24 3/4 conversion strat
- Thread starter fuzznut
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Cagey
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My roasted Maple 'boards all look like new, too. But, I'm in the same spot as Logrinn - I only play at home, my hands are dry and clean, and I'm pretty good about keeping my nails well-manicured. Plus, all of mine have had the 'board burnished so they're substantially smoother than stock. Keeps it from abrading dead skin cells off.
fuzznut
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Planet Waves tuners, never had them before so I figured I would try them. Cuts the strings off too, which is good because I have several mini dikes that are ruined from cutting strings. Anyone have any opinions on these?
I DID say I would duplicate my other guitar, but I'm getting kinda tired of all this black hardware
I DID say I would duplicate my other guitar, but I'm getting kinda tired of all this black hardware
Cagey
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After 4 or 5 installs, I've had mixed results. They've all locked properly and tuned well, and I expect they'd do that for a long time without issue. But, on two sets I had issues with the excess string cutoff feature which weren't entirely unexpected. When the high E reaches the cutoff point, rather than cut the string it folds over and wedges under the cutting die portion of the stationary outer peg. They were all new part installs so they weren't worn, it had to be excess clearance at the cutting point due to manufacturing tolerances. In order to make a shear cut on a string that's only .009" in diameter, clearance can't be any more than maybe .004", preferably less. Otherwise, the string is not going to cut - it'll just fold over and fill the gap.
If you call Planet Waves on it, they're good about replacing the tuner. Also, it's not the end of the world - the tuner is still a usable locking tuner. But, you have to back it up a bit and cut the string flush with the peg yourself, which sorta defeats the point of that feature.
The sets I installed weren't on my own guitars, so I don't know what the long-term behavior is with the things, but I expect that the cutting die will wear and eventually larger strings will start folding/jamming instead of cutting. Free replacements are fine, but changing tuners regularly shouldn't be on the scheduled maintenance list. It may be that the failures I had were flukes, but until I can get some assurance that this problem doesn't occur anywhere else, I won't use those tuners on my guitars.
If you call Planet Waves on it, they're good about replacing the tuner. Also, it's not the end of the world - the tuner is still a usable locking tuner. But, you have to back it up a bit and cut the string flush with the peg yourself, which sorta defeats the point of that feature.
The sets I installed weren't on my own guitars, so I don't know what the long-term behavior is with the things, but I expect that the cutting die will wear and eventually larger strings will start folding/jamming instead of cutting. Free replacements are fine, but changing tuners regularly shouldn't be on the scheduled maintenance list. It may be that the failures I had were flukes, but until I can get some assurance that this problem doesn't occur anywhere else, I won't use those tuners on my guitars.
fuzznut
Junior Member
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Thanks for the information. I went and put .009s in each tuner. They all cut very cleanly with no effort, so I must have a good set. I was watching the cut under a microscope, there was no visible slop between the cutter and shaft when loaded to the point before shearing. Time will tell if they wear out, but there are 2 dies per tuner, so if one starts to crap out you have another one, assuming it was not a shaft slop problem.
Logrinn said:
Well said. While there are a few monster guitarists playing on their right thigh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nux5LzzxT3o), it's a TERRIBLE ERGONOMIC CATASTROPHE in general, and should never be done.
The key piece of equipment is a stool. There are purpose-built stools for guitar, but I just like random things that are the correct height.
