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Old 07-17-2011, 01:05 PM
japple japple is offline
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Default titanium machine heads?

I was talking to my luthier earlier today, and we were discussing weight. He mentioned he wished he could get titanium tuners. Does anyone know if anyone is making titanium tuners?
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Old 07-17-2011, 02:33 PM
Kent Chasson Kent Chasson is offline
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Hi John. It's hard to get much lighter than Schertler's. The open style with an aluminum plate and ebony knobs really keeps the weight down. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/G...ad_Guitar.html

They are very smooth too.

I think the weight listed on the site includes packaging. I could weigh a set if you like.

The ones on Burton's post look pretty light too but I have no experience with them. http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=222031
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Old 07-17-2011, 02:40 PM
japple japple is offline
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Thanks Kent,

Ray uses the Alessi tuners, deffinately wanted to stay with that style tuner. Was are the tuners you mentioned open back like that?
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Old 07-17-2011, 03:54 PM
Kent Chasson Kent Chasson is offline
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Yes, open back. Link to pictures is above.
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Old 07-17-2011, 03:56 PM
Brackett Instruments Brackett Instruments is offline
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Aluminum is lighter than titanium.
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Old 07-17-2011, 04:04 PM
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Aluminum is lighter than titanium.
yes, but aluminum is soft, and fatigues. Titanium would be a better fit.
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Old 07-17-2011, 06:18 PM
Burton LeGeyt Burton LeGeyt is offline
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The Gotoh stealth tuners are the lightest I have found by a factor of about 3 but they do not look like anything else out there. The Schertler's are over a tuners worth heavier than a set of Waverlies even though they are made of aluminum. Weights would be (for all 6 tuners):

167g Schertler (ebony knobs, weight from from Stewmac website)
133g Waverly (ebony knobs, weight from from Stewmac website)
57g Gotoh Stealth tuners with ivory buttons (weight taken by me)

I don't have any experience with the Alessi tuners but they certainly are beautiful.
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Old 07-18-2011, 08:23 AM
Laurent Brondel Laurent Brondel is offline
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Default Pegheds

Waverlies with ebony knobs are 22g per tuner (132g per set), brass plated knobs are evidently heavier. Shertlers are 27g per tuner (162g per set). The lightest tuners I have used are the Pegheds mechanical pegs at 13g per tuner (78g per set). I used the 16:1 on a recent B-4 and am very pleased with them. Installation is a bit more involved than with regular tuners, but the weight saving is worth it. The look, of course, is an acquired taste: I love it.





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Old 07-18-2011, 08:36 AM
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Thanks for the replies guys, but if we can't find a titanium open back style tuners, we will just stick with the Alessi. We are pretty well decided on what we want for this. But I appreciate all the input, and the different options you all presented.
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Old 07-18-2011, 09:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by japple View Post
Thanks Kent,

Ray uses the Alessi tuners, deffinately wanted to stay with that style tuner. Was are the tuners you mentioned open back like that?
I have Alessi tuners on my Bresnan. I don't know about their weight, but the Alessi's are fantastic for functionality and I really like their looks.

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Old 07-18-2011, 10:26 AM
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Alessis are great tuners Chuck, which is why Ray uses them as his standard tuner on his guitars. Basically, we wanted a tuner that functions and looks as good as Alessi, but is lighter. Which is why we wanted titanium. If we can't get it, then ALessis will be great. I am actually talking to a gunsmith today about a rifle, and while I am on the phone, I am going to ask him about making some custom titanium tuners. He has all the CNC machines and is set up for it. All we would have to do is send him the specs so he could plug it into his computer. Might be the only way I know to get it done.
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Old 07-18-2011, 10:48 AM
Howard Klepper Howard Klepper is offline
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Quote:
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yes, but aluminum is soft, and fatigues. Titanium would be a better fit.
All metals fatigue. Aluminum is hard and strong enough for the shaft and housing/plate. The best metals for the worm and spur appear to be stainless steel and bronze. Titanium has many good properties, but if weight is the issue, aluminum has the advantage. Titanium has proved its marketing appeal, though.

I don't know the weight, but Sperzels are quite light, with aluminum housing, shaft, and buttons.
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Old 07-18-2011, 12:15 PM
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Yes, aluminum does fatigue... but, we're talking about tuning heads here. They make airplanes out of the stuff, that have MUCH more stress put on them than any tuning head would ever have, yet we don't have wings falling off or planes falling apart in the sky on a regular basis. What is the advantage to saving a few grams of weight in the form of lighter tuner heads? Does it magically increase volume or improve tone?
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Old 07-18-2011, 12:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeD View Post
Yes, aluminum does fatigue... but, we're talking about tuning heads here. They make airplanes out of the stuff, that have MUCH more stress put on them than any tuning head would ever have, yet we don't have wings falling off or planes falling apart in the sky on a regular basis. What is the advantage to saving a few grams of weight in the form of lighter tuner heads? Does it magically increase volume or improve tone?
We are adding weight to the neck by making it out of maple instead of Mahogany. So I wanted to cut weight in another place to help maintain balance. I understand that aluminum is probably fine for this application, but it is not what I want. I guess I brought on sarcasm by asking a question about if people make them or not. So to answer your question, no there is no magic behind it, and I never claimed that there was, I just stated a question, because it is what "I WANT".
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