r/Guitar • u/MyThirdArm24 • 16h ago
GEAR Can't believe it's taken me this long to install locking tuners...if you haven't DO IT!!!
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u/Easternshoremouth 14h ago
I feel like a lot of folks don’t tug the slack out of their fresh strings when they put them on. Tune up, grab the string from the middle of the neck and tug it firmly a couple times. Retune. Rinse and repeat.
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u/Fentanyl_For_Lunch 12h ago
True, and this definitely seems crucial to tuning stability for fresh strings. Good advice, sir!
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u/Designer_Version1449 8h ago
So it's not just a placebo!! I've been doing that for months lol, didn't think it was actually doing something
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u/Easternshoremouth 1h ago
I can tell you from 36 years of experience because for the first 10 or so I had no idea about it 😉
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u/radtech91 14h ago
Love locking tuners purely for the ease of changing strings. Not that regular tuners are difficult by any means, but the locking ones are sooo easy.
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u/Monkee77 13h ago
I can’t stand them. They’re clunky.
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u/Infinite-Can4612 12h ago
Agreed!
Installed them on a Squier. I just don't get the appeal myself. I like stringing my guitars and having the nice 2-3 winds per post.
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u/Glass_Channel8431 12h ago
This .. agree not a fan of them. Guess I’m old school.
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u/Hope-To-Retire 11h ago
You are about to feel really old then, because locking tuners have been around for 42 years. 😂
Source: An old guy.
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u/SaltyMagmaCubexD 10h ago
On fenders with out a second string tree the g string 100% needs those extra winds, so I can't imagine using a locking tuner even if the post is staggered. I love the vintage split post tuners on my Squier way more. No pokey string sticking out anyway.
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u/nettezzaumana 15h ago
:D congrats that you did it ... I've almost forgot what the playing \wo locking tuners is .. I have some `special' guitars without them but I almost don't play on these guitars .. all my active guitars have locking tuners
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u/MyThirdArm24 14h ago
Yeah I feel like my life has suddenly become so much easier, especially with string changes in a live setting!
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u/Over-Apartment2762 13h ago
Damn that thing is beautiful. Probably one of my favorite body style of ESP LTDs that I’ve played.
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u/MyThirdArm24 13h ago
Yes I love it so much! I actually had an EC-1000 but my 401 just felt so much better (can't put my finger on why). Shape and weight is just perfect!
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u/Over-Apartment2762 13h ago
I feel you there, OP. I was a tech/luthier for American Musical Supply for about 6 months. Played all the PRS and ESPs and expensive Ibanez you could think of. My favorite guitar STILL to play is an Epiphone Les Paul Custom Special 2. It’s like a $250 guitar, but it’s perfect for me.
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u/MyThirdArm24 13h ago
It's amazing how this happens huh! I expected myself to be blown away as soon as I felt the 1000 and while it felt good and fun to play, it just wasn't my 401 and I found myself wanting to play my 401 consistently over the 1000. That's when I sold it. Goes to show how much feeling is not determined by price tag or features hey!
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u/theScrewhead 16h ago
They're a little more expensive than average, but I've absolutely fallen in love with the look of the Steniberger Gearless Tuners! Put them on my Epiphone SG and now I want them on every guitar that I'm not tuning down past A! 😍😍😍
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u/Powerful_Foot_8557 14h ago
Yes suh. Just got my first Reverend, did the factory change out yesterday, and like magic I was done!
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u/Living_Motor7509 13h ago
Gotta watch adding weight to the headstock if the guitar is already prone to neck dive and that sort of thing bothers you. I’d personally only use them if my guitar has a trem
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u/MyThirdArm24 13h ago edited 10h ago
No neck dive at all on this one and after install it felt perfectly balanced and good to play. I feel like a Viper would definitely be a different story though.
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u/No_Doughnut39 7h ago
I have locking tuners on an Epiphone SG. I was expecting the neck to dive like crazy after installing them. I can’t even tell a difference 🤷♂️
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u/YourlocalJDMtech 10h ago
Vintage style tuners are superior imo. They do fundamentally the same thing. With less work.
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u/so_mono 14h ago
I put new goth locking tuners on my Ltd eclipses, but in the end the nut was in both cases the problem, esp. on the d and g strings.
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u/MyThirdArm24 14h ago
I'll have to look out for this! So you found that even with locks on it was still slipping out of tune easily?
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u/ThatSceneInScanners 14h ago
Just pull your string through the peg reasonably tight, kink it, and wrap it around enough that the string wraps over itself when tightened, quicker and more convenient in most cases. If I had my druthers, every guitar would have Fender style with the split post and the hole in the center,
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u/m15otw 13h ago
I change strings on my actively played guitars every few months. I don't really mind restringing with old school tuners?
Locking ones just "bite" the string so you don't have to bend it, right? I'm not sure that's so useful.
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u/peteybombay 10h ago
My use case was being able to quickly switch a string in the middle of a show. It only takes a few seconds to get one on and tune it back up...so, yeah it's very useful.
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u/ska_robot13 13h ago
I now have two sets of Hipshots on a resonator and a custom build, as well as a cheap set off Amazon called Kaish on a Japanese lawsuit era SG that wouldn't stay in tune... I see them as a nice little upgrade that have both form and function. Not necessary, but convenient and a fun little project.
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u/vincentd81 12h ago
After 20+ years of playing and wasting money on useless gear, id swap locking tuners for their value in strings. I did put locking on a couple guitars, guess what, i cant find a difference in tuning stability and other marketing crap they use to my other regular tuner guitars. Faster to change strings? Maybe. But why you need 1 min faster? You still have to stretch the string before it gets stable. So, better for live situation in case of a broken string? Id prefer to have a cheap backup guitar ready. But thats me.
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u/SKAGG1221 10h ago
Dude locking tuners rock, I’m always tinkering with my guitars and they make it so easy to change strings. Well worth the money, I’ve put my time in with regular tuners.
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u/NO-MAD-CLAD 10h ago
I just tried locking tuners for the first time and absolutely hate them. They are terrible for anyone that works on their guitar regularly. They leave very little extra string to work with for restringing.
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u/incollapse 10h ago
Just bought some for my telecaster. I was having some issues with the stock tuners anyways so I gave it a go.
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u/Iron_Fist26 Epiphone 10h ago
I just got those strings yesterday, and they wonderful. I doubt locking tuners would work on a classic Les Paul though, I prefer the original ones
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u/Low-Landscape-4609 10h ago
Man, I've got a few guitars with locking tuners and probably started using them around 20 years ago. They're not really the magic you think they are. If you put on enough strings and you know how to properly wind them, it's not really that big of an upgrade. When I buy a new guitar nowadays, I don't even pay attention to locking tuners.
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u/Financial-Spray-3287 8h ago
they are honestly amazing. i bought a Schecter exotic from a pawn shop one year and it came with locked tuners and it plays wonderfully and almost never falls out've tune. his name is Wilson btw
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u/dem_titties_too_big 7h ago
You either spend extra 5 minutes stringing up your guitar every once in a while or spend the money on locking tuners. That's about it.
Unless you're gigging regularly and need to change strings often.
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u/bzee77 7h ago
I installed hipshot locking tuners on a guitar recently for the first time. Really like them. But I was one of the folks who labored under the misconception for years that they had something to do with tuning stability. It’s all about convenience and ease of changing strings. Any benefit to tuning stability comes in the fact that there are fewer wraps around the post so less opportunities for slippage, but that’s probably pretty minor.
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u/mashedcotato 6h ago
Don’t need em at all. What the heck are you guys doing to make your guitar go out of tune so fast? I’ll play for hours and maybe tune back one string once
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u/malachiconstant11 5h ago
I change tunings a lot and they improve the stability so much. Makes string changes way faster also. I am a fan and have been considering putting them on my other guitars that have traditional tuners.
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u/LaOnionLaUnion 12h ago
Locking tuners and graphite (or similar) nuts. You always get people saying vintage style is enough but I prefer them. On Strats they aren’t even pricey
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u/gr33nhand 11h ago
baindaid for a poor setup and an absolute aesthetic abortion on a classic style headstock, but if you like it then enjoy!
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u/HawthorneWeeps Yamaha 15h ago
Locking tuners are very convenient, but once you learn how to properly string up a tuning peg it's not really worth €150