try for a while. All of my solid wood guitars' date=' especially the newer ones, have been going out of tune lately because of the wild humidity swings in the Bay Area...[/quote'] Humidity also varies wildly where I live -- can go from single digits to 80+ in the course of a day/eve -- but in my house it's pretty stable, unless I leave doors and windows open all the time. Does RH vary that wildly *in* your house/guitar room? If so, are you doing anything to control it? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I've lived in this same house in the south bay area for 6 years and the humidity has been remarkably steady for most of the time. When it rains it spikes up a bit but it doesn't rain that much here so not much problem. Usually it rains when it's cold, so the actual absolute moisture content of the air is not that high. Just recently we had a mass of warm, moist air come in and raise the humidity very significantly. Warm air carries a lot of moisture in an absolute sense. I guess we are on the edge of dry continental air (usually dominates a few miles from the coast) and very moist air from the northwest and the moist has been coming in more this year than previous years. That's my guess. Normally I do nothing about humidity for guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayla Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Normally I do nothing about humidity for guitars. But if it's fluctuating enough to effect your tuning, shouldn't you be doing something about it? Whatever the outside RH, inside my house and cases it's between 55%-60% and the guitars are stable: no problems with tuning, action, etc. Like you, I do nothing about it, except monitor for it. If my guitars wouldn't stay in tune and it was humidity that was causing it, I'd definitely be looking into trying to change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Usually there just isn't any problem. Others from the area have mentioned the same experience. This year is weird. Clear sky, 78 degrees, and 70 percent humidity is not normal here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawgadi Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 yeah, it's interesting--I do nothing about humidity here, and never have despite owning many high-end guitars. For whatever reason, it's not an issue. Right now the windows are open all day for sure. The humidity in the house is the same as outside. We just don't have to run heaters or AC much here, and the normal humidity is right about where it needs to be. Weather has been weird here lately. Muggy, sorta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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