Official Luthiers Forum!

2 questions:
- How far apart do you space your tuners?
- How far from the edge?

Thanks in advance.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

for a steel string?

Mike

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Mike Collins

Generally, 1-1/2” apart north to south. On a 3 on a side head with straight sides (Martin) I do 1/2” on ADGB and 7/16” on E and E, like a Martin. Snake-head tuner edge spacing is 1/2” E to E. My drug of choice tuners for reference are Gotoh 510 minis.

M

There are a lot of dependencies:

Shape of buttons
Shape/curvatures of the head stock
Mounting square to the centreline or square to the headstock edge
Straight-through string pull or not
6 string or 12 string
Size/style of tuner body (open gear, sealed/cast body)

etc.

I asked the question of Hosco once, for a specific style of Gotoh tuner, as the drawing wasn't sufficiently dimensioned to be able to figure it out. Hosco referred the question to Gotoh, whose response was "we are not luthiers..."

Basic rule: don't drill the tuner holes until you've had them in your hand.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

I owned a Martin D35 and D12-28 when I started building. I designed my headstock shape starting with the Martin proportions and changed the top. The tuner spacing was also as for Martin, where the 1st and 6th are set in from the edge just a bit less than the others. Did the same thing for my 12s. Can provide exact measurements if someone really cares.


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1.5" apart, 0.5" from the edge.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube

1.25" apart, 0.5" from the edge.

But 1.375" apart might be a better choice, because that appears to be the standard for 3-on-a-plate tuners.