DRIFTER Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I'm sorry, but I have to say that I think these vintage tuners with the plastic knobs are the butt ugliest things I've ever encountered. To add insult to injury you can't even get rid of the damn things without exposing the original screw holes. The snot green ones are the worst offenders of the bunch having the peculiar ability to look awful on no matter what color guitar they are mismatched with. Evidently todays players accept them because they are under the impression that they were well loved in vintage days gone by. Not to pick on Gibson alone Fender is wallowing in outdated concepts of the past as well. Vintage 3 saddle bridges, non sealed tuners, and neck adjustment screws on the wrong end of the neck are remnants of a bygone era. As I remember most of the players I knew did nothing but complain about those poor designs. The minute we gained the option of sealed tuners, modern 6 saddle bridges that could actually achieve intonation, and a means to adjust our truss rods without having to remove the neck we were elated and jumped all over it. I know that Gibson and Fender still use this kind of outdated hardware in an attempt to remain true to the vintage appeal of many of their instruments. I just wanted to add a one more bit of historical accuracy in that many if not most of us who lived in those days that are now called vintage actually saw much of the "old style" hardware as inadequate and sorely in need of improvement and at the time we were very happy to see those improvements come along. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the nostalgia that makes much of what is vintage so desirable today didn't exist back in the day. That came along much much later. All we knew was that things needed to get better and over time they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMichaelG Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Depends on how it is being promoted and if there are enough fools to buy it? Jerry Springer Show springs to mind as does P. T. Barnum's famous quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I can agree with you on the green tuners, they look awful but the three saddle bridge.. well I can't agree there. I have a Fender Telecaster with the vintage style three saddle bridge and I find they feel a lot better and sound a bit different (better to my ears) from the six saddle Tele bridge. So I guess as long as people like me don't mind their intonation not being dead on for the sake of a tone that is more pleasing to their ears we'll have hardware that doesn't work quite as well as it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamBooka Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I can agree with you on the green tuners, they look awful but the three saddle bridge.. well I can't agree there. I have a Fender Telecaster with the vintage style three saddle bridge and I find they feel a lot better and sound a bit different (better to my ears) from the six saddle Tele bridge. I really really tried to get along with 6 saddles on my 74 tele.. couldnt do it (but then again I couldnt get along with the original steels and went to brass.. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I really really tried to get along with 6 saddles on my 74 tele.. couldnt do it (but then again I couldnt get along with the original steels and went to brass.. ) How did you find the brass saddles over the steel ones? I've been thinking about changing mine but I don't know if there will be much of a difference tonewise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamBooka Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 How did you find the brass saddles over the steel ones? I've been thinking about changing mine but I don't know if there will be much of a difference tonewise. I am deaf as a post .. no ear for tone whatsoever but even I could hear the difference. It softens the initial attack and a bit of the high end. I didnt notice much difference in terms of sustain. I use the guitar for playing rock and jazz (but never never jazz rock lol) so it is a no-turning-back scenario for me. I could understand country players wanting to stay with steel. I wonder what the calaham aluminum saddle sounds like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'm sorry, but I have to say that I think these vintage tuners with the plastic knobs are the butt ugliest things I've ever encountered. To add insult to injury you can't even get rid of the damn things without exposing the original screw holes. The snot green ones are the worst offenders of the bunch having the peculiar ability to look awful on no matter what color guitar they are mismatched with. Evidently todays players accept them because they are under the impression that they were well loved in vintage days gone by. Not to pick on Gibson alone Fender is wallowing in outdated concepts of the past as well. Vintage 3 saddle bridges, non sealed tuners, and neck adjustment screws on the wrong end of the neck are remnants of a bygone era. As I remember most of the players I knew did nothing but complain about those poor designs. The minute we gained the option of sealed tuners, modern 6 saddle bridges that could actually achieve intonation, and a means to adjust our truss rods without having to remove the neck we were elated and jumped all over it. I know that Gibson and Fender still use this kind of outdated hardware in an attempt to remain true to the vintage appeal of many of their instruments. I just wanted to add a one more bit of historical accuracy in that many if not most of us who lived in those days that are now called vintage actually saw much of the "old style" hardware as inadequate and sorely in need of improvement and at the time we were very happy to see those improvements come along. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the nostalgia that makes much of what is vintage so desirable today didn't exist back in the day. That came along much much later. All we knew was that things needed to get better and over time they did. How long does it take for a bad idea to die? ????? Usually till the next "bad idea" comes along.... I however, think...that it is a 'bad idea' to change original hardware unless its 'totally broke' for the sake of 'originality'. For example....I own a '65 SG Special that has been 'Groverised'... like so many were, back in the day. I 'crave' to put the old white-button 'strip Klusons' back on her to make her 'look' correct. Jus' Sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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