Alvarez ap70 (new tuners)

[Hugo141]

Hi im having trouble keeping my ap70 in tune. Im relatively new to guitar so I can sort of hear it but my tuner definitely confirms it. It seems to be the treble end more than the bass. Iv read about people having trouble with the tuners on these guitars. Is there a solution apart from replacing? If that is the only solution can anyone recommend a decent set that won't break my bank and will be easyish to fit?

Thanks in advance guys 👍🏼

[Oldguy64]

My MD70 came with Grovers.
It seems very stable.
I have no idea what's on the jumbo. It is also stable.
I did change out the stock tuners in my old 5014 a number of years ago.
It has had a set of gold Ping tuners for many years.
It is very stable in holding tune.
You might tighten the screws that hold on the buttons.
Also nut that holds the tuner on.

Another thing I've noticed with my 5013 is that the nut slots occasionally bind on the G-string. Then it either pulls sharp or a bit flat depending on Whether I'm tuning up or down.

[jaymarsch]

I had an ap70 and replaced the tuners with Grover Sta-tites. Easy swap out and the tuners are much improved. You can get them from Stew-Mac for about $50. Let me know if you want me to find the exact set I bought. I still have the e-paperwork on it. The other thing that you might try is removing the problematic tuner and see if there is excess build up of lacquer in the post holes. That was the case with mine. I decided to replace them all anyway but I know that the lacquer issue was keeping the posts from seating correctly and causing the tuners to be a bit wonky.

Best,
Jayne

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I had an ap70 and replaced the tuners with Grover Sta-tites. Easy swap out and the tuners are much improved. You can get them from Stew-Mac for about $50. Let me know if you want me to find the exact set I bought. I still have the e-paperwork on it.

I'm not the OP, but I'd be grateful for details on the set you used. The AP70 is my first guitar (still en route), so this is a whole new world for me, but my custom uke came with Sta-tites and those have been excellent (second only to Gotoh UPTs, among those uke tuners I've encountered first-hand). I hope my AP70 won't need an upgrade, but I might as well have a plan ready if I want to replace the stock tuners for something better. Thank you!

[EllaMom]

I have not had any issues with my AP70 and always use a tuner. I've not changed anything but the strings, btw.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by EllaMom

I have not had any issues with my AP70 and always use a tuner. I've not changed anything but the strings, btw.

Which leads to a question for you, Hugo - how old are the strings on your guitar? Sometimes tuners having trouble getting strings into tune turns out to be a set of strings that are much too old and need to be replaced.


whm

[Jerry D]

I don't know about the AP70, but the ones that came on my AP66 were terrible. Stiff, and seemed to "stick" when you tuned them. Replaced them with Gotohs. Problem solved.

[Mivo]

I've had the AP70 for about a month now. The stock tuners on my model were perfectly fine, no stickiness or other issues. It did get set up and looked over by the vendor, though, so I don't know if they did work on them. They are the stock tuners still.

Great guitar. I was a bit wary because of the relatively low price, but it turned out to be a gem.

[JakeStone]

I have both AP70 and the AP66 (all hog).

These were my first slotted headstock guitars and took a couple string changes to get the strings wound properly.

I've thought about swapping the tuners.. But the stock ones seem ok. If I did change I'd go for the Grovers.

Btw, GC and MF have the AP70 now at $300 ... Add a coupon and you have a killer little parlor deal.

[jaymarsch]

I lost track of this thread so have not responded. I swapped mine out for the Grover Sta-tites. They dropped right in with no problem. What I discovered was that there was nothing wrong with the original tuners but they were binding up due to excess lacquer in the holes which kept the posts from seating properly.

I like the Sta-tites better though.

Best,
Jayne

[Realbluesman]

Another vote for Grover Sta-Tites. The original are grover knock-offs and nothing special.

[TBman]

Mine bind a bit. I keep meaning to get some graphite....

[dhalbert]

Originally Posted by TBman

Mine bind a bit. I keep meaning to get some graphite....

Like Jaymarsch, I also had excess finish in the tuner post holes, which made them bind. Try removing the tuners and scouring out the hole with a 1/4" drill bit or a little sandpaper wrapped around a Phillips screwdriver.

I also had a different problem, which is that on one side, the post holes were not quite perpendicular to the the side of the headstock. That also made them bind, and the Grovers I replaced them with were worse because the posts were thicker. But I put washers under one side of each of the three tuners to make them perpendicular, and they now turn smoothly

[KFord]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I had an ap70 and replaced the tuners with Grover Sta-tites. Easy swap out and the tuners are much improved. You can get them from Stew-Mac for about $50. Let me know if you want me to find the exact set I bought. I still have the e-paperwork on it. The other thing that you might try is removing the problematic tuner and see if there is excess build up of lacquer in the post holes. That was the case with mine. I decided to replace them all anyway but I know that the lacquer issue was keeping the posts from seating correctly and causing the tuners to be a bit wonky.

Best,
Jayne

Hi
Hope this bump is ok ( cant find forum rules) - Would that be these horizontal tuners?

https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/hardware-p...orizontal-p701

Thanks

[Edgar Poe]

Post a photo of how you strung the Alvarez. My guess is that may be the solution.
Ed