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I'm building away on my first scratch-built OM and was wondering what kind of tuners to use on it. So I'm asking the question, what tuners do you all prefer and why?

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Mitch

Closed Back = Grover 510 Feel and gear ratio

Open Back = Waverly's feel, gear ratio, quality and dependability

1) Waverly open back tuners because they are engineered and manufactured flawlessly. Expensive but simply the best.

2) Grover open back...(new design) ...much less expensive but pretty decent

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Depends on the look im going after.
Something oldish, traditional looking, I like open back gears, I always use Waverlys for the reasons mentioned above.
For a more contemporary look and feel I LOVE the Gotoh™ Steel String Contour (510's), they are by far my fav!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

What JJ said. I prefer the look of open back tuners, and it has to be said that Waverly are the best ( well that's not counting Rogers but then they are quite dear). That said, the new upsated Grovers are superb value for money.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I dont like open back tuners at all, so I almost exclusively use grover or Gotoh and their 510's are my favorites however the Grover rotomatic isnt a bad tuner either. On my bottom line guitars, I have been known to use less expensive tuners.

To some people, tuners are the most important part of the guitar. Others dont seem to care one way or the other. I guess it all depends onthe client and his tastes.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Is it just me? ...and please don't take offense to this... I occassionally use them too.

I think the 510s look like a kid with big ears. (Alfalfa/Alfred E. Newman anyone?)

Personally, I prefer Waverly's with oval buttons over everything else. They are great tuners, they are small, and they are light. If I *have* to use closed back tuners it is pretty much a toss up between gotoh 510 minis or schaller mini's

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I think for open back Waverly's are the best made tuners available.
But I still prefer the way the Gotoh 510's 21:1 ratio feel. Awesome tuner with a ratio that gives me more fine tuning control.

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Brock, I agree with you on the 510's. All I have used, or plan to use, are the open back Grover Sta-tite and Waverly. This is largely due to the fact that are interchangable. Less tools to keep up with and fewer jigs is a good thing - at least for me.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

I like the 510 mini`s.It gets rid of the big ears look.
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

StroboSoft Mac version.

Oh - you mean mechanical tuners?

Listed NOT in the order of preference all things aside:

1) Grover new style open backs, cheap, light, good enough and can be upgraded with Waves later on - perhaps on someone else's dime. I am not actively selling my guitars, am addicted to expensive tonewood, and build 4-5 per year so the cost of the component parts is a consideration for me. Grovers are fine.

2) Waves are clearly my first choice of tuner if cost is not an issue and I prefer the buttons that Brock does too.

3) For a very contemporary looking guitar Gotoh 510s and any of the many varieties of these now with mid sized, minis, etc. The Delta series are unbelievable smooth when monitored through a highly sensitive tuner such as the StrobSoft. The one draw back for me is they are heavier then the Waves or Grovers.

4) Although I have never tried them from what I have heard and the respected guys that I have heard this from like Coach Tony Karol I am sure that Gotoh open backs would be a very good bet and value too.

On my OM model I like to use the open back Gotoh tuners. The feel and work great, and they are not expensive. I use the 510 as standard tuners on my other models.

I agree that the Waverlys are nice, but kind or expensive. I do use them when the customer wants them but I have had 2 bad sets in the past 3 years or so. They had to be shipped back for replacements (a few of the tuners had some bad slop in the gears). SM replaced them no problem and all the other sets have been great. Maybe I'm the only one that has every had a problem with the Waverly tuners... Still I do think they are a good tuner and I like the different button options that are available.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

I think they stick out too... not as far though... for sure.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I'm with Brock; I don't care for the styling of the gotoh 510 buttons, though I think they have excellent feel and perfect gear ratio. To be honest I think they look trendy and a bit gaudy, especially in gold. I think the cheap gotohs are a fantastic value and I like their action just as much as the 510's and delta series. For those I am a big fan of the ebony grover style buttons which unfortunately double the price.

Put me down as a member of the "can't stand the look of those 510s" club. And not because they look "contemporary"; I like contemporary. To my eye, they're just awful. For closed gear tuners, I like the Gotoh Schaller-style minis, in spite of the fact that I think the gear ratio is too extreme. I prefer something more like 12:1.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I prefer the look of Schallers to Gotohs.

Nothing about weight yet?

I like Waverly's for light weight. Ebony buttons on Schallers also weigh a lot less than plated buttons.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

Waverlys are my #1 with Gotoh 510s running a distant 2nd.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

The lightest I have found so far are the Gotoh 510 open-back with non-metallic mini-buttons. When I put them on my 12-string, itfinallly balanced correctly. The comparison was with Grover and Sperzel, as Waverly has yet to come out with a 12-string tuning machine.

If someone wants to weigh just one Waverly, I'll pull a Gotoh and we can trade info ...

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-donh-

Everything is a tone control!

Here you go Donh:

Waves with ebony buttons:



And Grovers with metal buttons:

...so order the 510's with schaller-style buttons. Easy enough to do, really, if you're going all expensive and ordering XN finish minis with ebony buttons and a magnum lock post (recently did, and, erm, pricey...not quite waverly, but not far off).

I like standard Gotoh (with schaller M6-style buttons) or Gotoh mini tuners for great value for money; don't have many guitars that look 'right' with most open backed tuners, but that may just be a matter of taste. I have a few Grovers I'll be trying out, may grow to like them, but the 510 minis are very sleek, sexy looking machines that look good on both my electrics and acoustics (neither of which could ever be considered vintage styled; my design philosophy is 'modern classic'; something contemporary with a sort of timeless aesthetic. That's what I try to achieve, anyway...)