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Hello.
My friend has a cheap acoustic guitar: Cort SFX-E NS. One of the plastic button key tuner was broke, another is going to break, so we need to replace all of them with six new metal button. But I see those are not always fit with any tuners.

I written to Cort to get the right size of the mounting hole, but I didn't get any answer after more than a weeks.
I could buy these: http://www.banzaimusic.com/toronzo-mhb-22-black.html the shop told me that the hole size measure 4mm. I thought the hole was rectangular, I have to ask it, again. But if I don't know the right size I can't do anything.
Honestly, I don't want to make my friends to buy several set until those don't fit.

Tuner buttons are typically replaced on instruments with quality tuners worth of the investment since there is labor here. The posts have to be heated and the new buttons "melted" on.

It is typically the case at least in the US for an inexpensive, import instrument that we recommend replacing the tuners and moving on. Many clients can easily do this themselves and we recommend that too.

An example is this:

Set of new tuners and new strings since they will be off $45 plus $8 for strings

Price of a quality repair shop touching to replace tuners can be around $100 plus $45 for the tuners and $8 for strings

See what I mean?

Cort does not make their turners either, no one does they are OEM tuners. So replacement buttons are available from Stew Mac and shaft size or shape is not going to be an exact match since they are intended to be melted on to the shaft that is heated, with the tuner in a metal vice off the instrument. We use a torch.

But again if one or two buttons failed the rest may follow so save the client some money, help them not be here again and advise them to buy new tuners new tuners.

Also many tuner sets are less money than my example.

Hope this helps you out.

It's a cheap guitar that my friend plays at home with some friends, not so often. She has even another cheap guitar at home. No reason for her to make any investments with new quality tuners in these guitars, those are just for fun.
Replace the tuner buttons was cheaper, and I thought easy. The button this guitar needs is the one with the screw. The one with the work about melt is, I'm guessing, another kind of buttons.
To tune a bit the g string I unscrewed the button from the tuner of the e string, then I put it back to the e string. Just with the screwdriver.

I don't have the guitar with me, now. But it looks like that:

OK and thanks for this, I had the wrong kind of tuner Cort makes many kinds of guitars or has.

Yeah these tuners are pretty cheap and again if two failed more may so just replace the entire set of tuners. I have not checked lately with supply chain issues but a year or two ago these could be had here for $25 a set.

In the states many shops, the busy ones.... have minimums and won't stop what we are doing and take in an instrument for a very inexpensive repair. We often do stop what we are doing and try to fix it on the spot and then say "no charge, nice to meet you, if you need anything else we are here." We use it as an opportunity to make someone happy, get back to work quickly, and perhaps get some billable business that's more substantial in the future.

Covid has changed how we operate too so our good will work is limited now that we require appointments.

We do this with strap buttons, need one we install at no charge and often on the spot because it's such a minor process and costs us more to account for the sale than to do it for free. US income taxation is incredibly expensive for a small business, if we put pen to paper we lose money. Very anti-artisan.... I'll add.

Thank you.

I'm a little disappoint about Cort. I kindly ask some helps, but they ignored me or what.
Unfortunately it's a thing hard to measure it. I found several size of hole button. I really want to make this favor to my friend.

You are very welcome and that does suck about Cort. Good on ya for helping a friend!!

Linde, I’m not sure where you are located but if yard sales are a thing where you’re at I find that any given yard sale has a 70% of having a beat up wreck of a guitar that you can take home for $10 and which you can harvest tuners from.

Otherwise, aliexpress is your friend for finding cheap generic tuners for peanuts.

Yard sales in my area... no. Something like that yes, even bigger, but not close where I live.
I'll try to take a look at aliexpress, but without the size I have to buy a lot of set... I hate have around things I don't need. It'll hard to sell, I should throw it in the trash.

I guess I'll write to Cort again, to have some clue about the button I need.

I sell sets of tuners, but I also stock inexpensive single tuners, and I recycle incomplete sets after folks upgrade. When clients come in with a damaged tuner, I can usually have them back in business in a couple of minutes, often no charge.
The tuners in your photo are likely made by Ping, in Korea. They no doubt supply Cort, as well as other big makers such as Taylor and Larrivée. Buttons, washers and screws are usually interchangeable among the Asian-made tuners.


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That's not my photo, I found it, my friend has her guitar at home, now.
I'm in Italy, I could buy the button I linked in the first post, I used to buy from that shop. But I have doubt if those buttons fit or not, until Cort doesn't answer.
I look at ebay, too. But I see different size of mounting hole: 4.0mm x 3.8mm, or 4.0mm x 3.5mm, maybe, other was bigger.
I really don't like to buy and see if it's ok. It's not even for me, but it's my friends's money.

Linde, you can buy decent quality generic tuners from Aliexpress for something like €20 for a set of six. You can buy budget models for €12 a set! That includes shipping. Just install a new set of tuners - you will save hours of your own time too chasing parts on the internet that may not fit.

If your friend plays this guitar, surely it’s worth it for them to spend €13 to €20 to keep it playable for years? I’ve paid more than that for a sandwich when travelling in Europe

If I can't find any information about the button, I could look at a new set of tuner, even if that is a a bit exceeding, considering all.

I'm going to look at aliexpress, too, even if that shop make me think about low quality parts, but if those are the same I can find anywhere, but cheaper, and if works totally fine, so ok.

I need a picture of the back of the headstock, from my friend, to see the position of the screw. I hope the mounting hole are the same, I'm not a luthier, if that's are bigger, I can't do anything, my friend need of a real luthier with other spends. If the holes are too small I could enlarge it, hoping the new tuner work fine, else I can't go back to the small holes.

Some suggestion about what I have to know about buying new tuners? Position of the screw, mounting hole, size and material of the button... I never do it.

Thank you a lot!

You need to know the hole for the main shaft of the tuner, which on modern Asian sealed gear tuners is very often 10mm.

There is also generally a mounting screw. Common positions are on a 45 degree angle towards the center of the headstock like this:


Or directly below the main tuner body like this:



If for some reason the screw hole doesn’t line up with your existing holes, or they sent the wrong ones or whatever just remember - when installing the tuners you MUST drill a pilot hole for these little mounting screws - they’re delicate and will snap if you try to drive them directly into the headstock without a pilot hole.