Grovers or not?

chrisjac2

Hi Fretboarders,

So when I bought my 96 Les Paul std, the previous owner said he was gonna fit some grovers but never got round to it. so after a bit of negotiation he popped them in the case for free.
Currently I have the STD Gibson deluxe plastic tombstones on. The grovers are 18:1 rotamatics chrome kidney beans.

I've had a quick look but the headstock will need to be reamed to fit the grover. I have seen that the grovers increase sustain and improve tone.

TBH im not sure i buy that completely or that the cost of making them fit the headstock will be worth the difference.

Apart from feeling a little loose when tuning I haven't had any issue with the current set up. So the question is are the grovers noticeable different to the std tuners and is it worth changing them. 

p90fool

Definitely Grovers. It was only a matter of time before my singer broke off the stupid plastic Kluson buttons with her tambourine, so I erred on the side of caution. 

Mine happen to be 18:1 too, and they're excellent for fast, accurate tuning. 

http://i66.tinypic.com/308a61h.jpg

sweepy

Increase sustain and tone ? I think a lot of people disagree with that, especially a Mr Paul Reed Smith 

guitarfishbay

I have them on my Les Paul and I like them, though I’m not sure I’d be in a rush to swap out functioning tuners on a guitar you like the tone of.

ICBM

A 90s Standard shouldn’t need reaming - the stock tuners will be the Kluson lookalikes with threaded front collars, which also use a 10mm bore. The Grovers should use one of the two screw holes on the back too, so no drilling either - it will just leave six unfilled holes visible.

stickyfiddle

I'm not a huge fan of them. Heavy and a bit clunky compared to high quality Kluson types - they might change the tone, but whether it's an improvement is up to the listener. Of course if you have them and they'll fit without reaming it doesn't hurt to try them and see what you think.

Personally, I like Klusons, but the ones that Gibson usually fit are shite, so I'd switch for Tonepros/Gotoh. 

Henrytwang

Grovers are excellent . I have them on many of my guitars, they hold the tuning well and feel good . However if the original tuners on your guitar are still working OK  I wouldn’t bother changing them.

tone1

I’m Klusons all the way 

rico

Grovers are a little more robust than Kluson types. That’s important to me! 

Maynehead

I don’t like the weight of them. I’d stick with Klusons or upgrade to Gotoh locking tuners.

Cols

I’d go with Maynehead’s suggestion of Gotoh Kluson style locking tuners.  Preserves the look, should be a drop in replacement and will give rock solid tuning.

In terms of the effect on tone, I’m pretty sure the audience won’t be able to detect which brand of tuners you’re using (unless you’re out of tune).

ICBM

If these are the standard modern Gibson ‘Kluson style’ tuners they are not compatible with vintage-style Kluson types - they have a 10mm headstock bore not 8mm. You will need conversion bushings to make them fit.

fretfinder

I’d stick with the existing tuners if there’s nothing wrong with them. If you fit the Grovers you may not think there’s any improvement in tone plus the guitar will be a tad heavier and it will have extra screw holes in the headstock. If it ain’t broke...