tuners for Ukelele

[Tony Burns]

got an old banjo uke -hurting , wanted to get tuners for it -
but the friction pegs kind of suck , thinking about putting regular uke
geared tuners ( even thou it didnt start life out with those ) this thing is
a bit beat up and probably not have a great value , so im thinking as long as i make it playable ( and it will hold the tuning better ) it will get played.
Typically these things do not have a great value and their wall hangers ( decoration ) even most uke players are not fond of them.
and its been in a box for about 60 years -so much the better.

Curious , believe most are to big ( back plate of tuners )
i can sand down the metal edges to bring it tighter -so it should be ok - ? will check that before i buy anything

what are the smallest geared tuners for ukes ?

Grover makes a set for about
20 bucks or so-

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Tony Burns

got an old banjo uke -hurting , wanted to get tuners for it -
but the friction pegs kind of suck , thinking about putting regular uke
geared tuners ( even thou it didnt start life out with those ) this thing is
a bit beat up and probably not have a great value , so im thinking as long as i make it playable ( and it will hold the tuning better ) it will get played.
Typically these things do not have a great value and their wall hangers ( decoration ) even most uke players are not fond of them.
and its been in a box for about 60 years -so much the better.

Curious , believe most are to big ( back plate of tuners )
i can sand down the metal edges to bring it tighter -so it should be ok - ? will check that before i buy anything

what are the smallest geared tuners for ukes ?

Grover makes a set for about
20 bucks or so-

The Grovers are marginally OK, but they tend to self destruct over time. I've used a few sets of them because they are inexpensive, but didn't enjoy the results.

The anser to most all of the questions in the Uke universe can be found at the Mya Moe Youtube channel:

[Tony Burns]

Id agree about the friction pegs - a better set is like 25 bucks , when i can buy a geared grover set for about the same -that hold better without slipping .
Thinking about plugging two of the four holes holes and redrilling them for the standard uke tuners. if it looks bad i might even veener the face -depends how far i want to go into the rabbit hole .

[bkepler]

https://www.bluegrassbasics.com/blue...anjolele%2Fuke

This page has a banjolele that has the GraphTech Ratio Tune-a-Lele tuners ($32.95) as well as a baritone uke with basic geared Grover tuners ($21.71). The Ratios keep the traditional profile of the banjolele.

[rsmillbern]

I put a set of Gotoh UPT tuners on a use to upgrade from some dodgy friction tuners and have been really happy with them. I have a set on a Romero Uke as well and they work really well.

[Tony Burns]

Thank you all for the help !

[frankmcr]

I have a pretty nice old (1990s) concert uke. The tuners make it ridiculously head-heavy, which is a common uke problem, and I've been kicking around the idea of installing graph techs.

Incidentally, I remember when the stores along 48th Street were practically giving away old banjo-ukes. Not so much now. Might be worth checking Reverb (just as a reference point) to see if yours has maybe some significant value as is.

[Tony Burns]

I will say this , I understand why they use to give these $%^& away ( think i paid like 5 bucks for it many years ago)
their pretty to look at and their very unusual , I even made a new bridge
( a bit wider on the base becasue of the leather head ) and Its tonation is not so bad . You get a string tuned and the one before it goes out ,
so you work from 4 to 1 . then you do it all over again -and they get closer until their not.
I did this like 5 times and im about to go insane .

I also own 3 banjo mandolins ( of quality ) and now i remember why their in their cases all the time -
its even more bonkers to try and get one of those in tune with a calf skin head -
I worked hard on this uke and wonder why they ever made more than one of these stupid things , i know its from around 1920 - and its a beautiful wall hanger - but If i ever get the thing in tune -
it will be my imagination playing with me , when im in the nut house !!

( a nice way to waste a few hours ) i am going to take this to a friend to double check that im right
their might be a box i didnt check -

Thinking I could put a baltic birch top on this monster ( over the leather head - by laying it on top of the skin )
and im willing to bet It will be tunable ?

But then it won't be a banjo uke !







..

[bkepler]

Did you put new tuning pegs on it? My 1920s Stella lives on my mantle and is relatively in tune whenever I pick it up. That’s with the original calf skin head too. I have Aquila red strings on it and everything is really, remarkably stable.

[Tony Burns]

Hello -yes i put a set of decent Grovers on it - they fit easily in the existing holes
without any alteration and I put a set of Dadarrio titanium strings on it - Im afraid to tighten the head to much becasue of its age - but i'll give that a try when i get a moment tomorrow-

[Tony Burns]

sorry double post -please delete






.

[frankmcr]

Banjo-mandolin, yeah that's an instrument of torture. For the person who tried to tune it and for anyone who has to listen to it after.

[Tony Burns]

Originally Posted by bkepler

Did you put new tuning pegs on it? My 1920s Stella lives on my mantle and is relatively in tune whenever I pick it up. That’s with the original calf skin head too. I have Aquila red strings on it and everything is really, remarkably stable.

Well im bad - i let it sit a night , the strings needed to stretch a bit,
plus the old Reverb tuner i had was acting up ( maybe battery )
I got a hold of my wifes ukes tuner , and seems ok -
Thanks for the help !