Need advice on locking tuners

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C1-ocaster

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Guys, I HATE the Gotoh auto locking tuners on my ESP E-II.
I've had these on 2 ESP's now, came stock, and I don't like them.

I want a set of locking tuners, but with a thumb wheel.
I have Planet Waves locking tuners on my Schecter and they are fantastic.
The Strat has locking Schallers, which are also great.
PW's are my favorite though.

But PW doesn't make a set for a semi hollow I have.
Gotoh does make a thumb wheel locking tuner, but I don't have any experience with those.
Gotoh's in general are supposed to be good.

Please give me your experience on the Gotoh thumbwheel locking tuners.
Also, I've always liked Grovers, so what about Grover's thumb locking tuners?
 
I've just received the new Gotoh magnum lockers with the thumb wheel and they're fantastic.
Anderson and Suhr have just switched to them but theirs have staggered heights and I couldn't get them anywhere.

I actually like the autolok Gotohs on my Anderson.

I tried the hipshot but they kept failing on me so I binned them.

Hope that helps.
 
Wasn't a fan of the 2 sets of Grover locking tuners I had. Changed to Schallers and am happy.
 
I have Sperzel locking tuners in my ESP E-II.
They came stock with the guitar and are fantastic.
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/random Google picture/

http://www.sperzel.com/Models_Colors.html
 
I put hipshot locking on all of my guitars, absolutely love them.
 
Schallers are my favorite. Sperzels are bulky in comparison, but work well.

I bought a set of Kluson lockers for my SG. They're working ok, but the ferrules are too small. Don't care for the top locking feel, though PRS makes a nice version. These don't feel as solid.
 
I see we all have our favorites. :)
Thanks for the posts.

I like Schallers and the Sperzels are regarded as great as well.

The reason I'm not considering those is because my E-II tuners are placed with a set screw.
I don't know/think the Schallers and Sperzels will work cause they use that little knub, like the Schallers on my Strat.
Do the mounting knubs fit into the existing hole?
If they do, then those tuners are back on the list.

I'm leaning towards the Grovers or Planet Waves.
The feel of Grovers agrees with me, and the PW's I have now are the smoothest I have among the Gotoh's, Schallers, and Grovers.
 
wolf5150":37ctjazg said:
I've just received the new Gotoh magnum lockers with the thumb wheel and they're fantastic.
Anderson and Suhr have just switched to them but theirs have staggered heights and I couldn't get them anywhere.

I actually like the autolok Gotohs on my Anderson.

I tried the hipshot but they kept failing on me so I binned them.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

The Gotoh Magnun's look good.
Do they feel smoother than the auto lockers?
The auto locks have a dead space when going form up to down that I don't like, and there is some slop as I start to turn the key where nothing happens and the action feels light until it grabs. Don't like that.

Maybe I got unlucky and both sets felt the same.
When doing intonation the auto lockers are frustrating cause a small movement to down tune results in having to turn the key like 5-6 more rotation.
And it seems like they don't hold tune even after new strings have had a good amount of playing to stabilize.

When I put in the Planet Waves on a Schecter I was amazed at how quickly the strings tuning stabilized, like within a few minutes of playing. And after that they hold tune nicely.
With auto locks the tuning was still wavering even after 2 days and about 3-4 hours of playing.
This is with the same type and gauge strings.
 
I don't like having to drill set holes but sperzels works well for me. I'll switch to something that doesn't require drilling if feasable.
 
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