New Tuners On a Cheap Guitar

[Twolefthands]

A slightly strange question but my two year old Yamaha C40 is played most days and has become a trusted and much loved friend.

I am taking it in to be re-strung for the second time since I brought it and was wondering about treating the 'old girl' to a bit of a face lift via some new tuners?
Is it worth the expense of doing this on a budget guitar and would it make much different to the tuning?

I love the sound it makes and will never part with it but would appreciate any comments or suggestions of the type of tuners to buy?
'There is no fool like an old fool'.

[Bikewer]

I bought several sets of the standard “three on a plate” classical tuners made by “Ping”... A Chinese brand, to use for my various cigar-box guitar builds. They all seemed to be quite decent. At the time, only about 12 dollars a set.

I think Stewmac sells a variety of tuners in different price ranges.

[nightflight]

Are you having difficulty with them? Do they slip? Do you have trouble adjusting them? Do they hold a tuning fairly well? I wouldn't change them out unless there is a reason to.

That said, I've replaced 3 sets. One was a 40 year old guitar, and the tuners were just worn out. The other two were newer guitars with cheaper tuners that slipped and were hard to adjust. I replaced them with expensive ones. I have to say the new tuners are lovely and it was absolutely worth it.

The ones I like best are German Rubner tuners, but they'll set you back a pretty penny. You can get cheaper tuners... the ones in the $20 range I have not found to be dependable. I can live with ones in the $90 range. But I love really good tuners.

My thoughts. Your mileage may vary.

[coder]

Sorry for the thread necromancy, I am answering this in case some one new is looking through the threads.

For this situation, If you do not want to spend a ton of money, you could do Der Jung, with their roller bearings on the end of the shafts. Look on ebay, a fellow there sells them fairly cheap. $15 shipping from Taiwan, he combines shipping on multiple orders.

If you want to step up to something better, the Schaller Grand Tunes are very well made (better than the Der Jung), and IMO better than Rubners.

I think you woudl be disappointed in the super inexpensive mainland China made tuners such as Ping or no-brand. There you get what you pay for , those things are barely functional.

[ssynhorst]

It is Valentine's day. If you love your guitar give it a nice gift. - Stevo

[Always Learning]

Originally Posted by Twolefthands

A slightly strange question but my two year old Yamaha C40 is played most days and has become a trusted and much loved friend.

I am taking it in to be re-strung for the second time since I brought it and was wondering about treating the 'old girl' to a bit of a face lift via some new tuners?
Is it worth the expense of doing this on a budget guitar and would it make much different to the tuning?

I love the sound it makes and will never part with it but would appreciate any comments or suggestions of the type of tuners to buy?
'There is no fool like an old fool'.

Hey TLH...

My first classical guitar was a Yammie. It was inexpensive and what I learned on for almost a year before stepping up to a solid wood one. Thing is if you love the guitar, love how it plays and sounds and want to maybe change tuners that will aide in tuning... I'd say go for it... A suggestion, look for a set that has a ratio of at least 16/1.

There may be some out there for under $70. Thing is even if you buy a set that sets you back more than $70, just have the shop give you back your old set, so that if you ever decide to step up to a more expensive guitar and sell the Yamaha, you can have the old ones put back on and keep the more expensive ones for your newer one... Just a thought

[OPJ77]

Originally Posted by Always Learning

Hey TLH...

My first classical guitar was a Yammie. It was inexpensive and what I learned on for almost a year before stepping up to a solid wood one. Thing is if you love the guitar, love how it plays and sounds and want to maybe change tuners that will aide in tuning... I'd say go for it... A suggestion, look for a set that has a ratio of at least 16/1.

There may be some out there for under $70. Thing is even if you buy a set that sets you back more than $70, just have the shop give you back your old set, so that if you ever decide to step up to a more expensive guitar and sell the Yamaha, you can have the old ones put back on and keep the more expensive ones for your newer one... Just a thought

I think your advice is spot on. I’ve never understood why people balk at upgrading an inexpensive guitar. I think the bigger travesty is an expensive guitar that never sees the light of day.

[CoastStrings]

I upgraded the tuners on a Yamaha C40 with a set of Der Jung DJ405AB-A2B Hauser-style machines years ago. The antique look, black (ebony?) buttons, and black rollers easily complemented the simple looks of the guitar. They worked very well with no issues.



I acquired these back before Der Jung became better-known outside of Asia, so I got them much closer to wholesale or OEM pricing. But Der Jung machines are still rather inexpensive at retail.

Always check the screw mounting hole measurements from the manufacturer's spec diagram against your existing tuning machines. You may need to plug/glue/sand some of the screw holes if they do not line-up. This will typically be the case if going from lyre-style to Hauser-style.

On more expensive instruments, I will install Gotoh or Schaller machines which run about $100 at retail.

[Baldrick]

https://classicalguitartuners.com/der-jung-tuners/

I've replaced tuners on four different classical guitars using these tuners, and I'm very satisfied with them.