Grover Tuner equivilants

[Marcel]

Many of the kits have the offer of upgrading to Grover 406C tuners.... A look on the PBG web site offers other tuners that may add more uniqueness or individuality to a build...

With that in mind.. Are the Grover 406C and Grover Vintage (135 series) tuners equal as options? Will either fit the same build without any or too much modification?

What are the main differences between the 406C series, a 135 series, a 102-18C series and the 205 series?

[Simon Barden]

It's generally straightforward.

The 406 series (the C just stands for the chrome option) are locking mini-tuners, with a 'kidney bean' shaped button, so really designed for 6-a-side headstocks or smaller 3+3 a side headstocks. They'd look a bit small on say a Les Paul headstock, but they would work fine. They lock from the top of the string post, so they do stick up more than a normal tuner would. These have an 18:1 gear ratio.

The 135 series are a more vintage looking non-locking tuner based on what was a Kluson design with a 'tulip' shaped button in 'snot green' plastic, so ideal for creating that vintage Les Paul look. 14:1 gear ratio

The 102-18 series are non-locking full sized tuners with an 18:1 ratio and a 'kidney bean' button.

The 205 series are non locking mini-tuners with a 14:1 gear ratio and 'kidney bean' buttons.

The 'kidney bean' buttons are a Grover standard, whereas Kluson are best known for their oval and tulip shaped buttons.

So your first choice is probably whether you want locking tuners. Great idea if you've got a guitar with a non-locking trem system, such as a Bigsby, Maestro or a standard Fender Strat style etc. Less important if you've got a hard tail and no tremolo; but they can make string changes quicker.

Then it's gear ratio. Most cheap tuners have a 12:1 gear ratio. Although 14:1 sounds only slightly better, in practice it is a big difference. 18:1 is a fairly modern development. The higher the gear ratio, the more accurately you can get your guitar in tune. The downside is that it takes a lot more button turning to put on a new string or release an old one. 14:1 is more than enough to hold the tuner securely against any slippage but if you've ever sat tuning a guitar and constantly turned the button a little bit from being just below to just over to being just below and then back to just over, despite having a well-cut nut, then you'd benefit from the 18:1 ratio.

The 18:1 ratio is probably best complemented by a locking system, as you should then only have around a 3/4 turn of the post before the guitar is up to tune.

Then it's down to the looks. You can get other styles of locking tuners that lock from the rear (like Sperzels but also some other Grover models), rather than from a knob on top of the string post, so that they look more conventional when seen from the front. So if you want a vintage look, then either stick with non-locking or else go rear-locking. But top locking can be a touch more convenient than rear locking (but there's not a huge difference). If you want better tuners with oval buttons for a vintage style Strat, then again, look elsewhere

Any of the Grover tuners offered will be good tuners and hold the tuning well. Any tuning issues will 99.9% of the time be down to the way the nut's been cut and the slots need smoothing and polishing. The higher gear ratio ones will make it easier to get more accurately in tune, but at the same time will make string changes that bit slower.

PBG can only hold so much stock of upgrading extras, and in my mind they've picked a decent selection of tuners for upgrading and you get them at a very good price indeed. But in terms of looks and functionality they won't suit everyone. But if you want something different, then you'll be paying a fair bit more, so it's up to you to decide.