Fun Post Wade! And I have to say that in general I would agree with you that most guitarist would not notice things like Pins and Tuners.
However, AGF people are not you average guitarist. They are people who be more likely to take notice.
So I did a little count on those that replied directly to the question
Of the 46 (rough count, it’s hard to count! ha ha)
No’s = 19
Yes’s = 14
Yes’s ? = 6 (debatable- to my way of thinking probably yes) =
No’s ? = 4 (Debatable- to my way of thinking probably no )
? = 3 (Debatable either way)
Any of the question marks can be debated either way.…As they use Phrases like:
+I generally don't notice-
+ I think so,
+ So If I notice older Martin with closed back tuners -
+ I confess that I did start to pay attention-
+ Tuners possibly,
+Once in a blue moon,
+I've probably noticed tuners if it's a vintage guitar with the wrong tuners,
+I generally don't notice