Locking Tuners

[lemonade93]

Hihi, i need to get set of Locking Tuners for my guitar, the stupid G String just wont stay in tune after using the Trem for abit, so....

1. What brands do you find best? Gotoh? Grovers?
2. How much would it cost for the tuners+ worksmanship
3. I've read about Mike of SV and Beez, which do you recommend more?

Thanks

 

[dudelove]

the stupid G String just wont stay in tune after using the Trem for abit

locking tuners should be the last thing u should be looking into. lubricate ur saddles and nut. or get a guitar tech to slot the nut properly so there's no added friction. or better still change to a bone nut or a graphite, because they are very slippery.

all these will likely solve ur tuning issues.

 

[penta-tonic]

yeps, moving parts = a chance that stuff doesnt always go back to original alignment. said effect happens with most vintage trems when the saddles are too skinny and can wiggle about when using the trem. also, another issue is using heavy gauge string with the string slots on the nuts being too narrow, causes binding and thus not returning to original. getting a graphtech nut might help, locking tuners are mostly for convenience.

 

[lemonade93]

i was considering it a nut problem, maybe it is, so... how much would it cost to buy (Graphtech that is) and change the nut? Sorry, quite new at this

 

[Breen]

Locking tuners are NOT convenient =P

Yep you might want a nut change. What's your guitar? Sometimes it may not be worth for certain upgrades. However you can visit Beez or SV or Luthermusic or Seekz for a quote. Zen Guitar sells lotsa different nuts. Do some research on the net for what could be good for you~

 

[wasp]

Thanks goodness I read this thread 1st. Was thinking of buying locking tuners myself.

 

[lemonade93]

hehe Ibanez SA260FM , sure, i'll check it out.
Thanks for the help

 

[boyl]

same problem.... i got the same guitar as you..

so what do you eventually decide to do?

 

[lemonade93]

thing is, haven't decided yet haha, prob gonna go to a shop and ask them whats wrong

 

[donutator]

Have you tried lubricating the nut slots? You can use products such as big bends nut sauce or even a small amount of petroleum jelly. However it won't work too well if you don't have a well cut nut in the first place.

Also, your guitar features a bridge that seems similar to a synchronized two point tremolo(?) and these arn't designed to take heavy abuse ie. big divebombs and such so this could also be part of your problem.
:mrgreen:

 

[lemonade93]

Sat Pro 2 Birdge, looks like a 2 point indeed, but not divebombs at all, eve just simple moving it up and down just for the vibrato effect

 

[penta-tonic]

id recommend looking closely at the nut and saddles. dont jump straight to changing out the nut first but maybe try using a lil pencil shavings, the graphite bits to lube the nut slots. also try moving the trem and see if the saddles are wiggling. lastly this ones pretty much overlooked but also is a factor, the springs. if your guitar is new or u hardly use the trem, during the initial usage the springs are kinda fresh and unstretched and dont usually go back to original so do some wild stuff on it to stretch them out.

generally tuning issues happen at the nut area where strings get stuck in the slot rather than return to pitch after trem usage. i used to have a guitar with a bone nut and locking tuners and even then it still had tuning issues thus i sold it and got a floyd. solved all my issues but there are pros and cons.

 

[lemonade93]

mmmm, saddles are firm and all, but i noticed when i use the trem, there is ike this plucking ish sound, and i suspect that the tunners are slowly giving way :/

 

[Nore]

mmmm, saddles are firm and all, but i noticed when i use the trem, there is ike this plucking ish sound, and i suspect that the tunners are slowly giving way :/

I have the same problem, but different guitar (yamaha pacifica 112M, i'm using sperzel locking tuner). in my case is nut. before that i checked every single part, from machine head, string tree, nut (original yamaha plastic nut), saddle and tremolo spring (bridge changed to 2 pin Wilkinson VS50 II-K).
After lubricating the string & the nut, the plucking sound is gone.
But different guitar might have different cause, so better to check every single part.

Just sharing, i have installed sperzel & tone drive (from SV) locking tuner on my guitars and it work perfectly fine and very convenient when replacing the string IMO.

 

[lemonade93]

errr, its not really plucking, more like SQUEEKING!!!

Squeek Squeek when i use the trem

 

[dudelove]

errr, its not really plucking, more like SQUEEKING!!!

yeah just get the nut, saddles, string trees properly lubed. i use pencil lead shavings. doesnt seem to work. waiting for eclipze's composite material nut to solve that problem..

 

[lemonade93]

hehe alright Thanks for the help guys

 

[Nore]

errr, its not really plucking, more like SQUEEKING!!!

Squeek Squeek when i use the trem

Yeah that's what i mean...i just use your term earlier

 

[penta-tonic]

yeps ok that squeaking prob gave u the answer already. its the the string binding in the nut, will also have that problem if ure using metal string trees. best would be to get a graphtech nut and string trees. if its a more deep kinda groan rather than squeak then its more the springs but this is kinda rare.

 

[lemonade93]

ohohohohoh, thank you very much