Official Luthiers Forum!

Ok, so I am about to string up #2 in the white. So I have been thinking about using a set of NOS tuners I have had since the 70's. Here is the dilema: I have been building this guitar with these tuners in mind. The are grovers with the mother of pearl square shaped knobs on them. Chrome or nickle...I can't remember...but I think they are chrome. Anyway, once I pulled them out of the box, I realize that they are the early PAT Pending 2 piece body tuners that are currently demanding about $250-300 on ebay. I have them temporarilly mounted on the headstock and they look nice. Maybe a little over kill, but not too shabby. My intentions were to use Grovers I had to keep the cost down and fancy was ok. I think I can get regular Grover Rotomatics in Chrome for about $50. Do I buy other tuners for #2.

The biggest concern is that this is only my second Archtop...acutally second guitar. $250 tuners would be overkill for anything I am building today. I don't want the tuners to be worth more than the whole guitar...

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Joe

I have been setting aside several nice things for one special guitar that I build myself once I really get the hang of things.

With that being said, I think I would save the tuners for a really cool guitar that you build yourself later down the road and use some $50 tuners for #2.

Just my opinion. Obviously it's your guitar and your tuners so you should do what you feel is best.

Good luck.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

I'd use the tuners that intended to use. If #2 turns out nice, you won't regret it. If you are unhappy with #2, than take the expensive tuner off and use them later. Tuner, unlike a favorite piece of pearl, can come off of a guitar and be reused.

Old tuners on a new guitar are as out of place as new tuners on an old guitar. Even if they're NOS, it doesn't matter. If they are of value to a particular vintage instrument it's because they are original and appropriate to that instrument, not to your new one. Serve a $1000 bottle of merlot with a fish dinner, and I don't care how good the fish is, you just wasted a $1000 bottle of merlot. Put a $250 set of vintage tuners on a new guitar of yours, and in that setting they're worth no more than a $40 set you can get new - probably make it worth less, as then it seems obvious to anyone seeing it that the project was assembled out of spare parts rather than intentionally engineered.


To me it seems like a no-brainer. Sell the old ones or hang on to them if you prefer, but get a new set of tuners for this one. Plenty of tuners available today are better quality anyway, and for less money.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

A 35 dollar set of Gotoh 301s will be a far superior tuner to an old set of grovers ... even better than a new set IMO.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I'm in the don't use them camp.... I was not thinking along the lines that Tony just brought up but I agree with Tony completely.

The primary reason why I would not use them if they were highly valued to me is that every time I think that I am building the mother-of-all-Heshtone-guitars...... the next one is better, and the next too..... So if I am saving something special for my ultimate I'll need a crystal ball in order to know what guitar will be my last. But then I won't be around to enjoy using the tuners either......

Sell em and get the cash!

A picture may be worth a 1000 words...except I can't take a very good picture

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Joe