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Presto Changeo!


drathbun

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Posted

I just swapped the standard Grover tuner buttons for the Imperial type. I just swapped the buttons only. Took five minutes.

 

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Next change... truss rod cover. Stay tuned! :)

Posted

I just swapped the standard Grover tuner buttons for the Imperial type. I just swapped the buttons only. Took five minutes.

 

98a8e8aa.jpg

77a198d7.jpg

 

Next change... truss rod cover. Stay tuned! :)

I like those "Deco" inspired tuner heads!

Posted

I like those "Deco" inspired tuner heads!

 

 

I have never liked the look of the grover tuners or any of the mushroom style tuners of any brand (don't know if they are all made by the same company). The imperials looks awesome on the guitar.

 

 

 

JC

Posted

Doug, that looks great! How/where did you get the replacement buttons? I was thinking of changing out the buttons on my J-45 but wasn't sure if I could be sure of getting replacements that would be compatible with my Grovers.

Posted

Doug, that looks great! How/where did you get the replacement buttons? I was thinking of changing out the buttons on my J-45 but wasn't sure if I could be sure of getting replacements that would be compatible with my Grovers.

 

I got them from Allparts. (allparts.com)

 

These are direct replacements for the standard Grover buttons. Unscrew, pull off, put on new, tighten screw. Done!

 

I posted here earlier that I liked the look of insguy's Five Star Custom J200 and that my Standard was not that different at a glance than that amazing guitar. A set of Imperials, a Custom TRC, and it looks pretty much the same!

 

So I did some research on the Imperials but they would require drilling extra holes so there would be no going back. But Grover makes an Imperial "look a like" in that it has the standard Grover tuner, but Imperial type buttons. So I found the buttons on Allparts.com and I've had a TRC custom ingraved to replace the "standard".

Posted

I did exactly the same thing on my L-5 a few years ago, Imperial buttons AND TRC.

 

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Unfortunately in my case it wasn't just an unscrew/re-screw on the buttons. I had to re-machine the slots on the Imperial buttons. I guess my tuners are not Grover but "Gibson" branded MYSTERY tuners.

 

Yes, AllParts sells the buttons in chrome, gold, and pearloid. The TRC came from an e-bay seller, and is a very high quality part.

Posted

To me this is the quintessential J-200 headstock look.

 

those look good, I changed the ones on mine too

 

BTW, what kind of truss rod cover are you going to use ??

 

here's mine

 

IMG_2313.jpg

IMG_2309.jpg

Posted

Unfortunately in my case it wasn't just an unscrew/re-screw on the buttons. I had to re-machine the slots on the Imperial buttons. I guess my tuners are not Grover but "Gibson" branded MYSTERY tuners.

 

Hey Larry, could we see the back of that L5 headstock?

 

And WTH are those strings you have on it?

Posted

Hey Larry, could we see the back of that L5 headstock?

 

And WTH are those strings you have on it?

 

The strings I use on my jazzboxes are LaBella Black Nylon Tape Wound #800M (14-67). They are wound in nylon instead of nickel ribbon, and in fact have a roundwound string core.

http://www.labella.com/

 

As for a photo of the rear of my L-5 headstock, I'll have to shoot one and post it later.

Posted

Very nice! For my eye, the Grover Imperials are the machine head for a SJ200. I installed a set of the block-bodied model on the 200 I used to own.....they are beautiful on these big ol' guitars!

 

When I was guitar shopping this past weekend I played a Custom Shop decal 5 Star Quilt SJ200 that was very, very beautiful, equipped with the block-body Imperials. I was very disappointed to see a lot of glue squeezed out of the kerfing, both top and back sides. Terrible! I was amazed to see this lack of attention on such a high-end model and brought it to the attention of Jimmy at the store. It's this kind of thing that leaves a bad taste in the mouth of some Gibson bashers, and rightfully so in this case. Other than this cosmetic flaw the guitar was excellent, but had I been in the market for a 200 it would have been a deal breaker......no excuse for that kind of thing in a top-of-the-line 5 Star instrument.

Posted

Very nice! For my eye, the Grover Imperials are the machine head for a SJ200. I installed a set of the block-bodied model on the 200 I used to own.....they are beautiful on these big ol' guitars!

 

When I was guitar shopping this past weekend I played a Custom Shop decal 5 Star Quilt SJ200 that was very, very beautiful, equipped with the block-body Imperials. I was very disappointed to see a lot of glue squeezed out of the kerfing, both top and back sides. Terrible! I was amazed to see this lack of attention on such a high-end model and brought it to the attention of Jimmy at the store. It's this kind of thing that leaves a bad taste in the mouth of some Gibson bashers, and rightfully so in this case. Other than this cosmetic flaw the guitar was excellent, but had I been in the market for a 200 it would have been a deal breaker......no excuse for that kind of thing in a top-of-the-line 5 Star instrument.

 

Funny how I've never liked the look of the stair-step Imperials until I saw them on a J200.

 

As to your 5 star experience, yeah... ya gotta scratch your head on some of these basic finish issues. I don't get it. You make some of the most amazing sounding acoustic guitars on the planet and yet you allow something as basic as glue squeeze-out? Luthier 101... glue, clamp, clean up squeeze out.. move on.

 

I'm glad to say my J200 is flawless, inside and out. Plus, for a standard model, the flame is exquisite! And, OMG, is this big boy ever opening up now!

Posted

Finally received the TRC for the J200.

 

I took the "Standard" TRC and put it on my SWD.

 

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The tuners look great, not really a fan of the new TRC.

Posted

The tuners look great, not really a fan of the new TRC.

 

I'm not surprised Vincent! ;)

 

PS: just a note that I would NEVER sell it like this. I would replace the TRC back to Standard. Not that I'd ever consider selling it! Out of my cold dead hands! :)

 

[legalesestart] This is for my own pleasure and amusement only. [/legaleseend]

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