Why use locking tuners

Fender's early split-shaft Klusons offered a better, quicker way of restringing on the fly for the gigging journeyman musician.

Locking tuners offer the next evolutionary step in the refinement journey. Best of luck keeping it that way. With locking tuners though, tightening the strings takes just a half turn of the tuning peg—a much quicker and more convenient way to put new strings on your instrument requiring no bridge balancing and minimal stretching if any. Simple, easy and efficient and no slippage. Can be done at a gig between songs, if necessary. I know, I've done it.

They look clunky or The most commonly cited disadvantage of even the best locking tuners is their bulky headstock appearance. If you are that person, take a look at the Gotoh Kluson lookalikes below - they come really close to a mesh between vintage and modern locking.

What do they cost? We would recommend a name brand due to the fact that since the tuners clamp on a hardened steel string, you'll want to be assured that the tuner clamping mechanism will last as long as the tuner gear system. One teensy consideration: The transition from traditional tuner to locking tuners may require a small mod to your headstock. We know, we know: the idea of anyone drilling holes in our precious guitar can cause us to run from the room clutching it.

Still, we'd like to stress that the changes are small compared to the benefits once installed. If installed right, they WILL lock your strings in place, preventing string tuning deformation due to the windings loosening or the string slipping on the shaft. Graph Tech. Grover Locking Rotomatics. Kluson Locking Tuners. Are there any trade-offs?

Are they worth it? How do you change strings with locking tuners? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with more great videos like this one:. So, locking tuners are a pretty basic but kind of brilliant technology. So obviously the advantages of locking tuners are, at least in theory, better tuning stability.

But are there any drawbacks? Not really. The big one that people mention is that it does add a little bit of weight to your headstock, which just varies on how you are as a player. And honestly, some people feel that having more weight on the headstock even gives you a more meaty tone.

There are some products that claim this out there. The other drawback is pretty basic, but just elementally the more things you have going on with anything out there, the more things there potentially are to go wrong. It had all the options on it for at least, which back then was like, you know, a multi-CD changer, powered windows, and all that sort of cool stuff.

Do locking tuners do a better job than standard guitar tuners? This is really a question with quite a bit of debate behind it. So you could definitely make an argument that it might be overkill. All that said, there is one thing that locking tuners do well which prevents slippage at the tuning peg.

They do fix one element that can throw strings out of tune, which is slippage, but in my opinion, the quality of the strings can do a lot more for making your tuning stability not what you want, than that will. For example, when I got this Ibanez brand new from the factory, everything was set up just right. The locking tuners were done pretty well, but all that said, the tuning stability was still really, really poor.

So, how do you use locking tuners? But that should be pretty obvious. So the big mistake that a lot of players make with locking tuners is that they leave a lot of slack on the string, the same way as you would with standard tuners. What you want to do is pull your string pretty well through, so that you have most of the slack taken out, and then go ahead and tighten that bottom screw all the way down.

And this is actually a pretty good example of what we were talking about earlier. So what do you think? Have you tried locking tuners before? Do you swear by them? If you have an expensive guitar, you might not want to change anything on it.

But low-end, and even mid-range guitars can often have bad tuners. One of the most common problems with cheaper guitars are bridges and tuners, and if you want to continue playing your instrument, you might want to consider replacing these parts. While this might not serve as a rule, and it is possible to find a guitar with decent tuners, it is not as common.

And if you plan on replacing the old tuners, why not try locking ones. The very idea behind the locking tuners is to replace the string easily and without spending too much time. So, the process of changing a string is rather simple. After that, you should adjust the position of tuning pegs. Usually, players enjoy placing the strings at an angle, instead of straight through the peg. So, what you should do is adjust each tuning peg to a position you like so that each string enters the tuning machine at a certain angle.

Just pull it through the hole, and turn the knob on the back of the tuner. Once the string is inside the tuning peg, just screw the knob and it will secure the string. You can then cut the excess string like you normally would, and you can tune it to the appropriate pitch.

The process is the same for each string, and you will continue doing this until you restring the whole instrument. Once the instrument is ready, you can start playing. Now, playing the guitar with locking tuners is no different than playing the guitar with regular tuning machines. The only difference is in restringing. Finally, if you want to change strings again, you will simply turn the knob on the back and the string will come loose.

Now that you understand the process of changing strings, and how easy it is to restring the instrument, there is one more thing you should learn. Naturally, the process will depend on the type of guitar and type of tuner that is installed. For most guitars, there is either a nut at the front side of a headstock or a screw on the back. Now, the main problem with locking tuners is the type of guitar you have.

But the process is often a bit more complicated. The reason for this is that each company creates different guitar parts and this means that the holes on the headstock might not fit the tuner. Similarly, the size of tuners might be too big for the hole on the headstock.

As a result, you will need to expand the hole so the new tuners can fit properly. Of course, you can always find a professional that will do the job for you, and they will do a great job even if there is a need to drill holes.

Firstly, upgrading your tuners will improve tuning stability to a degree. But more importantly, it will prevent the slippage of strings. The second factor that is a great advantage is how quickly you can replace strings. But if you are touring, every second can be important especially if your string breaks during the show. Whether you love or hate restringing your instrument, the whole process is a lot simpler and quicker.

However, there are a couple of disadvantages as well. The most obvious one is that you will need to find the ones that suit your guitar. Now, this might not be a problem for any expensive guitar, but if you have some less-known brand, you might need to do some drilling. I already mentioned before that locking tuners are a bit heavier, and you might need some time to adjust to the new weight of the headstock.

Furthermore, locking tuners might improve your tuning stability, but they will not solve the problem. You might want to know how to find the tuners for your guitar.

Try finding the locking tuners that are identical to the ones you already have. This includes all the screws and nuts that are already on your tuning machines. This way, you will avoid having to drill extra holes or expand existing ones to fit the new tuning machines. But you should be prepared to pay a bit more for the extra work.

To avoid having to do any extra work, just remove one of the tuning pegs from your guitar and see how it looks like. Usually, locking tuners will have two pins, and if your old tuners have them as well, then you can find a similar one. Furthermore, be sure to measure the width of the peg or the hole to see if the new one will be fitting.

Similarly, if there are no pins on your old tuners, try finding locking ones with a similar design. Finally, once you find the one that will fit the headstock, you can pick the color that will match your guitar or the one you like the most. Interestingly, you can use locking tuners on any type of guitar.

That includes electric and acoustic as well. While it is not as common to use locking tuners on acoustic guitars, it is still something you can do if you desire so. If you plan on buying these tuning machines, just ensure that they are the right type and that they can be mounted on acoustic guitars.