Gibson tuners help

[slide496]

I think my tuners on my Nick Lucas Reissue are slipping.

Can anyone tell me if this type can be tightened or do I need to look into replacing them.

The guitar won't stay in tune no matter what its strung with and its the only one that does that. It's this type of tuner.



Thank you,

Harriet

[Deleted]

A quick fix might be - change the tuner to a lighter string place?
TT

[washboardchris]

Hi, they look like Kluson KBW's but with nickle knobs rather than white one's.Try and get intouch with Gibson and see if they can tell you what they are.

[Michael Messer]

Hi Harriet,

What makes you think the tuners are slipping, rather than something else, such as the bridge pins, causing the string not to stay in tune?

Shine On
Michael

[slide496]

Hi Michael-

Cause I didn't think of the bridge pins.

The strings get wedged so tight I have to first push the string down a little to loosen the end ball and reach in underneath through the sound hole and push the pins out - so I didn't think of it.

Didn't know people would not be familar with the tuners they made be custom and no longer made.

I'll write Gibson!

Thanks for the responses, (I am now making the lttle noise cats make when they have a hairball )

Lawd lawdy,
HArriet

[bluefolk]

If it is the tuners..Look very similar to Gibson J45 tuner,if not the same.This might help.forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/68776-replacement-tuners-for-j45-like-for-like-no-drilling/

[lexluthier]

Hi. Personally I've never had any problems with tuners other than the very cheapest of brands. Even when worn and have a measure of slack which you can feel when changing direction, they will hold tune, the slack is just annoying. Apart from what Michael has pointed out about bridge pins, I have found the nut to be the source of most tuning problems, especially, but not exclusively, if string bending is involved. Sometimes simply the pressure of fretting a chord can slacken a string if the nut is gripping the string for whatever reason, those small ticking sounds when tuning up can be an indicator of this problem. I always start with making sure the nut slots are not too tight and are lubricated with graphite(soft pencil lead) Rarely does this not solve tuning problems.

[slide496]

Thanks it already has some nut lubricant on it and behaves the same whether x-light, light or medium

I'm reading that at least one person had trouble with the tuners from the 1991 Montana lot- and found two that replaced the tuners - one with the ones mentioned by bluefolk -so it may be that. forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/93243-nick-lucas-1991-with-poor-tuners/

Just started using it for learning a Wilkins tune but switched to my kay as the 2000 dollar Gibson wouldn't stay in tune for 5 minutes.

Greg Boyd here in the US appreciates them so maybe I will send it out on consignment - cold feet on changing them - rather not change the tuners and find out there's something else wrong with it and I've depreciated its value to someone who loves this kind of guitar.

I was hoping they could be tightened or adjusted- I do that once and while with some of my 3-on-a-plate tuners.

Lawd lawdy,
Harriet

[Deleted]

Hi. You may want to post on the Gibson forum to confirm if it is a common failure. I would think Gibson tuners would not fail prematurely unless it is a known manufacturing defect. Otherwise, if they are defective, my 2 cents says they are not a proper style for a Nick Lucas. There are many fine and fairly priced 1930's replica tuners available that would serve well...

[pete1951]

When a tuner `slips` the tuning will jump, rather than go slowly out of tune. If it goes out of tune over some minuets the nut (or sometimes ,bad stringing , but if you are stringing it like your other guitars, and they are no bother this is less likely) may be pinching.
This is easy to check
First pluck the string between the nut and m/head,(the G and D are often worst) give the string a tug in the playing area then pluck the nut/m/head bit. Has it stayed the same? or has it gone sharp? Give the nut/m/head bit a tug is it now flat? the note should be about the same, this then tells you if there is too much friction (should have been fixed by lubrication) or its is pinching (should be fixed by making the slots the correct size)
PT

[Deleted]

I've never had tuners slip, no matter how cheap or worn. The only problems I've ever encountered have been in the odd set of really cheap tuners where the gears didn't engage properly or were incorrectly machined, and they either jumped because of a stripped tooth or post spline, or were overly tight due to poor manufacturing tolerances. One of the most common causes of perceived "slippage" is incorrectly installed strings. It's easy to install strings correctly if you know how to do it, but if you have too few (or too many wraps) round the string post, then it's very common for there to be slippage or other movement around the posts (especially with plain strings). I know this sounds so basic that seems obvious, but I see many guitars with the strings put on in a haphazard manner that causes all sots of problems..particularly when someone attempts to pass the string through through hole in the post a second time in an attempt to tie or lock the string in position.

[slide496]

Thanks for all the great tech input.

I've never had a problem like this and I was hoping the existing tuners could be repaired.I have a 1990 or 91 model and this fella had problems with these tuners and I believe he says he's a 25+ repair man. forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/93243-nick-lucas-1991-with-poor-tuners/ where he says He says: "Happy owner of a Limited Edition 1991 Nick Lucas but one thing has bothered me all along, the lacking quality of the Grover De Luxe tuners, regular metal knob version."

ON THE OTHER HAND ... its the only one that I can see has graphite on the nut so I just picked up some nut sauce as members have suggested just to be sure.

Back to the closet of shame until Wednesday, Nick!

Lawd, lawd,
Harriet

[slide496]

The nut sauce arrived this morning and I used it on both the nut and the bridge saddle, changed the strings and its fixed!

Thanks very much for the help and advice.

Lawd lawdy,
Harriet