Waverly tuning machines

[stokes1971]

I just installed a set of Waverly tuning machines, purchased from Stewmac. I like them but one of them is slipping. Its the one on the B string. It works fine tuning "up", no slippage. If I tune too hi when I turn it back there is about a half turn of the "button" with no movement of the peg, after a half turn it catches and moves. I could probably live with it, but at almost $300, why should I, right? I contacted Stewmac and am waiting for a response to see if they will replace just one machine, I really dont want to remove and send back the entire set, but I know thats a long shot. I have never had any experience with these open back tuners, except from some cheapo guitar I had in the 60's that all slipped,lol. So my question here is, does anybody know of a remedy to this slippage? Is this condition to be considered normal? I am thinking maybe if I removed the gear and turned it a half turn the "dead spot" causing the slippage will be on the "other side" when tuned to pitch? There is no apparent damage or obvious cause of the slippage. Pretty sure I will have to return the whole set, but figured I'd ask here while I wait to hear back from Stewmac.

[John Arnold]

Worm gear tuners cannot unwind. What you are describing sounds like backlash. All tuners have it to some degree, but Waverlys should not have enough to cause issues.
Unless you have zero binding of the string in the nut slot, you should always be tuning up to pitch. Tuning down creates the situation where the string is looser above the nut. When the tension equalizes across the nut, it causes the pitch to drop.
Stew Mac is known for customer service, which can include replacing only one defective tuner in a set.

[redir]

Yeah if you go to high then always tune back low then tighten up to pitch again.

[stokes1971]

Originally Posted by redir

Yeah if you go to high then always tune back low then tighten up to pitch again.

I always finish with a tune up,if it is above pitch, I tune it down below and bring it back up to pitch. Never had an issue like this. As to John Arnolds suggestion about the string binding in the nut, that may be, but this problem didnt occur with the original tuners put on there by Gibson. Thanks for the replies, guys, I just heard from Stewmac, good news,they said replacing one tuner is not a problem since these have a lifetime guarantee. I knew they would replace, but I was afraid I'd have to take the whole set off and return all of them.

[stokes1971]

Gotta love the customer service at StewMac. I replied to their email just before my reply to you guys here. They asked which side of the headstock the affected tuner was on. After I finished typing here I got another email informing me the replacement is on the way. Not a word about sending the bad one back.

[Sasquatchian]

I had a similar situation except it was two or three brand new tuners with a lot of backlash. Stew-Mac offered to send me replacements but also asked how I had installed them and whether I had used their nifty little jig for drilling the screw holes or not. No I had not. They told me that their tuners were very very sensitive to the spacing for the holes and that if just screwed them into what was there before that could be the cause of the issue. So I plunked down the sixty bucks for their little jig, made myself some tiny mahogany toothpicks with an electric drill and some sandpaper, plugged the holes and re-drilled them with the jig, and lo and behold, those exact same tuners that had a third of a turn of backlash had lost virtually all of it. I would not have believed that the tiniest bit of being off with the screw holes would have such a profound effect, and yet, it did.

I still tune up to the pitch but it's a lot easier now than it used to be.

[mercy]

A lot of people have trouble with Waverlys. I got a vintage style guitar with open backs and switched to closed and my ( turned up to ). Waverlys are better than some and worse than others. Since youve made the purchase use a tiny bit of lube, I like white, and they should be fine.

[stokes1971]

I could see if the mounting screws dont line up quite right how it could force the peg to "lean" into the bushing causing a problem. These Waverly's lined up perfectly with the bottom hole and I had to drill for the top screw. I had the screw that lined up screwed in and just drilled using the hole in the tuner as a guide. They never questioned anything about using any jig.All they asked was which side of the headstock I needed and 15 mins later I got an email showing an order has shipped.... If by chance the new one isnt any better I'll have to consider your remedy.

[Dave in Tejas]

Stew Mac will send a new set of matching tuners and let you keep the old ones, not return them, so maybe you will only replace the "slipper".
That is my experience.

[stokes1971]

As best I can tell, they are sending me one tuner, not the whole set. In a follow up email they said no need to return the bad one.