Grover/Gibson tuners

[sunburst]

A while back I think Big Joe said the Grover/Gibson mandolin tuners were going to be available to the rest of us. Are they? I haven't heard anything about them for a while and I haven't seen any pictures.
Is anybody using them and what do you think?
How do they look and how do they feel?
Are they available for F and A peghead shapes?
Are the buttons small and round or big and sort of oval like the regular Grovers?
Can you change buttons if you want to?

I'm thinking of trying them on two mandos that I'm building now, but I don't know where to get them. I checked out the Bluegrass showcase site but couldn't find anything about them.

[mandoman4807]

I believe the those tuners are used on the Gibson Lawson, and Bibey models. Big Joe, Charlie?


Darrell

[mandoJeremy]

Hey John, when I was last at Gibson a month and a half or so ago I played a Bush and several others that had them on them. They were VERY nice tuners. In fact, if I hadn't already bought a set of Waverlys I would buy a set of these. I think the price on them was $160.00 (BigJoe correct me if I'm wrong). The buttons were small like the Waverlys and they are replaceable. They had a very smooth tuning action to them also like the Waverlys and I think the 18:1 ratio just might in fact be better enough to tell with human hands! I would highly recommend them and on my next mandolin that is what I will get. Just call BigJoe or PM him and I'm sure he can hook you up.

[sunburst]

Thanks Jeremy. Sounds like they're worth a try for the F anyway. I'll try to contact Gibson.

[Scotti Adams]

..take a look at those Gibson pics in the NAMM section....tell #me if you think those tuner buttons stick out further than normal..like the shafts are longer than they should be..esp. the D and A string.....If these are the new Grovers...Im not sure if I like them...

[Big Joe]

If you see them in person they are fine. No longer than the others. On that particular picture they did look strange, but that is an aberation of some sort. THey are Great tuners and available in gold or nickel and with plastic pearloid buttons or pearl buttons. Depending upon the color and combination the price varies. I love them and they work better than the waverly's to me. If you need info just PM me and I will try to help you.

[Mando Medic]

Liking them is a personal perception. I just sent a fern back to Gibson that has them on. I didn't send the fern back because of that by the way, but I didn't like the tuners. Seemed to have a little bit too much back lash for me. Not better than Schallers and really not better than Waverly's IMHO.

[Scotti Adams]

I just looked at the pics again....its not in the pic,,its the tuners...they stick out too far...

[Big Joe]

Hey Scotti...we use them everyday and we've never noticed any difference. The market has been overwhelmingly positive about the tuners. Whether one likes them or not, they are a great product. We had them made to our specs and they have done a good job getting what we needed. Anyway, we are starting to get them in stock so availability is starting to improve though still limited.

[Scotti Adams]

...thats just my opinion Joe which holds about as much as my pockets these days..Im sure they are great...if they work for you then what more can you ask for.. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[reverb41]

can someone confirm that these are both grovers....one is the "over the counter" version at stewmac and the other is the gibson version. looks like the main differences are the shaft color, gear screw, smaller buttons ( nice!), and a more satin finish? just an observation from a photo i found on elderly of the alan bibey......

[reverb41]

this image is off the stewart macdonald website......

[mandoJeremy]

Yes they are and they look great on the Bibey don't they? The fact is that they tune so smoothly and look so much better than the standard Grovers. I do wish that they would shorten the shafts because it looks like they are a little longer than the standard Grover's there and they would hopefully be equal to the Waverly's. Just try them and see.

[reverb41]

shafts look to be about the same length as the schallers....

[reverb41]

waverly's a tiny bit shorter

[reverb41]

after all this research im quite sold on the gibson grovers...if i can find a set! has anybody gotten ahold of a set since july? were they purchased directly from gibson and how much? thanks....

[mandoJeremy]

I will get you a set directly from Gibson this weekend when I go out to play again if you would like. Just PM me and hope that BigJoe has them in stock.

[Mando Medic]

I just heard that gibson has gone to Prucha tuners for their mandolins, not Grover. Can anyone confirm that? Big Joe? Kenc

[frets1]

"I just heard that gibson has gone to Prucha tuners for their mandolins, not Grover. Can anyone confirm that? Big Joe? Kenc"

Mando-

If the fine people at Gibson chose Prutha tuners, what are they going to do all of the Grovers that Charlie bought. I took my Bush to Gibson about 2 months ago and Charlie (a GREAT guy) replaced my Schallers with the new Grovers. He told me about the change from Schaller tuners and the design and benefits of the new Grovers. I love the Grovers. They are great tuners. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[reverb41]

mandojeremy....thanks alot for the offer. spoke with bigjoe today and he can ship em to me no problem if i decide to go for it. 100 bucks for nickle if anyone is curious. cheers......

[eightstrings]

whats the price on gold?

[mandoJeremy]

I think the gold ones are $160.00 and well worth it.

[Chris Baird]

Does anyone know if there is a functional/mechanical upgrade to the Gibson grovers over the stewmac grovers? I really like the grovers I have been getting from Stewmac. The Schallers don't compare anymore IMO.

[eightstrings]

Also, does anyone know if I would have to do any drilling to install a new set of these on my mando. Right now I have Schallers.

Brett

[mandoJeremy]

This may be just a little off subject but not much since it is about tuners. Has anyone seen these tuners on a Collings MF-5 that Elderly has? It says they are Schallers but they have replaceable screw on tuning buttons. I haven't seen any like these.

[Big Joe]

Gibson mandolins ship with Grover tuners as the standard tuner. Of course, that does not mean we would not use a Shaller if we ran out of Grover's, but that should not happen. We are very happy with the improvement the Grovers have made for us. They are a Great Tuner. Personally I like them better than Waverly's. We do keep them in stock and they make a great upgrade to your manodlin.

We do not use Prucha tuners on our mandolins. We did have them try to do a prototype antique tuner, but they have not made one that is suitable to us. Fine fine people, just not the right tuner for us at this time.

[Mando Medic]

Thanks Joe. Kenc

[Mando4Life]

mandoJeremy,

Those tuners on the Collings look like Gotoh's to me. #They look just like the tuners on my Yellowstone. #I like them a lot. #I was going to get some Waverly's for mine but was worried about the post spacing issue (well and the $$$ too). #I replaced the buttons on mine with Ivoroids to match my binding.

The Gotoh's went on perfect and work real good.

Wayne

[Scotti Adams]

yup...Gotohs..

[Darryl Wolfe]

mandoJeremy ref: Gotoh tuners and pic.........

As I have mentioned in the past, the Gotoh tuners can be worked on to make a very acceptable tuner for a vintage mando. #They are nioe as is, but by replacing a few screws w/ slot head screws, adding washers to the knob screws, slightly shortening the upper handles and reshaping the arrow ends...you can arrive at a tuner quite acceptable on a Loar. #The string shafts can even be turned down slightly to look exactly like vintage orig Waverlys. #This takes some work, but can be done for about $30

All this stuff looks pretty good to me!

[mandoJeremy]

Okay guys, thanks for clearing that one up for me. I wonder why Elderly says they are Schaller because I didn't think they looked to much like a set of Schallers? Anyways, on to other things now.