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Old 10-15-2021, 12:24 PM
wvblues wvblues is offline
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Default Iris tuner change

Has anyone changed tuners on their Iris? Mine came with what appears to be the Stewmac vintage 3 on a plate tuners with ivoroid buttons. These work fine just considered an upgrade for an instrument of this caliber.
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Old 10-15-2021, 12:37 PM
pagedr pagedr is offline
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Are you trying to retain the 3 on a plate look? If so your options are kinda limited. The only other ones worth trying would probably be the Kluson style 3 on a plate, but they have covered backs as opposed to the open back look that the Golden Age tuners have. I think Waverly makes some 3 on a plate as well but they're super expensive, not sure you really want to drop $250 or so on tuners.

If you are open to single tuners, you could check out open back options from Waverly, Gotoh, etc. But you'd likely need to drill some new holes for single tuners to fit right.
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Old 10-15-2021, 12:40 PM
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Rev Roy Rev Roy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wvblues View Post
Has anyone changed tuners on their Iris? Mine came with what appears to be the Stewmac vintage 3 on a plate tuners with ivoroid buttons. These work fine just considered an upgrade for an instrument of this caliber.
I asked Adam what upgrade he’d suggest and he said Waverlys or Schaller GrandTunes. I’m curious about how easy swapping to one of those would be. I wouldn’t expect either to be a drop in replacement. To make the StewMac in-line tuners more manageable Adam suggested lubing them with 3-1 oil. I carefully did so and it made a noticeable difference in loosening them up.
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Old 10-16-2021, 11:16 PM
mcmars mcmars is offline
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I have several guitars with the GA plate tuners and am not real fond of them. But a couple drops of triflow makes them work "good enough" for me to not want to mess with replacement. If I did decide to change them, then I would do the nice 21:1 ratio gotoh tuners, but they are not plates and are a modern look.
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Old 10-17-2021, 12:02 AM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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If I did decide to change them, then I would do the nice 21:1 ratio gotoh tuners, but they are not plates and are a modern look.
Stewmac have Waverly High Ratio 21:1 tuners in open gear with various button options now that look way more traditional.

The nickels with butterbean buttons would be my choice.

https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-ha...olid-pegheads/

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Old 10-17-2021, 04:41 AM
lowrider lowrider is offline
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The people at Iris, as well as those at Martin should be ashamed of themselves for putting those horrid tuners on their guitars. I got them on my J-17 and they were awful. I tried a few different lubes and they all helped a little for a few days.

Mine were individual tuners and I got something from Gotah that was a direct replacement. Stew Mac has a three-on-a-plate Kluson style Gotah that has the same pole to pole spacing as yours. Check them out;

https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-ha...n-plate-tuners

If you want open gears, you might be able to find them but I think the Kluson style look more vintage.
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Old 10-17-2021, 05:19 AM
jaycal jaycal is offline
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Just got an Iris last week and I don’t mind the tuners at all, for what it’s worth
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Old 10-17-2021, 05:41 AM
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I just upgraded to stewmac tuners ...





-Mike

Last edited by hubcapsc; 10-17-2021 at 06:32 PM. Reason: Incompetent tablet user
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Old 10-17-2021, 06:14 AM
lowrider lowrider is offline
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Just got an Iris last week and I don’t mind the tuners at all, for what it’s worth
Yeah, they grow on you in reverse!
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Old 10-17-2021, 01:30 PM
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Thankfully I got my Iris early enough that mine had Grover tuners instead of those 3 on a plate. I can't help on a replacement, but I agree I'd probably want to replace them too.
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Old 10-17-2021, 06:15 PM
Goat Mick Goat Mick is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lowrider View Post
The people at Iris, as well as those at Martin should be ashamed of themselves for putting those horrid tuners on their guitars. I got them on my J-17 and they were awful. I tried a few different lubes and they all helped a little for a few days.

Mine were individual tuners and I got something from Gotah that was a direct replacement. Stew Mac has a three-on-a-plate Kluson style Gotah that has the same pole to pole spacing as yours. Check them out;

https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-ha...n-plate-tuners

If you want open gears, you might be able to find them but I think the Kluson style look more vintage.
I have these on my LG1 and they are very nice.
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Old 10-17-2021, 10:26 PM
tomcstokes59 tomcstokes59 is offline
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I've had my Iris DF for about 6 weeks and the only complaint I have is the tuners. They are very stiff. I have tried some Tri-Flow lube at string changes and it helped a little. I did put a set of the Gotohs on a Farida OT-22W and the are very smooth and hold tuning. If only they came in a more antiqued/reliced(sic) finish with ivoroid buttons.

The stiffness of the tuners is a minor annoyance to an otherwise stellar guitar. And yes I agree that a guitar of this level should have something better than $60 tuners.
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Old 10-18-2021, 08:19 AM
gr81dorn gr81dorn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tomcstokes59 View Post
I've had my Iris DF for about 6 weeks and the only complaint I have is the tuners. They are very stiff. I have tried some Tri-Flow lube at string changes and it helped a little. I did put a set of the Gotohs on a Farida OT-22W and the are very smooth and hold tuning. If only they came in a more antiqued/reliced(sic) finish with ivoroid buttons.

The stiffness of the tuners is a minor annoyance to an otherwise stellar guitar. And yes I agree that a guitar of this level should have something better than $60 tuners.
There is an oil-rubbed bronze type of Grand-Tune that would look really nice in my opiniion. Hard to find in the USA, but easy to get oversees.





Also, the brushed nickel ones might look decent, as well. Here are all the options.

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Old 10-18-2021, 08:23 AM
gr81dorn gr81dorn is offline
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Gotoh makes some relic 3 on a plate tuners, too. They should be a direct drop in....I don't suspect they'd be an upgrade, though.



https://reverb.com/item/35827874-got...8aAkIfEALw_wcB
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Old 12-14-2023, 12:45 PM
upsidedown upsidedown is offline
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Resurrecting this thread to see if there's any updated intel on the topic.

Any drop in replacements for the Stewmac 3-on-a-plate tuners?
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