Tuning peg upgrage

[Micky]

Hey all, have boought the Grover tuning machine upgrade for my JB4A kit but the PRE-drilled holes in the headstock are too big. Has anyone had any success dowelling and re-drilling? Should I just stick to the basic tuners that came with the kit?

[Dedman]

You may also be able to get reduction bushings, I know they are available for guitars

[Fretworn]

Welcome Micky.

Yes many of us have had to fill and re-drill tuner holes and it usually is no problem, especially if you have access to a drillpress. Before you proceed though can you send us a picture of the tuners and the holes. The holes are usually larger to accommodate the part that screws in from the front of the headstock.

[WeirdBits]

Plug and re-drill will be fine if you're careful and confident in your abilities (I'm about to do it on a bass build). Or, as Deds suggests, you could try some Adapter bushings.

[Simon Barden]

18mm diameter holes for the Fender style kit basses (in traditional Fender style), but the Grovers that PBG sell use a 14mm diameter hole. They'd be fine on the YB-4 Yamaha-style kit which already uses the mini-tuners, but the Fender style kits are all designed for Fender sized tuners. There is a practical benefit to this, as the larger gear size allow for a higher gear ratio of 24:1 on decent replacements whilst the standard Fender tuners are 20:1 (not sure what the basic kit ones are). Those mini-Grovers are 20:1. The higher ratio does allow for more precise tuning.

I'd email Adam and see if you can return the tuners and get your money back and look for some reasonable cost replacements. From what I've heard, the kit tuners aren't that good at all and really do need upgrading.

[Micky]

Plug and re-drill will be fine if you're careful and confident in your abilities (I'm about to do it on a bass build). Or, as Deds suggests, you could try some Adapter bushings.

I actually bought a set from realparts but I still have the issue of the hole being too big for the back side of the tuning machine. I'll try to post a photo. Plugging will also allow me to get a little more height from the pegs for clearance on the bass side of the headstock.

[Micky]

18mm diameter holes for the Fender style kit basses (in traditional Fender style), but the Grovers that PBG sell use a 14mm diameter hole. They'd be fine on the YB-4 Yamaha-style kit which already uses the mini-tuners, but the Fender style kits are all designed for Fender sized tuners. There is a practical benefit to this, as the larger gear size allow for a higher gear ratio of 24:1 on decent replacements whilst the standard Fender tuners are 20:1 (not sure what the basic kit ones are). Those mini-Grovers are 20:1. The higher ratio does allow for more precise tuning.

I'd email Adam and see if you can return the tuners and get your money back and look for some reasonable cost replacements. From what I've heard, the kit tuners aren't that good at all and really do need upgrading.

Adam offered me a refund but the major issue is getting the Grover style tuning peg rather than the cloverleaf style. I'm trying for a more modern look with black and the cloverleaf pegs just don't fit the look in after.

[Simon Barden]

OK, I see what you're trying to achieve. Pluging and redrilling is your best bet then.