K.E.B.1281734147 Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Has anyone put on Keystone tuners for their Dot? I'm confused about the size holes and if I need different bushings or if I need to drill or what. I'm looking at TonePros and Gotohs. Will either of these work as drop in replacements? http://www.marquisdistribution.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=43&products_id=204&osCsid=da95db66275186b280865d9bbd8ef0f1 http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/1/Gotoh_Vintage_Keystone-style_Tuners.html Scratch that. Not sure the Keystones will look right on the Dot. Does anyone know if these will fit? I don't mind drilling holes. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/1/Grover_Full-size_Rotomatics/Specs.html#details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I've only done Grover keystones. Usually people just buy the keystone buttons in chrome or gold and that fits their tuners. As I recall there may be some discrepancys with gotohs.. maybe with tonepros. compare to grover specs. usually if they have screw in bushings they will fit. press fit bushings are smaller.. like on kluson or kluson style tuners. They have a spec url on the stew mac page. When I hit it, I see press fit bushings. You have screw in bushings. look at the specs for your grovers, at stew mac. and you'll see the difference I am going to assume is there. Well hell. let's both take a look. First we find the grovers you have.. may not be there.. they seem to have changed items lately.. nope there they are.. grover full size rotomatics. Even if you have 14:1 they are the same size. So there's your specs http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/1/Grover_Full-size_Rotomatics/Specs.html#details and yep.. screw in bushings.. not press fit like the gotohs. you can check the tonepros the same way. I can see why you'd be confused.. you ought email them and say.. can you make that clearer? Or just list which tuners are interchangeable on each tuners page saving everyone the trouble of trying to decipher this? They don't list spec on the bushing size, do they? Not for grovers. TWANG there are also available glue/heat applied keystones.. plastic I think.. they'll fit your tuners, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InsideMan Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 KEB, You're not going to find drop-in replacements for your dot. But keystones (especially the greenish-pearloid Mother-Of-Toilet-Seat kind) look great on a dot--especially because they were on many Gibson 335s. I put Klusons on mine. This required the following adjustments: 1) Plug the old screw holes on the back with toothpick segments and superglue 2) Drill new screw holes using the new tuners as a pattern 3) Purchase and install press-fit oversized bushings on the top of the headstock. (The post holes on the old screw-fit bushing tuners were slightly larger. Fortunately, StewMac and others sell adapter bushings to fit the smaller tuner to the bigger holes.) The "ears" on the base of the new tuners covered the old plugged holes, so, after I installed the new tuners, it looked and played great. But I did it solely for cosmetic purposes. Tuning-wise, the original low-end Grovers were fine--they never slipped and the guitar stayed perfectly in tune. So be sure about your motivation. But I love the look. Here is a bad picture I keep reusing: Good luck with your mods. Have fun--that's the most important thing. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.E.B.1281734147 Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 Thanks guys. The reason for the new tuners is purely cosmetic. I'm changing everything over to nickel. I am intrigued by the 18:1 ratio offered. The stock Epi tuners are very good. I guess it really doesn't matter what type or brand I get. They must be nickel, and they must be for equal or higher quality than the stock ones. I'm open to suggestions. I just don't want to have to do any mods to the headstock. I don't mind if there are holes showing after the install. I don't mind making new holes either. The toothpick/glue mod is a bit more than I want to do. Thanks guys. TWANG, So are you saying these will fit? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/1/Grover_Full-size_Rotomatics/Specs.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Those will fit. I put these on mine, just for aesthetics: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Grover_Deluxe_Keystones.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scantron Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I'd recommend it. Both Grover and Gibson make a set that will fit. You might have to drill new mounting holes, nut it's no big deal and totally worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.E.B.1281734147 Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Well, I went with nickel Grovers. Between people saying the Keystones just don't look right on the Epies (Charlie Brown and others) and people saying it's easy to break the plastic models, I went with the rotomatics. Gibson makes the Keystones in Chrome, but I want Nickel hardware. Correction: Guitar Center sells Gibson Nickel Keystones for $60 + tax and delivery. Oh well, the Grovers are $45 delivered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 I'd recommend it. Both Grover and Gibson make a set that will fit. You might have to drill new mounting holes' date=' nut it's no big deal and totally worth it.[/quote']That's probably because all Gibson tuners are made by Grover. P.S. The Grover Vintage tuners are identical to the Gibsons except for the name stamped into the covers and typically cost about half as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scantron Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Well' date=' I went with nickel Grovers. Between people saying the Keystones just don't look right on the Epies (Charlie Brown and others) and people saying it's easy to break the plastic models, I went with the rotomatics. Gibson makes the Keystones in Chrome, but I want Nickel hardware. [b']Correction: Guitar Center sells Gibson Nickel Keystones for $60 + tax and delivery. Oh well, the Grovers are $45 delivered.[/b] The keystones do look a little weird on the elongated Epi headstock. I'm going to put some nickel Klusons, like on a Casino or Riviera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Tastes vary. I've just sold five or six sets of keystones for people who like the look. on the sheraton, I chose imperials because of the size of the headstock. I put keystones on my dove.. then sold them, gotta order myself more.. and what I really liked was the extra space between them, and the way they fit my fingers when I tuned.. it was faster and eaiser than the butterbeans. people rave about the 18:1s and they do offer finer tuning, but I've not had any problem at all with 14:1 so I haven't swapped them out. I prefer locking if anything different for faster string changes. I think the keystones looked better on the dove, too. I don't like the plastic because I just prefer a screw on.. they look good though. I wish Grover made a mini keystone for six in lines.. how's that for weird taste! TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.