Do you need to upgrade your guitar tuners?

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Hi fam,
Have you ever thought about upgrading the tuning machines on your guitar? It might help your tuning stability, but it might be a big waste of money.
I recently upgraded the stock tuners on one of my guitars to locking Hipshot tuners. I thought I would make a video of the process just in case you were thinking about upgrading your guitar. There are some fun surprises you can see by viewing the full blog post below.
www.guitarfam.com/post/should...
Thanks for watching,
Nate
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[@MrRumorg]

Thank you for the video demonstration. I just purchased a set of locking tuners for my acoustic.

[@daveanderson119]

Great video. I don't enjoy changing strings and locking tuners make it faster and easier. I've put Hipshot locking tuners on 5 different guitars so far, even on my Little Martin acoustic. I love the positive feel and 18 to 1 ratio which really improves on the tuners many less expensive guitars have stock. The special mounting plates that are included are an ingenious concept and don't look bad at all and not having to drill new or fill old screw holes saves a lot of hassle. Sloppy tuning machines frustrate me to no end. I'm not a pro guitarist or luthier but am handy with tools and do some hobbyist woodworking. This was one of the earliest DIY guitar mods I ever attempted. Doing it gave me the courage to finally go on and learn to do most all of my own set up work.

[@ramencurry6672]

I own a set of Hipshot locking tuners for my acoustic. They are well designed. Possibly the best company for acoustic guitar locking tuners

[@jennyomalley7634]

I put Hipshot brass kit on my 50 year old guitar , problem is I had to reamer out the holes and also it's made the guitar top heavy. Wish I'd just bought just replacement tuners

[@adamdelarozza1985]

My Martin D special has similar tuners as the one you replaced. The Philips screw can be tightened but that will squash the white gasket O ring and then it always slips out of tune. I replaced them with Waverly's. Locking tuners are great and don't waste time tuning it all the time.

[@treishtrei]

I just changed on an ibanez rg6003fm some hipshots open gear. They dulled out the harmonic response. Looking to return them now and get Gotohs. On ibanez j customs they have non-locking gotohs. There must be a reason for that

[@78tag]

Well done, you said everything I would have said - only better. I love locking tuners. I wish all of my twang bangers had um but I'm not going to spend that kind of $ to replace them all.

[@Johnny4Clover]

The current height of my post on the current tuners are 22.5 mm or so to the center of the string hole. Is it ok to drop that down to 20 mm for locking tuners, or should I keep that height to the same 22.5 mm height? Have not found locking tuners yet for my jackson js22 LH, that are this height.

[@simpson6700]

Huh i don't really have context for what expensive guitars feel like. I know that my nut is a problem as it is plastic and old, i will replace that soon, but the tuners on my cheap yamaha are completely fine, they catch immediately and stay tuned.

[@ddmr44]

How to get the cap cover off so I can grease the gear? I tried banging the pin at the opposite end to pop it off, but that's not working.

[@TheGuitarFam]

Hmmm... Not sure about this one because I'm not sure of the specific tuners you have.

[@ddmr44]

@@TheGuitarFam Thanks for responding. I took it to Sam Ash and replaced the peg tuner altogether. That was the easiest solution!

[@tortillaman2491]

So I'm not really a guitarist but I keep one around for recording purposes. I was never happy with the tuning stability and thought maybe I made a mistake buying the lower level Gibson Les Paul. A friend turned me onto Sperzel locking tuners. But after watching your video, I'm not sure it's worth the $150+, and the $75+ labor cost of taking it to my local shop and having them install the tuners. Lesson learned Don't buy Gibson guitars.

[@ElIsraelJijijiji]

Hi, idk if you still reply but I have the same guitar, what tusq did you used, did you sanded it down or filed it down?

[@TheGuitarFam]

I do t remember the exact model # but I did have to sand it a tiny bit. Graphtech is great about helping with model numbers.

[@ElIsraelJijijiji]

@@TheGuitarFam did you sanded the base or where the strings sit?

[@procrastinator6902]

I'm sure the tuners themselves work well but I'm not a fan of those mounting plates. They don't look straight to me and I just don't think they look good at all. I know only the person playing sees them but that would definitely bother me.

[@darrelwessel2453]

You said it's easier to change your strings but you never said in what way it's easier. Thanks

[@ramencurry6672]

You don’t have to make those loops 6 times for each string. With locking tuners, just insert the strings and turn the lock. That’s it. It’s like having a clip on neck tie rather than a traditional neck tie. Some people are good at making those loops and can do it very fast. In that case, you don’t need locking tuners. Personally I prefer locking tuners,

[@78tag]

@@ramencurry6672 - I agree about the ease of string changes but I almost feel guilty about it - like I might loose my touch at the normal string wind :) :) Happy to say I have guitars w/o locking tuners so I probably am not going to forget how to complete a proper string wind any time soon.

[@DaPoopIsInDaPudding]

@@78tagloose?