Hopefully, our guide will have clued you in a little as to the functionality, and why higher tuning ratios give a more significant deal of control over your string tuning.ĭon't be afraid to try something different. If you don't have much knowledge on the subject, it's probably best to replace your tuners with the same brand set or an upgrade from the same brand your shredder previously sported. The majority of heads we have reviewed here may not appear to be all that different, and there is some truth to that sentiment.įor many, the brand will over-rule when they choose their machine heads. We won't drivel on about the ratios of the gears, as we've been fairly explanatory within our reviews, but we will just clarify that the number refers to how many times you need to turn the actual tuner manually for it to turn the capstan one full-rotation. Sealed sets can typically be mounted straight-on, but not always. There are universal mounting plates available. Open gears usually have to be mounted to a mounting plate, in which case you need to get the right heads for the existing plating or replace the plating as well. Secondly, you need to know the shaft hole size (often 10mm but not always) and, lastly, decide whether you want open or sealed gears. If you buy a set of locking tuners for your guitar, there are a few things you need to adhere to if you don't want to modify your ax.įirstly, you need a set with the correct layout configuration, usually 3 by 3 or 6 in a line. What to Look For in a Guitar Locking Tuner? If you are a guitarist who down-tunes and re-tunes to standard throughout a set regularly, then they probably aren't for you. ![]() This is a double-edged sword of sorts because tighter gears cause more wear and tear on the strings themselves, which can make them prone to a shorter lifespan. One way around it was to cut the teeth of the gears accurately enough to better-fit into the gears of the worm, regardless of the tension created by the strings so that they self-lock. The search for an anti-backlash solution brought about locking tuners from A.D Grover but, today, the term guitar locking tuner is used as a catch-all to describe any machine head with a cam or screw or any other mechanism to help prevent guitar string slippage employed.Īs mentioned, there are a few styles to tackle the problem. This was especially true in the case of guitarists who played with a lot of vibrato, tremolo or pitch-bends in their lead-styles, as it created extra tension and the gears of the era would give in too easily. ![]() Modern designs vary, but most employ a worm and gear system whereby a cylindrical capstan, with a hole at one end to thread your guitar string through, is mounted to the center of a pinion gear and linked to a worm-gear with a knob or key to turn the lot.Īs with early tuning pegs, early worm and gear sets were subject to backlash, meaning that the guitar string tension could force the guitar locking tuner to be tempted to unwind by itself. This didn't always stay put and so developed as time went by, into the geared sets we typically see today. ![]() These guitar locking tuners began life as non-geared friction tuning pegs to hold guitar string tension in place. They are technically called guitar tuning machine heads and can go by various pseudonyms, such as gear-heads, tuning-mechanisms, tuning-keys or solely by peg holes, gears, machines, tighteners and a whole host of other slang terms as well. Locking Tuners Buyers Guide What is a locking tuner?Ī tuner can be one of two things but, in this case, we are referring to the tuning machines of your headstock, those of which you turn to tighten or loosen your guitar strings.
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