Replacement Tuners for a Guild 8 String Baritone.

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I am loving this new 8 string guitar more and more every day.
It is a very versatile guitar when tuned C# to C#.

The one little problem that I am having with it is the quality of the open back Guild Branded tuners.
They are stiff and not very smooth.
I have tried to oil them and even loosen the screws a touch but they still don't feel right.

I want to replace them with Grover open back 18 /1 Sta-tite tuners.
Can anyone here tell me if these tuners will drop in or will I need to modify the holes in order to use them?

 

[SFIV1967]

Just a picture to help the discussion:



Vs. the Grover tuners, you just need to compare your Guild tuner size to the drawing below.



Ralf

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

Thank you Ralf.
I printed the your specs and will take measurements.
I hope places like StuMac will sell me 8 tuners.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I just measured the screw holes and they are the same on the Guild as they are in the Grover picture.
Not sure about the bushing though.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I just had a thought.
I need one right and one left side replacement tuner to replace the 2 worst tuners on the guitar.
If StuMac will sell me the 2 individual tuners, I will know how they work and feel.
Then If I like the Grovers, I could order the remaining set of 6 at a later date.

 

[chazmo]

Looks like a good choice for replacement, TMG. Good luck!

 

[Stonehauler]

best bet, get yourself a good set of calipers from a hardware store. Then you can take all those measurements yourself. To be honest, that's probably the safest way to do it.

 

[Nuuska]

Hello

I measured the shaft thickness on my Westerly series OM-240CE - and it is only 5,2mm vs 6,32mm on Grovers. That means the bushings have to be pulled out and new ones inserted.

Another thing is that the location of the shaft is not given in Grovers measurements. It is roughly 10,5mm & 16mm from the mounting screws.

My verdict is that they are not drop-in replacements. - unless your guitar has different tuners . . .

Waiting for Ralf to come up with right solution

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

Hello Nuuska.
I had the same thought about the shaft location.
Also the width of the Grover is larger than the Guild.
As suggested, I did use a set of calipers and measured the holes.
They are the same on both the Grovers and the Guilds.

I went back last night and loosened the machine gear screws on all of the tuners and oiled them again. Next, I turned them tight and loose several times.
The final step was to tighten the gear screws just enough to feel tension.

Doing this has made the tuners feel a lot better than they did.
Before I look to purchase replacement tuners, I will give these another try for a while.

Hoping this will do the trick.

 

[Stonehauler]

Sounds like a great plan TMG.

Like you, I got to the point where I wanted to replace the tuners on my 20+ year old guitar. I also wanted to keep same hole spacing, etc.

Unfortunately, the only ones that fit my mounting location and tuner size were economy tuners. Since my guitar was a fairly economy guitar when I first got it, I thought okay, I can live with that.

I should have gone with grover or gotoh tuners. You get what you pay for and I certainly didn't pay enough for quality tuners.

FWIW...go find a small piece of scrap mahogany or the wood that matches your neck (looks like Mahogany) and shave off some splinters that you can use to backfill the screw holes left by the old tuners. Glue them in and use some sawdust to fill any slight gap (you want a fairly tight fit). Then just drill new holes where you need to. (go SLOW with the drill)

But, I think what you did is the best course of action right now. You might still need a replacement tomorrow or 2 decades from now, but at least you tried it.

 

[dreadnut]

I hate to be the fly in the ointment, but have you tried removing the strings then spinning the tuners round and round with your tuning tool until they are turning smoothly? Then reinstall the strings.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

Drednut,
That is a very good idea.
I did loosen all the tuners and then added a drop of machine oil the the gears.
Next, I tuned the guitar back up and then tightened the screws just enough to feel secure and like they would not back off.
This has helped a lot.

I have also noted the possibility that the heavier gauge strings may cause turning the tuners to have more friction/torque.

I am now not sure that changing tuners will help.

 

[Joss]

I am loving this new 8 string guitar more and more every day.
It is a very versatile guitar when tuned C# to C#.

The one little problem that I am having with it is the quality of the open back Guild Branded tuners.
They are stiff and not very smooth.
I have tried to oil them and even loosen the screws a touch but they still don't feel right.

I want to replace them with Grover open back 18 /1 Sta-tite tuners.
Can anyone here tell me if these tuners will drop in or will I need to modify the holes in order to use them?

Hi, I’ve replaced mine with Gotoh SD90-SL-NI. Had to ream the headstock marginally for the bushing’s but they pick up one of the screw holes and clear the other so you can re-drill without issue. The pegs are crap too, I’ve ordered bone replacements. Massive difference with decent machine heads and a good set of DAddario baritone strings. I think the price is really great for the instrument, but clearly they have cut corners on these things.
Good luck

 

[Joss]

Here’s an image of before n after