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Post by jamieisles on Jan 12, 2021 22:45:12 GMT
I am looking for a working 3 strip open back tuner for a 1930 kg kalamazoo. I have what looks like the bass side but i am missing i think the treble side. Does anyone have a spare one that they may like to part with. I will add a photo of one that i have Attachments:
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Post by resotonic on Jan 13, 2021 0:31:29 GMT
Is this for a solid headstock? I may have one for a slotted.
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Post by snakehips on Jan 13, 2021 6:42:54 GMT
Hi there !
It’s almost always the treble side that gets broken and/or as a result, go missing.
That’s the side that gets hit when a guitar is dropped - the tuner buttons are the first or second thing that hits the floor.
I have a 1932 National Style N - and it came with those cheap “engraved” Mickey Mouse ear tuner plates.
At some point in it’s life, the treble side tuners had been knocked/broken and a previous owner had replaced just the treble side plate, for a vintage plain-plate set of tuners. Now, I didn’t like the guitar having non-matching tuner plates AND I didn’t like the “engraved” plates anyway - so I took them all off - and replaced with a brand new set of StewMac engraved-plate reproductions.
I say those original tuner plates are “cheap quality” because I think they were the poorest quality tuners that National used.
They should not be confused with the high quality “engraved” tuners National used for their Tricones. The end of THOSE tuner plates have “ears” on them but the ears don’t look so Mickey Mouse (the ears are a bit smaller) and importantly, they have TWO points between the ears, not one.
Thus, National used two types of engraved plate tuners - one good (two points between the ears) and circa 1932-1933, one far less good (one point between bigger Mickey Mouse ears).
My bandmate, Prof Scratchy, has an old 1932 National Polychrome Triolian, whose tuner-button posts were badly bent on both sides of the headstock.
This guitar has been bashed around a LOT during it’s life !
Recently though, the 4th string button WITH metal post inside, broke off, leaving not enough post to attach a new button to.
This guitar had the same “engraved” (ie. stamped !) tuner plates with the Mickey Mouse ear corners and single point between the ears.
I had the bass-side side of the very same type vintage National engraved tuners spare - so I was able to giive them to my bandmate.
They are a perfect match except in better condition than the ones that broke off his guitar.
So, my point is, IF you remove vintage tuners of a guitar, KEEP the working ones and even keep the broken ones - as every part can be useful in the future for someone else’s tuners if something goes missing (eg. a cog screw that goes mossing).
It was very fortunate that I happened to have a spare bass-side, 3-tuner strip, of exactly the same style as my bandmate’s guitar - ESPECIALLY as it was me who accidentally broke it !!!! It must have been ready to break off already as it literally fell off in my hands when I touched the tuner button !
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Post by Andymccann on Jan 13, 2021 11:02:42 GMT
If you have no luck finding a set then I would definitely go for the Stew Mac restoration set. Better in all ways and look the part. £60 or there abouts and they have the choice of black buttons. Plenty of U.K. sellers too If you struggle to find them Jon Press in Bristol has them, www.jp-guitars.co.uk/ |
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Post by gaucho on Jan 13, 2021 16:12:41 GMT
You can always find those on E-Bay too....
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Post by jamieisles on Jan 13, 2021 20:14:31 GMT
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Post by snakehips on Jan 13, 2021 22:36:40 GMT
Consider this : WHY are those vintage tuners not on a guitar ?
I’d argue there is a decent chance it’s because they are no good any more.
Get a Stewmac set. IF you don’t like them, you haven’t wasted as much money and you could likely sell then for 2/3rds of the brand new price.
What have you got to lose ?
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