guitar machine heads explained and everything you need to know about guitar tuners (tuning pegs)

[@cidgingrich446]

Thank you so much brother. I’ve been playing guitar for 16 years now and knew nothing of the technical side of the instrument. Your video was super informative and your voice was engaging. Great stuff man!

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you very much . . . 😊😀

[@cmonster67]

Most complete video on the topic. Many thanks!!

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it was helpful! thank you very much 😊😃

[@megabyatt]

Another brilliant and precise presentation,thank you .

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you. that's really nice of you ! 😊😃 (thank you for your support)

[@michaeld2716]

Thank you for explaining the differences and why.

[@guitar-academy]

no problem . . thank you 😊😃

[@OblivionAviator]

Awesome! Just what I was looking for! GREAT job! Thanks so much!

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it helped! thank you very much 😊😀

[@gordonhobbs126]

WOW THIS IS A FANTASTIC REVIEW THANK YOU SO MUCH VERY HANDY TO KNOW THIS

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it was helpful! thank you very much 😊😀

[@runningwithscissors0911]

Thank you for this great, detailed and comprehensive video. So very helpful!

[@guitar-academy]

You're very welcome! thank you very much 😊😃

[@colinohare]

Useful Thank you.

[@guitar-academy]

You're welcome . . thank you 😊😀

[@dscataglini]

This was a fantastic presentation 👍👍

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you very much 😊😀

[@JKB_YT]

This was helpful. Thanks.

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it was helpful! thank you 😊😃

[@silesia93]

A very interesting video and topic! 👏👍 I found it very useful since I need to change tuners on a cheaper guitar. I wonder why so little views?

[@guitar-academy]

Glad it was helpful! Sadly I only have a small channel that is growing very, very slowly. (I don't know why) 🤔

[@helderfilho4724]

Thank You!

[@guitar-academy]

You're welcome! thank you 😊

[@lefthandcrust]

thank you for your video now I have a better understanding on guitar tuners! may complain for a second tho? you literally explained everything except for the the numbers the tuners have and where they go! haha but now I know those numbers are staggered tuners ! I had no idea reverse headstocks use lefty tuners, then I got those then I noticed the holes lower and higher haha and I was like wait a minute....

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you 😊 . . . You can't win them all. Regarding the numbers, they mean different things with different manufacturers, but it should tell you on the box or instructions what they mean. 🤔

[@lefthandcrust]

@@guitar-academy naah thats the thing it didnt! I ordered them off amazon, its these tuners called Wilkinson EZ Loks...all black, I managed to figure it out though and installed them correctly! But maaaaaaan I couldnt find any info regarding the numbers! Thanks for your reply! Great video!!

[@guitar-academy]

@@lefthandcrust what a pain not providing deecent directions, but probably worth the effort Wilkinson make great hardware. Thank you 😊😃

[@fredcarter7003]

Really good video,thank you

[@guitar-academy]

You are welcome! thank you 😊😃

[@matthewsaul3533]

Great video! Thank you for explaining all of this. I'm looking for information about the buttons. Specifically, how are they drilled to get the to fit the post they go on and also be screwed in? I'm not sure if that makes sense. What I've learned is that buttons are not universal. They're made to fit certain tuners. So I Imagine that the size of the hole differs from one to the next. Additionally, screws are used to fix the button onto the post it goes onto. So is the top of the hole of a button different from the rest of the hole? I apologize if my language is super confusing lol Obviously I have no experience with this. Basically I'm trying to learn how to make a button, so I'm trying to understand the proper way to drill the holes needed and how to drill them to fit certain tuners.

[@guitar-academy]

I can confirm that different makes of the buttons are very different. The length of the screws are all different and the thread is different. Some are shaped to fit on a spline with just a short screw where as others have a long screw that does most of the work. Some machineheads have an extended shaft the button attaches to and others use washers and yet others have a shaft built into the button. There's no way you can make a button without having a target machinehead to fit it onto. I recommend you buy some second hand tuners off somewhere like eBay so you can compare them and make them to fit. 😊😃

[@thatdiyguyraymondmonk1225]

It would have been a good idea to tell the viewers the benefit of staggered tuning heads, like no longer needing the string trees on the headstock to lower the treble strings..

[@Pappysan]

I was gonna say that too! I thought the whole purpose of staggered tuners was to eliminate string trees but he left his on.

[@sevey424]

15:38

[@fredrobinson6733]

One other aspect, similar to the staggered post lengths, is where the string holes are different sizes. This caught me out.

[@guitar-academy]

Yes, that would catch me out too . . do you know what make they were 🤔

[@flouisbailey]

Timely I have a guitar with machine heads that are getting worn. Gotta look for the staggered tuners news to me I may have some and did not know.

[@guitar-academy]

LOL . . I did. I had to go through my spare parts draw to make this video and I found some staggered ones that I didn't know I had . . 😃

[@markjackson4275]

Thanks. This is brilliantly educational. I’m trying to replace the tuning machines on my old Yamaha DW9 acoustic. Is there a resource anywhere to look up what replacements would fit best - there seems to be so many options !!

[@guitar-academy]

Not that I know of. You basically have to measure the position of the holes and then look what's available in that size. 🤔

[@guitar-academy]

Not that I know of. You basically have to measure the position of the holes and then look what's available in that size. 🤔

[@markjackson4275]

Thanks for the quick reply. I’d better just get on & measure up ! 😊

[@guitar-academy]

@@markjackson4275 Yeah . . it has to be my least favourite job. 😒

[@Alwr400]

The question I have is how did the donner guitar perform with the new tuning heads. Did it stay in tune longer?

[@guitar-academy]

It did but the tuners were just as awkward to tune with. I'll be doing a review of the new machine heads . .

[@JoelPeachy]

Question, if I were to replace my machine head. Would the new ones have to be the same ratio as the old ones? Or would they be fine if it were different? Thanks!

[@guitar-academy]

No, you can fit machine heads with any gearing ratio you want. Just make sure the holes are in the right place. 😊

[@captainchaos3053]

I have had much more trouble with cheap strings than I have had with cheap heads.

[@guitar-academy]

Yes, I would agree with you on that, a good set of strings makes a difference . . 😊😀

[@yairmorquecho5573]

I got a question I had gotten a g-50 a yamaha and it's missing a screw that holds the gear on the machine head I need to know where to get a replacement

[@guitar-academy]

Sadly I've had all sorts of problems trying to get Yamaha spares. When I broke the tuner on a SLG200N I had to find a second hand one that I bought of eBay. I think the g-50 has standard classical tuners. The best way to be sure is to take all the measurements and then do a search for classical guitar tuners to see if the sizes and gaps between the holes match 🤔

[@echo9037]

Do gear ratios matter? say the guitar originally had 15:1 gear ratios and you would replace it with a 16:1 would it cause any problems?

[@guitar-academy]

No, changing the gear ratio will have no effect of the guitar. The higher the ratio is the easier it is to fine time the guitar. I hope this helps 😊

[@Heguasa]

Hello there,im restoring a LTD MH327,recently I removed the tuning machines to clean it up,but now I dont realize whats the correct order now ,just see that have written "R1" "R2" "R3" "R4",hope you can help,the guitar have the factory machines,branded by esp

[@guitar-academy]

The 'R' stands for 'right hand side' which is only really useful when the guitar has machine-heads on both sides. The number refers to the position the machine head should be fitted in. I've never removed the machine-heads on a LTD MH327 so I don't know if they use the same numbering system as other makes but if they aren't staggered it doesn't matter where you fit the machine-heads. If they are staggered. the longer machine-heads are on the bass end and the shorter ones are at the thin string end. I hope this helps 😊

[@ulphasefei221]

Why everytime i tune my guitar i hear like a ticking sound? And sometimes when i tune to E standard from Eb it feels so heavy to wind and it suddenly gets light

[@guitar-academy]

That sounds like a gear problem or the axle the gear is on is off centre. But this would only make sense if it's happening on just one string but if it's happening on all the strings I can't guess without seeing the guitar. 🤔

[@mrnoedahl]

Great job my hillbilly friend.

[@guitar-academy]

Thank you 😊😃

[@harryballsonya4347]

Hello what is the name of the tuning machine head on the right in the picture at timestamp 6:34 thanks, i have some from an old aria pro II bobcat and cannot find a replacement

[@guitar-academy]

Sorry I don't know what they are called but Aria have got an online store that sells machineheads so you might find them there. 🤔