Troubleshooting tight guitar tuners

Summary: determine the problem: 1) the tuner itself, 2) friction against bushing, 3) nut.

[@37Gibson]

I have been playing guitar for almost 45 years, but I learned so much from this! Your explanation gave me the confidence and information to go through all these steps and successfully address the problem I was having with my tight tuners. Thanks!

[@redlinemando]

Thank you Bryan for a much needed lesson about the mechanics of open back tuners. Now, I know exactly what I'm looking for when troubleshooting. I used to just take off the tuner, put a drop of 3in1 on it & turn the devil out of it, hoping it would loosen up a bit. lol

[@motorboy1966]

Good video. I just got a new Martin with 2 tight Gotohs. Checked the nut, tried lubing the tuners. Contatcted Gotoh and they shipped replacements and worked way better, probably a QC issue.

[@chawkinz]

I had loose bushings Waverly on a Bourgeois. Tried wood glue, tape - no go. Ended up replacing hex head bushings with oversize round head. Reamed holes, pressed to a very tight fit. Problem solved. I did then wrap tuner posts with teflon tape to help prevent post leaning with no binding, seemed to help.

[@blairswanson44]

Dried super glue on the bushing. Thanks for that Bryan. Plumber's tape works pretty good as well.

[@Bryankimsey]

Plumber's tape compresses over time. I mean.... that's what it's supposed to do....compress on the threads to make a seal.

[@davidharrick469]

Bryan I also put a drop of 3&1 or Tri-Flow oil on the bushings with the worm gear and that seems to fix it

[@Bryankimsey]

Yeah, but I demonstrated that in this case it's not the bushings or the gears but the friction at the gear bushings. So your solution worked, this time, in your case. The whole point of the video is to teach you to identify the problem and fix the actual problem. TriFlo is good stuff but 3-1 can collect dust and cause more problems down the line.

[@jasper_north]

Bought Waverly 1:/16 for my D18… should I have bought 1:/21 ratio?

[@Bryankimsey]

Not unless you want to turn the knobs all day long. There's nothing wrong with 16:1

[@tolmietunes]

What is your suggestion to address Waverly open-back tuners when they are 'frozen' in place - or stiff - but once you start turning the shaft all is fine and smooth? It's sort of like the tuner needs a bit of ''oomph'' to get it to start turning smoothly. As always, I find your willingness to share your knowlege extremely helpful. Thank you

[@Bryankimsey]

You have to identify the friction point. Is it in the bushing? The gears? Probably the friction between the shaft and collar... what I'd do is remove the tuners, grip the flat plate in a vise, spin the button, and spray a little Tri Flo so that it works between the shaft and collar. If you don't identify the problem first, you're just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping you hit the problem.

[@tolmietunes]

@@Bryankimsey Thank you Brian for your reply. I've identified the Friction Point, on all six tuners. All have a lot of friction between the Worm-screw and base-plate. I disassembled one - wish I had your Waverly wrench - cleaned and reassembled. Both friction washers appeared in good shape. A bit of red lock-tight on the threads of the Coupling, and did not tighten fully to factory setting, maybe 1/16 of a turn looser. It's free as a bird. This Friction issue stems from the guitar being in storage for a year - and possibly the age of the tuners being 20 years old. Maybe it's time to buy a new set of Waverlys! Many thanks again

[@PedalPoopers]

Hello, just upgraded my Guild with some Schaller GrandTune Open Gear tuners but the D-String tuner is so hard to turn, I had to force it. This won't ruin or damage the headstock will it?

[@Bryankimsey]

You're likely to break the tuner. Something isn't right and you'd better figure out what.

[@johnblevins1330]

Hello Bryan, I have a question about replacing the grover rotomatic tuners on a 2012 HD28 I have a set of martin open back tuners that I want to put on the HD28. What conversion bushing do I need to get to use on the open back tuners. Thank you for your help and videos , I'm a big fan

[@Bryankimsey]

Stewart McDonald's 3/8". However... when I do tuners, I have a reamer, the drill bit mentioned in my "raccoon eyes" video, and etc. I'm basically prepared for any eventuality. I THINK modern Rotomatics use a smaller bushing, but I don't remember. Take one off and measure the hole.

[@johnblevins1330]

@@Bryankimsey Thank you sir for helping me , I really enjoy your videos

[@MAP448]

Do u have any videos on repairing screw holes in the wooden peg head that have been worn out or stripped & need to be plugged & then re-drilled? I would love to know how u address this very common problem.

[@Bryankimsey]

Dip a round toothpick in glue, tap in place, cut flush. Find my video on "racoon eyes"

[@kingrobert1st]

How do you lubricate sealed machine heads then?

[@Bryankimsey]

If they're truly sealed then the factory lube is sealed inside and you don't really need to do anything. If they're Grover Rotomatics, a) I replace them with open back tuners, b) you loose the knob screw, push the gear shaft out, push grease inside, put them back together.