Tuning Machine Opinions

[John Tuttle]

Many years ago when I was getting started in luthiery, the field of guitar tuners was pretty small and Schaller was considered the top of the list by many (they were also $30 a set). Over the years so many new options have become available I thought I would ask this sage community for opinions based on your experience with various manufacturers, styles, types and configurations.

I'll start with a short list ofs ome of the stuff I've worked with and something I've yet to learn. Chime in if you have something to share or have other input.

Schaller
I have found that Schaller is still a very fine choice though quite a bit more expensive than it's counterparts. I defaulted to these for years on acoustic builds and have never had a complaint.

Waverly
I've installed a number of sets of Waverly tuners and they are some of the highest quality workmanship I've seen. I haven't had a chance to use them long term but I love the look, feel and rock-solid mechanisms. The price on these tuners appear high at first but you definitely get what you pay for.

Schertler
Very good open gear tuners. These are expensive, but again, you get what you pay for.

Grover
I've had recurring issues with Grover StaTite open gear tuner sets with the brass/bronze gear wearing very quickly and then exhibiting slipping of the teeth within the worm gear. Grover Rotomatics have been great with customers telling me they like the smooth mechanism.

Gotoh
I've used the Gotoh Mini 3x3 tuners on quite a few 3/4 sized guitars with great success. Good performers at a good price.

Kluson
I've installed a number of sets of Kluson Deluxe inline tuners in both 3 x 3 and 6 x 6 configurations. I've also straightened my share of Kluson tuner shafts. Not sure why it's always the Klusons, maybe they have a softer key shaft metal. These tuners are workhorses. They have a style all their own and I don't have any hesitation using them when requested.

Economy Tuners
We've all seen these and worked on these little gems. Stamped metal, loose gears, rattley housings, flaking chrome. I still keep them when I replace them and use them for other purposes but I've never actually purchased or installed them.

Plate-mounted Tuners
I don't have any experience here other than cleaning up existing plate mounted tuners on some older Gibsons. Would love to hear what others have experienced.

[Darrel Friesen]

I've used all of the ones you mentioned other than the Schertler and Kluson and have no complaints. I have a set of individual Waverly's for a slot head one I'm building. They are very pretty things. I've also had great luck with the Golden Age plate mounted tuners from Stewmacs for both 12 and six string.

[Clay Schaeffer]

With the exception of the Schertler, I've worked with the tuners you mention, and a few less well known ones as well ( Rubner, Sperzel, some better quality Chinese clones and some cheap ones too). For the most part you get what you payed for, but sometimes you get less and sometimes you get more.
I try to match the quality of the tuner to the quality of the instrument. For cheap and cheerful stick dulcimers and cigarbox ukes I use cheap tuners. For better instruments I stick with better quality name brand machines - Schallers, Grovers, Gotoh, Kluson, Rubner, (or Waverly if requested).
I'm not a tuner snob and will buy discounted name brand tuners when I can find them rather than having any particular brand loyalty.
Many tuners can be adjusted to work O.K. but cheap ones usually suffer from longevity issues.
Even wooden friction pegs, if properly fitted can work well and are preferred on many classical instruments (violin family, lutes, etc.)

[Alan Carruth]

I've used the planetary gear PegHeds for some time on fiddles and dulcimers, and as replacements on replica early instruments. They look and work like standard wood friction pegs, but offer a 4.5:1 gear ratio, which, along with a small shaft diameter where the string winds on, makes for precise tuning. They don't go out of round like wood pegs, either. They were devised by a 'cellist, and I suspect they ease up a lot on the chore of tuning those tight strings. There does seem to be some stigma attached to them in the violin world, where they seem to be regarded as expedients for beginners. They make a version for ukes and Classical guitars as well.

[Jarno Verhoeven]

For me (bassist) Schaller M4 was the gold standard, robust, compact, really good, but the current light weight iteration is a lot of plastic, more than I like.
My shortscale 5 string has Schaller DaVinci tuners, and they look great (fancy) but also are quite plasticky, I sent a few of them back because the plating was too thick and the nuts couldn't fully be done up (was pretty effortless process to be fair).
For the small travel bass I am building, I ordered Gotoh 707's and those are beefy! Not particularly expensive too.
On another 5 string shortscale, I have Warwick hardware (from their basses, can be bought separately) pretty good tuners and two piece bridge (which is immediately identifiable as Warwick, which I now am not a superfan of).
This probably scales to guitar tuning machines

Does Sperzel still exist, those were pretty good too, I had a five string locking set, which operated quite nicely?

[Jim McConkey]

The Wittner tuners from Germany are basically the same as PegHeds, but I believe they are 8:1 ratio. They also work great.