Anybody have a suggestion on a lightweight set of open back tuners on my F-112?

gilded

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So my luthier pulled the neck off of my new-to-me '68 F-112, then called me up and said, "Harry those mini Schaller tuners are too durn' heavy!"

He asked me to find a set that would be both light-weight and good.

I remember there was a thread on this same subject several years ago, but don't remember if there was a good aftermarket alternative to be found back then.

Anybody got any thoughts?

Thanks, gilded
 

Brucebubs

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Post hole spacing permitting - why not the beautiful Gotoh tuners currently used by Guild?

They can be bought from Guild Oxnard - go to their site - Contact Us - order Gold SE 701 tuners for 12-string - about $80.00

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hansmoust

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So my luthier pulled the neck off of my new-to-me '68 F-112, then called me up and said, "Harry those mini Schaller tuners are too durn' heavy!"

He asked me to find a set that would be both light-weight and good.

Hello Harry,

First of all, the tuners that were on the guitar are not Mini Schallers; they are the first generation Schaller M-6 and they are indeed heavy.
There are a lot of new nice working open-back tuners on the market, but some of them may require filling the old holes in the headstock, which is now drilled for the Schallers and should have 10 mm holes.

Since you are asking for a set that was both light-weight and good you may want to consider the following:

I weighed an original Schaller M-6 unit from that period and it weighed 43 grams; a complete set would be 516 grams.

I did the same with a Schaller Mini tuner and it weighed 32 grams; a complete set would be 384 grams.

I also weighed the Schaller Mini with a pearloid knob, which brought the total weight of a set down to 312 grams.

Now I also weighed an original 6-on-a-plate Japanese import set and the total weighed 288 grams incl. the 12 bushings.

That means that the lightest option (Schaller Mini w. pearloid knob) would only be 24 grams heavier than the original setup. The difference would be less than the weight of a single mini tuner and you would have high quality tuners with only the old screw holes that need to be filled.

Now the only problem might be finding a set of pearloid knobs for the Schaller Mini's. They are available, but you may need to look hard!

The next option I can think of is buying a set of Gotoh mini-machines, which would be in the same ball-park weight wise and they would be a little easier to find with pearloid knobs; probably also a little cheaper than the Schaller Mini tuners.

Does that help you out?

Edit: I understand that you asked for open-back tuners, but I thought this would be the easiest option. If you would think about going for the open-backed Gotoh tuners, as suggested in the earlier posting, you will have a set of tuners that will weigh about 300 grams including the bushings.


Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
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SFIV1967

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order Gold SE 701 tuners for 12-string
The mentioned Gotoh SE701 and SE701MG are also available from other sources in nickel for both sides, which I find better than in gold for a F112. But the bushings are 8.8mm and hence as Hans mentioned would require to first fill the old Schaller 10mm holes. Should be no problem for your luthier however. Look at the drawing below for the exact sizes and check if it would fit if you go that way.

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Ralf
 
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Ardor13

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Post hole spacing permitting - why not the beautiful Gotoh tuners currently used by Guild?

They can be bought from Guild Oxnard - go to their site - Contact Us - order Gold SE 701 tuners for 12-string - about $80.00

MeSBVIml.jpg
[/IMG]

Agree, I have the Gotohs on my new 512, and they are my favorite tuners, especially because they are much more easy to install strings, once you get the knack. Also notable benefits, when you clean the headstock, the clutch and your fingers doesn’t get stuck on a sharp end of the wire, because it is inserted into the tuner shaft, vs the typical style tuners. Also. If you ever are experimenting with strings, it’s a breeze to reinstall a partially used set.
 
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