Steinberger Tuners

CoolerKing · #1 07-06-2016, 07:22 AM

I have two guitars with these tuners, one is a "partscaster" Epiphone Firebird that I built a few years ago, and the other is an archtop that I put the tuners on because the headstock shape is so weird that regular tuners wouldn't fit. This question is specifically related to the archtop, which is both acoustic and electric (wonder if I should move this to archtop section)

A few questions.

1) What's the best way to lubricate these guys, WD40?

2) Has anyone had issues with slippage? Apparently that's a known issue and Gibson/Steinberger recommends strings with some sort of wrap at that end.

3) Anyone had issues with string breakage? I tried flatwounds and I couldn't get the low E up to tension without it breaking. I'd love to try some jazz strings on this archtop, but I'm afraid the tuner won't take the tension. I'd be satisfied with jazz strings of some sort and if I had to tune a 1/2 or whole step down that would be ok as well.

Thanks!
Matthew

muscmp · #2 07-06-2016, 11:18 AM

i'm not a fan of wd40, i'd rather use 3in1 oil. that's my preference.

do the tuners have a small hole in them so you can put just one drop inside? some tuners are sealed.

have you contacted steinberger?

play music!

CoolerKing · #3 07-06-2016, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

i'm not a fan of wd40, i'd rather use 3in1 oil. that's my preference.

do the tuners have a small hole in them so you can put just one drop inside? some tuners are sealed.

have you contacted steinberger?

play music!

I'll try 3 in 1. There is no hole, but a gap which is big enough.

Weirdly enough, Steinberger is owned by Gibson now, and I talked to Gibson CS this morning. Extremely friendly, and he admitted that I had stumped him about some of the specifics of those tuners. "First time I've been asked that one!" Well, I thought he was extremely friendly and despite not knowing the answer he cared enough to further investigate, took down my email, and said he'd ask the technical gurus and get back to me within 48h.

moon · #4 07-06-2016, 10:34 PM

WD40 isn't a lubricant: it's a solvent which dissolves lubricants (and misc grime). I might use WD40 to clean metal parts but after that, if there was any metal on metal movement, I'd apply some lube.

Bicycle chain lube would probably be my choice if lube were needed. It's a lot better than 3 in 1 and I've got lots of it lying around

jaybones · #5 07-06-2016, 11:33 PM

Actually, WD-40 is a water displacer. Developed for the US navy, and was the 40th formula they'd tested.

And I would be very careful about applying any liquid lubricant to a tuner. Even very light oil can trap dust, which could gunk up the tuner over time.

If I were experiencing a need for lubrication, I'd try powdered graphite. There's a reason its made for the tumblers in locks, it will let them turn but not trap particles and eventually gum up.

clintj · #6 07-07-2016, 07:14 AM

I've got Steinbergers on my Firebird, so I'll take a stab at a couple of these.

Slippage or breakage? None yet when following the directions, but I've only tried light and medium gage electric strings.

Lubrication? Maybe a tiny drop of machine oil in the threads when they're apart for initial installation. Excess wet lube of any type attracts dirt, which makes things "crunchy".

I did have the tuning knob pop off of one when restringing early on. The person who installed mine didn't make sure the set screws were fully engaged in their groove at the factory. Easy fix once I downloaded the instructions.

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CoolerKing · #7 07-07-2016, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clintj

I've got Steinbergers on my Firebird, so I'll take a stab at a couple of these.

Slippage or breakage? None yet when following the directions, but I've only tried light and medium gage electric strings.

Lubrication? Maybe a tiny drop of machine oil in the threads when they're apart for initial installation. Excess wet lube of any type attracts dirt, which makes things "crunchy".

I did have the tuning knob pop off of one when restringing early on. The person who installed mine didn't make sure the set screws were fully engaged in their groove at the factory. Easy fix once I downloaded the instructions.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Great thanks!

Do you think your electric strings are under less tension than an acoustic archtop string?

clintj · #8 07-07-2016, 08:14 AM

Most likely. I did a little non-scientific poll of Google for archtop acoustic string gauges, and looked up tensions for those on the D'addario website.

.012 and .013 gauge bronze strings run about 25-30 lbs tension per string, and the .010 nickel wounds I use are roughly 15-18 lbs per string. Pretty big difference between those two types. I did find an old thread where someone installed them on a travel acoustic with no issues, though. They do also spec a maximum string gauge of .060 - that's the largest you can fit through the string hole in them.

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moon · #9 07-07-2016, 08:52 AM

I'd definitely agree with comments about being sparing with any lube you apply and avoiding anything sticky.

A spot of something like Finish Line Teflon Dry Lube would probably be ideal. The best bicycle lubes are high-performance products (the cheap stuff isn't). This one is also a dry lube -- as you can probably tell by the name -- so it won't attract grit.

CoolerKing · #10 07-07-2016, 10:27 AM

Got it--some sort of dry lube like graphite.

Thanks for the replies so far.

Let's now focus on the second problem--what type of strings am I going to be able to put on this archtop? I really want a jazz sound, but apparently these tuners can only handle a certain type of string. Should I get some jazz flatwounds and wrap silk around the part that gets locked down by the tuner?

Thanks in advance. This is a great forum.