Anyone swap out gold for chrome tuners?

[steverok]

Hello fellow Guild-o-philes,

I'm thinking of switching the gold mini grovers, on my recently-acquired JF65-12, to the chrome ones. I have some sort of gripe with gold tuners, from an image/vibe point of view. My only concern is that the grand headstock of this model may somehow look compromised. If anyone knows of any pictures of an F412 or F512 with chrome tuners, please show me the way ... we need a frame of reference here.

Thanks,
Steve-O

 

[bdeclee]

Geez, I have never seen any of the 412/512 models with chrome tuners. The G shield just seems to "go" with the gold washed ones.

I suppose what I would think about is resale value. If I saw a JF 65-12 with chrome tuners, I would suspect other mods to the guitar and perhaps be a wary buyer. Not that you couldn't explain it easily enough - and of course, if you keep the gold tuners, you can include them if and when you eventually sell the instrument.

Otherwise, I suppose it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

[chazmo]

Steve,

You could certainly get a set of nickel-plated Grover Rotomatic minis to replace the ones in your JF65-12... The set you order should be perfectly compatible with the winder hole and the screw hole. The washers and screws were slightly different back in the '70s, but I don't think they've changed at all since your guitar was built.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guit ... _3L3R.html
You'd have to get two sets of these for your axe -- probably around $100.

I replaced my original Grover tuners on my F50R with new gold-plated (full-size) ones because the old ones were almost entirely unplated.

I think the nickel look would be very nice, but that's a completely personal thing.

 

[steverok]

Here they list both a black nickel and a chrome version. Not sure what the difference is. I suspect I am seeking the chromes.

http://www.grotro.com/Mainoriginalrotos.html

I have thought about resale as well. All I can say is my guitars are usually better after I have owned them, compared to when I first get them. And yes, of course, I would keep the gold ones, for inclusion in a sale that will likely never happen in my lifetime.

As Wilco says, "hell is chrome ..."

 

[chazmo]

Hmmm... I hadn't looked directly at the Grover site. StewMac doesn't carry the entire line, apparently.

So, what is the difference between nickel- and chrome-plated? I admit ignorance. There must be some difference or Grover wouldn't list them separately. In any case, the "black" versions are just that, I think. Not what you're looking for, I suspect.

Maybe you want to find the satin style, Steve... Presumably, those aren't so reflective.

All I know is nickel-plated tuners hold up better (finish-wise) over the long run than the gold. Some of my 20-year-old tuners with nickel-plate look like they're new.

 

[steverok]

I found an example of black nickel

http://cgi.ebay.com/Grover-Mini-Rotomat ... dZViewItem

Chrome it is ...

 

[dreadnut]

If you end up swapping them out I might be interested in buying six of the gold plated ones...

 

[steverok]

The plot thickens ... we'll see there, dread, I'm a long ways away still.

 

[chazmo]

By the by, guys, if you choose to buy a new set of Grovers, you should check with DKL to see if he can get you a little deal on them...

 

[steverok]

Who is DKL? Thanks.

 

[Guildmark]

Steve,

DKL's handle on this forum is dklsplace. He owns a basement business called DKL & Sons - guitar sales and repairs. He also happens to be the founder and administrator of Let's Talk Guild.

Geezer moment?

 

[steverok]

Oh brother - sorry! Well, I know that DKL is great, because he founded this forum. My bank account has diminished, since I found this forum, but I am a happier man because of it.

 

[dreadnut]

oh yeah, preferably 3 rights and 3 lefts :mrgreen:

 

[playsvintageguilds]

I have gold tuners on my '76 D55 and think they look really great !

 

[Graham]

I swapped out the gold tuners on my DV-52 for chrome Grover Supers as well as put the Grover on my JF-30.

 

[steverok]

That is fairly radical.

I did the swap of the gold Grovers for chrome Grovers on my JF65-12. I like it ! In the end, it's a cleaner, more shiney look, that I prefer. I always thought chrome was more rock and roll.

I also had a couple other things done. One is he repaired the worst part of the binding, on the treble side, although it is seperating a little bit on the bass side too, but not worth repairing at this point.

The other thing I had him do was design a new bone saddle, which forced the top octave E string to be farther apart from the bass E string. With the old saddle, they were actually closer together at the bridge than they were at the nut. Boy, this was a really nice improvement. I can now come down on the E strings with much more confidence, and get the full power and enjoyment out of my jumbo maple 12-string.

I'll tell you - I have a GAD G212, which is a very crisp and dynamic sounding 12-string, on the bright side, but not thin. I also have a 1983 D212 which is a very pleasant and friendly sounding guitar, with a super cool vibe, an excellent bottom end, and a full, buttery sound, but not as dynamic as the GAD. But this JF65-12 thing, jeez, it's just incredible. It has so much power, and sustain, it can border on thunderous. I briefly owned an F212XL which was great, but not as powerful.

Man, I am a lucky SoB.

 

[chazmo]

Sounds great, Steve. I'd love to see headstock pix with your changes.

Make sure to try a JF55-12 (F512) someday for comparison purposes!

 

[steverok]

I tried a Tacoma F512 recently that didn't do much for me. It seemed like too much going on, and not as powerful as the maple. It didn't seem to have the definition in sound that I associate with the Guild 12-strings I have owned or played. Of course, this was just one guitar, on just one day - my ears like guitar some days better than others, and in certain rooms better than others. However, I own six nice acoustics, none of which are rosewood. Maybe there is always too much of something or too little of another thing, for me, with that wood? Of course, viewing your avatar, Chazmo, I can see you have no such issue!

I will take a picture with the chrome tuners and post over the weekend.

 

[chazmo]

Oh, cool... Didn't know you'd tried one, Steve.

Yeah, I have mahogany, maple, and rosewood-bodied guitars. I love my maple 655 (Taylor 12-string), but the F512 is my favorite. Yeah, I've got some kind of rosewood thing going on... I just bought a Martin HD-28 which is just marvelous.

 

[steverok]

Yeah I have played a couple of HD28's that were killer. You can't go wrong with a good one of those.