Official Luthiers Forum!

Didn't get any response on the repair forum, so maybe I'll do better posting here.

I have a project in mind where the Steinberger gearless tuners used on the Gi*son/Epiph*ne Firebird would be perfect. I can't find anywhere that sells them. Stew Mac used to, but no more. Gi*son will only make available for warranty repair.

I found a Firebird at a reasonable price. If I cannibalize the Steinbergers, what can I use as replacements to sell the guitar on? The headstock is a bit weird -- will standard tuners fit along the edge?



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When you find out, let us know....

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Maybe banjo tuners? There are some real nice geared banjo tuners (not the friction ones). Standard tuners would just look wrong to anyone who loves Firebirds.

Indeed, banjo tuners were my first thought, for the reasons you stated. The problem being that all the "true" banjo tuners on the market seem to be 1:4 gear ratio -- not very appealing on a guitar!

But, Kluson made the "banjo-style" tuners used on the original Gibson Firebirds and I found they have recently reissued this format tuner, made in Korea with 1:12 planetary gears. Supposedly, they look identical to the vintage Firebird tuner, but much higher quality. Anyway, I've got a set of those coming from a reputable eBay Kluson dealer. I now have an Epiphone Firebird here, acquired at a really good price and in near-mint condition. Will resell it once I've swapped out the tuners and done a complete service. Will post some pics in a week or so.


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The Steinbergers have been swapped out and are now ready for my harp guitar project. I learned a few things about Firebirds along the way. The picture below shows the Steinbergers installed on an Epiphone Firebird:

I thought I would replace them with a set of reissued Kluson banjo-style tuners, as used on some Gibson Firebirds:

BUT, I discovered that the Epiphone actually has a smaller headstock. With less real estate, the Klusons looked out of place. So, I wound up installing a set of Gotoh M6 minis (6 inline treble side), and they look OK.

The Epiphone was sold on yesterday and the new owner is pleased as punch. The Steinbergers I was looking for only cost my time to do the swap.

WIN!

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I thing the mini Gotohs look great.

I found that the knobs on the regular M6 Gotoh were too big. As my wife was going to a conference in North Dakota, I got LMII to send a set of minis to her hotel -- worked out great.
Got a set of Klusons on eB*y if anyone's interested.


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Thanks for the info… I was looking to replace the tuners on a MIM Jag. I it for bought for next to nothing, and was thinking of going either the Steinberger/Firebird banjo style.. My reamer situation is limited though.. anyone know if a Jag tuner holes would be compatible with either of those tapers you used? is there kind of industry standard for electric tuner holes? Or what taper a new MIM Jag would have if I need to tweak the holes slightly to accommodate something else?
The only tuner replacements Ive ever done were drop ins..
This Jag fret scale works with my smaller war torn hands and thats why I wanna fix it up, with some Lollars, tuners.. and maybe hard tail conversion.

From the pics I see on the web, the Jaguar uses cast body tuners that drop into a standard 10mm hole. No taper. The Steinbergers would drop in, but require an additional 1/16" hole drilled for the locator pin just beside the main hole. Steinbergers will be expensive. Klusons will drop in, but will possibly overhang the edge of the head stock. There are many M6 style cast tuners that would drop in to the 10mm hole.


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Awesome info… just what I needed.. much appreciated!!
cheers
charlie