Auto-Trim Locking Tuners

[jmcecil]

Ok, call me old and lazy .. but I just messed with my first ever set of those Planet Waves auto trimming locking tuners and all I can say is NO GOING BACK.    :rock-on: ccasion14: :headbang1:

 

[mayfly]

I love them.  I've had them on my guitars for about 6 or 7 years.

Harder and harder to find them though - which is why for the latest telecaster I tried gotoh 510's.  the 510's are also awesome BTW...

 

[Michael Bolt-on]

I have em.  I love em with a fire that burns through wind and rain.

Same with the 510s.  Love those rounded keys.  Smooth and sensual.  A delight.

 

[fdesalvo]

Love love the PW tuners - they are heavy, but super stable and convenient.  I also have the 510s on a tele and think they are equally stable and clever in their own right. 

 

[jmcecil]

After it took me something on the order of 5 minutes to completely restring my guitar, and the naughty bits just fell to the floor ...  What a great time to be alive. 

Heck at this rate you'll have a doohickey that will tune it for you one day! :laughing7: :icon_jokercolor:

So the second bit was sarcasm, but the tuners kick ass.

 

[swarfrat]

Is the tip exposed when they cut?  I might check them out if so - currently I have to carefully crimp my string ends to keep them from poking little fingers. 

 

[fdesalvo]

Is the tip exposed when they cut?  I might check them out if so - currently I have to carefully crimp my string ends to keep them from poking little fingers.

I need to check, but I believe what remains is near flush with the post.

 

[stultzies9]

On the two guitars I have with them, the ends are actually tucked behind the cutting edge. No exposed ends at all. 

 

[Cagey]

Is the tip exposed when they cut?  I might check them out if so - currently I have to carefully crimp my string ends to keep them from poking little fingers. 

Not if you install the strings correctly. It is as Stultzies9 says - the cut end is hidden behind the cutting die. But, if you get too much string wrap on the post, an end could be exposed as the post rotates around to where the cut end is exposed again. Even then, it's pretty much flush with the post, so there's little or no risk of injury from them.

The only reason I bring it up when he already answered the question is that I'm constantly surprised at how many people still end up with multiple wraps of string on the posts of locking tuners. It defeats the purpose of having them, as those wraps will unwind and not rewind with bends or vibrato use and throw the thing out of tune. 

You line up the hole in the tuner so that you can pull the string straight through, pull it tight, then lock it down, then bring the string up to tune. Do it that way, and you'll rarely end up with much more than half a wrap on the post and the thing will stay in tune at least as well as if it had a locking nut.

 

[GoDrex]

I have a set and I love them. I hope they hold up for a long long time. I have Fender/Schaller's and Grover Locking Rotomatics and I like the PW's the best. In all honesty though I still love my plain old West Germany Schaller's from the early 80's the best.

 

[mayfly]

Is the tip exposed when they cut?  I might check them out if so - currently I have to carefully crimp my string ends to keep them from poking little fingers.

I need to check, but I believe what remains is near flush with the post.

it's actually covered up by the cutter.  No exposed ends at all.  Because of this I put them on a crappy acoustic that I let the kids play with 

 

[swarfrat]

Yeah. The kid was barely a year old when he got his first finger stick.  Doesn't seem to have deterred him, though he's pattial to drums, which I'm not about to discourage.

 

[jay4321]

I'm a big fan. I'd been using them for years with a few guitars but now they go on everything.

They feel smooth & solid without any play. Gear ratio is just where I like it. They accommodate very heavy strings without drilling. They're relatively inexpensive. The lock wheel is well done & not the thin sharp kind of another brand. And, almost as a bonus, you get the string cutting feature on top of it.

Then when they had an issue with slippage on the high strings a few years back due to a manufacturing issue, they took care of people sending out replacement posts machined correctly. I got some couple years after purchase because two sets were in storage and I didn't know they were defective.

If I were blind I'd say they were the perfect tuner. The aesthetics could be a little better I think. The wave logo on the back, the black pole pieces, the larger-than-usual mounting rings. Fine on a black-headstock guitar but took a while to get used to on maple Strat headstocks. I'd like the poles and wheel to match the main color, and maybe they could introduce a brushed chrome.

 

[dmraco]

I have em.  I love em with a fire that burns through wind and rain.

Same with the 510s.  Love those rounded keys.  Smooth and sensual.  A delight.

Nice.  I agree with the comments on both.  The planet waves are nice, but do feel heavy.  Very stable and cut the string perfect.

The 510 gotohs are works of art however.  So smooth.  I actually ENJOY tuning with those.  It is a shame I wasted them on a guitar with a Floyd.  I do not get to turn them enough  :sad:

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

You line up the hole in the tuner so that you can pull the string straight through, pull it tight, then lock it down, then bring the string up to tune. Do it that way, and you'll rarely end up with much more than half a wrap on the post and the thing will stay in tune at least as well as if it had a locking nut.

I do similarly, but once I pull it tight initially & lock it down, I stretch the string up and down the length of the neck, then unlock, re-pull tighter, re-lock, then bring up to pitch.

 

[dmraco]

Omg...could be tuner nirvana.  Too bad there is some sticker shock....$160 on all parts.  I am sure the can be found cheaper. 
https://www.allparts.com/TK-7277-010-Gotoh-Delta-6L-Locking-Tuners-Chrome_p_4665.html

 

[mayfly]

You line up the hole in the tuner so that you can pull the string straight through, pull it tight, then lock it down, then bring the string up to tune. Do it that way, and you'll rarely end up with much more than half a wrap on the post and the thing will stay in tune at least as well as if it had a locking nut.

I do similarly, but once I pull it tight initially & lock it down, I stretch the string up and down the length of the neck, then unlock, re-pull tighter, re-lock, then bring up to pitch.

That's a neat idea - never thought of that.

 

[mayfly]

Omg...could be tuner nirvana.  Too bad there is some sticker shock....$160 on all parts.  I am sure the can be found cheaper. 
https://www.allparts.com/TK-7277-010-Gotoh-Delta-6L-Locking-Tuners-Chrome_p_4665.html

Don't get them from there.  Get them from here instead:

http://www.japarts.ca/Gotoh/Gotoh-Products-Featured.asp

 

[Cagey]

Or here.

Allparts really doesn't seem to want to do retail business.