Iris Guitars with Grovers, etc..

[upsidedown]

Before I go to the trouble of replacing the Golden Age 3/plate tuners on my Iris OG, I’d like to find out if any of you Iris owners who have the Grover (or Waverly or what have you) tuners are still experiencing tuning issues.

I've had Golden Age tuners on other guitars and, while they'd never be my first choice, they weren't THIS hard to turn. I don’t have enough evidence to say it for sure, but I suspect there might be something about the shape/depth of the Iris headstock that contributes to the tuning difficulties.

[lowrider]

That's just the way the GA tuners are. Some people never have a problem. Others, it takes a while. Others hate them right from the beginning.

I don't understand why guitar makers keep using them. There are other inexpensive tuners that don't cause so much heart-ache.

[gr81dorn]

I can't imagine the headstock has any impact whatsoever on the function of the tuner. That just really wouldn't make sense, certainly not the thickness or shape. The only thing that could potentially would be the angle, but thats not happening.

What's happening is what millions of others experience with those Golden Age Restoration tuners - they are just not very consistent and possibly whatever they are doing to fake the tarnish adds to the problem, but they are not my favorite and so many people agree.

Luckly, their footprint is pretty standard that there are good replacements that look good and perform better.

Gotoh makes one of the same footprint that works much better and I like Prestige tuners from Kluson, which have two versions, one is the right footprint and they offer black and cream buttons.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by upsidedown

I suspect there might be something about the shape/depth of the Iris headstock that contributes to the tuning difficulties.

How would the unremarkable shape of the Iris headstock effect the tuners?

[upsidedown]

Thanks for all of the replies pointing out the potential flaw in my logic. Still waiting to hear from someone who owns an Iris with Grovers or Waverlies.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by jim1960

How would the unremarkable shape of the Iris headstock effect the tuners?

I have wondered this as well, not the shape of the headstock but the disparate thickness. The backside is flat while the front side is angled. So it's thicker at the bottom than the top. I wonder if this causes there to be an uneven pressure on one side of the bushing/post which causes them to turn harder. I replaced my GA tuners on my DF with Schaller GrandTune machines and while much better than the GA, the low strings were still fairly hard to turn. Same with the Rickard Cyclone tuners, better again still more than the Schaller's but not nearly as smooth as advertised.

[jdinco]

I have Schallers installed from the factory, they are better than the GA's, but not that much, maybe 10%, that 3rd and 4th string still require an olympic weight lifter to turn. I'd be real disappointed if I spent a lot to upgrade an existing Iris and it still required this effort. I have no idea why, but I think it has something to do with the design too.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by upsidedown

Before I go to the trouble of replacing the Golden Age 3/plate tuners on my Iris OG, I’d like to find out if any of you Iris owners who have the Grover (or Waverly or what have you) tuners are still experiencing tuning issues. . . .

The headstock shouldn't affect how the tuners turn. Gears are gears.

I had some Golden Ages on my mando for a while, and they weren't very good. Now it has Rubners* and is a happy little galoot, indeed.

-------------------

* A great what-have-you fer sher: Rubner Tuners

[Arapaho G]

I guess I'm lucky. While not the best tuners I have, I don't have any trouble with the Golden Age tuners on my DF. Not that hard to turn and it stays in tune.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by upsidedown

Thanks for all of the replies pointing out the potential flaw in my logic. Still waiting to hear from someone who owns an Iris with Grovers or Waverlies.

I own an Iris ND-200 with Schallers. They were installed at the factory as it was a custom order.

[upsidedown]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I own an Iris ND-200 with Schallers. They were installed at the factory as it was a custom order.

And…how are they?

[soups]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

I have wondered this as well, not the shape of the headstock but the disparate thickness. The backside is flat while the front side is angled. So it's thicker at the bottom than the top. I wonder if this causes there to be an uneven pressure on one side of the bushing/post which causes them to turn harder. I replaced my GA tuners on my DF with Schaller GrandTune machines and while much better than the GA, the low strings were still fairly hard to turn. Same with the Rickard Cyclone tuners, better again still more than the Schaller's but not nearly as smooth as advertised.

This is interesting and may have some validity. I’ve never heard about the disparity in angle of the top and bottom of the headstock

[srick]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

I have wondered this as well, not the shape of the headstock but the disparate thickness. The backside is flat while the front side is angled. So it's thicker at the bottom than the top. I wonder if this causes there to be an uneven pressure on one side of the bushing/post which causes them to turn harder. I replaced my GA tuners on my DF with Schaller GrandTune machines and while much better than the GA, the low strings were still fairly hard to turn. Same with the Rickard Cyclone tuners, better again still more than the Schaller's but not nearly as smooth as advertised.

“By George, I think he’s got it!”

Good sleuthing Scott!

[lowrider]

Originally Posted by Arapaho G

I guess I'm lucky. While not the best tuners I have, I don't have any trouble with the Golden Age tuners on my DF. Not that hard to turn and it stays in tune.

Like I said above, they are very inconsistent. But then again, your time just might not have come yet. At first I thought mine were ok, it took a while before mine to turn to garbage.

I put on Gotoh's and they've been fine ever since.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by upsidedown

And…how are they?

They're fine. No issues at all.