Funny thing about tuners…

[Glennwillow]

There has been an evolution in tuners over the last 60 years from closed, sealed tuners to open back tuners. I always left tuners alone. If they worked okay, I left them alone.

- Glenn

[tommieboy]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

A timely post for me as I've grown weary of the tension on my Waverly tuners - too stiff. I don't know if it's the magic missing tool that's the solution or possibly how they were installed, but I guess I'm due for a trip to my luthier.

Are they stiff even when the strings are removed? If not, it may be an issue where the post is leaning toward the nut, causing binding at the base of the post. All my Waverlys have this issue, and the leaning is quite noticeable when restringing my guitar(s) when the strings start applying tension to the post. There are ways to address the issue after the fact, but in my case, it hasn't progressed to the point that it needs a luthier's attention.

In the photo in my previous post, the set of Waverly Tuners in the background needed a lot of work to get back in service. I'm unsure why that set was sacred to my friend, but I would have bought a new set and swapped the tuners, including the bushings.

Tommy

[Jim Owen]

Schallers were the gold standard back in the 70s. The set on my Gurian still works dandy.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Jim Owen

Schallers were the gold standard back in the 70s. The set on my Gurian still works dandy.

I think my 1995 Olson SJ has Schaller tuners. They work very well.

- Glenn

[Br1ck]

People love to trash those early Guild three on a plate open back tuners. Not the smoothest tuners in the world, but they work. To me it's all about saving weight on the headstock. I like the aesthetics too, but a light headstock is the reason more than anything.