I really like the Hipshot Ultralights. I put them on my '67 Starfire and they are great. Very smooth, accurate, and reduces the neck dive.
Any discernable tone diffs due to the reduced mass?
A big +1 to that. They proved to be an excellent upgrade for my Jack Casady Signature bass, and for the same reasons. For some reason (volume, probably) Musician's Friend has them for around $50 less than anyone else. That's where I got mine.
There are two versions: USA and outsourced. MF has the outsourced version.
They're not the Asian version, at least the ones I got weren't. Made in USA (NY, even!).
Are you guys replacing the tuners because they are worn out, because they are heavy, or both?
As far as a I know my early '66 SF I has the original tuners. The bass has been played and played and played, but the tuners hold pitch and I've never had a problem with neck dive.
Also, do you have to have to modify the headstock in any way to put a new set of ultralights or gotohs on an original '60s SF bass?
Could you post some pics from front, side, and back of headstock?
I am thinking of getting these for my Starfire which has massive neck dive.
https://imgur.com/a/bVWzq
I think it looks nice (even though the back looks like a literal trainwreck lol). I was a bit nervous drilling a new hole for the E string. But that headstock is definitely stable and strong even though it doesn't look like it.
Thanks Frono
Thanks for posting those pictures! I don't know where to get them from. Hipshot store is not working. And online sellers don't specify if they are USA made or Korean licensed versions. Some Of the pictures of the tuner bases simply say hipshot, hipshot USA, or nothing. So I don't know which are which unless it says usa in the pic. Some of the pictures don't have anything stamped into the base. But the description says they are not reversible which means they should be USA versions. So confusing!
Anyway, they look real nice and I bet they save on a lot of weight. I have read some reviews about how nicely they work compared to some stock tuners.