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  #1  
Old 11-05-2003, 03:53 PM
dryan dryan is offline
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Default How many people are going to change the Ping tuners?

My new 314KCE has Pings and I'm happy with the tuning stability. I've heard that longevity is an issue with Pings. I also found out that my Wolfgang Special has Pings. I've had this guitar for about 2 years and have no complaints with the tuners - easy to tune, stays in tune.

Does anyone have a negative experience with Pings?

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  #2  
Old 11-05-2003, 04:04 PM
albertshaw albertshaw is offline
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This is in response to the heading on the thread which ask how many people will change their tuners. As soon as my new Taylor comes, I'll look at how the tuners are attached and where I need to drill the holes, then I'll order new tuners.

Why? No reason really. I like to stick with what I like and I can afford it.

Pings are probably good tuners.

Last edited by albertshaw; 11-05-2003 at 04:35 PM.
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  #3  
Old 11-05-2003, 04:10 PM
DJanzen DJanzen is offline
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Default Tuners

I have one on my 655 that seems not to hold as I think it should. Before I mess around with replacing everything (all 12), I may just see what kind of adjusting I can do on my own to the existing one. Anyone have experience - are the "stock" tuners easy to adjust without doing damage?

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Old 11-05-2003, 04:18 PM
carolina410 carolina410 is offline
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Here's my theory on tuners:

Just like a Ford Festiva is not in the same league as a Ford Mustang, the name brand of the tuner is not necessarily indicative of the quality of the particular tuner on the guitar.

1. Pings: My lowly Martin DM had Martin-branded Pings on it. Not so good smoothness, 14:1 ratio. Although I am not familiar with the Taylor Pings, word is that they are 18:1 and are manufactured ot Taylor Specs.

2. Grovers: I replaced my Martin Pings with "Allparts" Grovers (14:1). Much improvement over the Martin Pings, still not quite as nice as the Grovers that are on the Taylor I sold or as the Schallers on my HD-28. These Grovers are a touch sticky and not 100% smooth.

3. Schallers: The "Martin" Schallers on my Martin are great and IMO are equal to the old Taylor Grovers. Not sure how they would compare to "Schaller" Schallers, but I imagine they would be close.

I guess my point is that the maker of the tuners is not as important as the specs that they are built to. I can't imagine Taylor would put Pings on all of their guitars if all Pings were as disappointing as the "Martin" Pings that were on my DM.

If nothing else, I would recommend giving the Taylor Pings a chance before you go drilling holes in a headstock to swap tuners. Extra holes usually don't add value to a guitar, no matter how expertly done.

As always, these are just my observations and opinions.

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Old 11-05-2003, 04:28 PM
Marge Marge is offline
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Cool

If the Taylor Pings do what they are supposed to do, I'll keep them. If not, I'll change them.

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Old 11-05-2003, 04:34 PM
cal cal is offline
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ping tuners on my larrivee is great, stays in tune and no problems.
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Old 11-05-2003, 04:41 PM
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Stixx Stixx is offline
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After the Waverys on my Collings none of the tuners on the rest of my guitars seem adequate to me . I don't know but I heard the waverlys are pricey. They look simple enough no encasment just gears, that work . They are quick and smooth and changing strings is effortless because of them . I would indeed like them on all my guitars .
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  #8  
Old 11-05-2003, 04:58 PM
NdaBoonies NdaBoonies is offline
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IMHO... if there is such a thing (a humble opinion, that is!)...

Uncle Bob has pretty much said both here on the TGF
http://64.119.167.71/forums/showthre...513#post387513
and via the Taylor website at:
http://www.taylorguitars.com/news/products.html#prod4
that the Taylor Pings are 18:1 (not your "everyday" Pings, there!) and their gears are machined to extremely close tolerances (which "virtually" eliminates the "slop" or backlash commonly found in mid-range and lower-range tuners). In other words, the tuners are NOT Pings "by default"!

Some of the potential pitfalls of these (and any other) tuners:
* excessive clearance of the tuning peg shaft inside the bushing/nut
* insufficiently "snugged" bushing nuts, on the "face" side of the headstock
* excessive clearance at either end of the tuning key shaft (bearing surfaces)
* crappy metallurgy in the pinion (tuning peg shaft) gear and/or the
worm (tuning key shaft) gear
* poorly formed or "rough" concave area where the string wraps around the tuning peg

If a tuner - any tuner - won't hold a particular string "in tune", I'd rule out a few possibilities before blaming the tuner...
* not enough winds around the tuning peg shaft, OR not properly "locked in" (depending upon stringer's preferred method)
* loose ball-end... snug that critter up!
* bad string - yep! new out of the box
* bad string - old and/or stretched to death.
* tuning DOWN to pitch rather than UP (which then allows string tension to pull through the "slop" or backlash, yielding a flat pitched string).
* failure to realize that tuning a guitar represents a compromise!!

Change 'em out if you must... they're made without the locator screw tabs to make it easy on ya... but I'm not sure you'll be getting a (much) superior tuner for your efforts.
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Old 11-05-2003, 05:30 PM
albertshaw albertshaw is offline
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I was just answering the poll and I was not trying to stir up a debate.

Function has nothing to do with my decision - that's why I've decided before seeing it. I've also decided to get real ebony buttons without seeing the Taylor buttons.

Its just a personal preference. I am sure pings are good tuners.
I am going to get Schallers with ebony buttons because that's what I like.

Thanks for the thoughts though. I'll keep you updated on how the drilling on the 900 goes. Of course, the guitar has to get here first. I'll post pictures after the new tuners are in.
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  #10  
Old 11-05-2003, 05:41 PM
Kevin Michael Kevin Michael is offline
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Pings on my 714ce. Tunes easily and precisely. Solid.
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  #11  
Old 11-05-2003, 08:42 PM
flaggerphil flaggerphil is offline
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I don't care WHAT kind of tuners are on my guitars, as long as they work. So far, I've had no problems with any tuners on any of my guitars. If I did, I'd look at replacing them. Don't anticipate having that problem, though.
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Old 11-06-2003, 12:33 AM
LOTF LOTF is offline
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My 314ce came with the Grovers so it's not an issue for me right now. The day will come when I have enough money to succumb to TAS yet again and when that day comes, the 514 or above I will get will doubtless have the Pings.

At that point, I'll decide, based on their performance, whether they stay or go.
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Old 11-06-2003, 12:53 AM
Steve314 Steve314 is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Stixx
I don't know but I heard the waverlys are pricey.
Hehehehe... yeah, you could say that: Waverly Tuners at Stewart MacDonald...

Steve
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  #14  
Old 11-06-2003, 03:00 AM
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I really had reservations about the Taylor tuners before I received my 914-CE L1 this week. I'm happy to say that Uncle Bob wasn't blowing smoke! The new tuners are really nice- at least as good as the Grovers, if not better, in my opinion. For me, there is no reason to change tuners.
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  #15  
Old 11-06-2003, 08:06 AM
troubleman troubleman is offline
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Uncle Bob kept his promise. The Pings on my 315K Ltd are smooth and hold tune with little backlash. Objectively they deliver as promised. Subjectively they don't "feel" as substantial as Grovers, nor do they (my opinion) look as smart. What is cool about them is the Taylor logo on their back. Given the gorgeous tonal hues of the koa on my 315, I'd prefer gold tuners with ebony buttons. Chrome does not justice to the visual appeal. Taylor refused make gold Taylor-Pings available to their customers after-market, so I'll look elsewhere. My 315K Ltd is actually in the trunk of my car, headed to my fav guitar tech to have it's tuners replaced with gold Grovers this afternoon, as soon as I'm paroled from work....
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