Waverly Tuners

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

This may have been discussed in the past but...why don't they make those nice Waverly tuners anymore,or due they???and why doesn't someone make a set of tuners somewhere between the $50 ones and the $450 ones that are real nice say $150.00, Just my 2 cent http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[Darryl Wolfe]

Waverly's are still available from Stew Mac...they just aren't in the catalog. #It is my understanding that the tooling costs for getting set up to cut the worm gear/shaft for tuners is the driving factor in pricing.

Let's say it costs $150,000 to set up and cut 8000 worm/shafts. #That's $150 for 8 worms and you have enough for 1000 sets. #You haven't even made the rest of the tuner yet and you would have to sell 500 sets at $300 to break even. #At this point it makes no difference if you can get 50,000 shafts for $155,000 #(unless somehow you have the market to sell 5000 sets in a reasonable amount of time)

Been there, done that

[Lynn Dudenbostel]

What I don't understand about it is, the Waverly/Sloane 3 on a plate style guitar tuners are $185 a set with ebony buttons, compare that to the mandolin tuners (4 on a plate with ebony buttons) at $400. If you take the guitar tuners, extrapolate the cost out with 4 on a plate ($185 x 1.333), you end up with a set of mandolin tuners at about $250. Now, the F style tuners require 4 different length shafts, which I'm sure required a considerable tooling cost along with the buttons held on with a screw instead of glued on like the guitar tuners and plating costs on top of that. So, are the mandolin tuners really $150 more than the calculated cost of the guitar tuners. I don't know. It's possible though.

Lynn

[FrankenMouse]

I too have been puzzled by Waverly's guitar/mandolin tuner price differential. I hadn't considered the A/F differences.

Does Waverly make A-style tuners? And if so, do they cost something close to the expected $250?

[mandoJeremy]

I very much agree with the Dude on this one. All of the other Waverly tuners are much cheaper. Why? Of course I do love my set and will keep them as long as they last!

[grandmainger]

Could the price difference be explained by the differences in production numbers for guitar vs mandolin? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[Lynn Dudenbostel]

Production numbers may be the deal here. They sell a LOT more guitar tuners than mandolin tuners. There are A style tuners, but they use glued on buttons and an existing shaft/worm gear assembly from the guitar tuners. They are also the same price as the F style tuners. Doesn't make sense there. Maybe that helps offset the cost of making the F style tuners? Bottom line is, they are the best, and I'll contunue to use them as long as they are made. I've used Waverly guitar tuners since they first came out on the market. In close to 50 sets of guitar tuners, I've had one tuner that had backlash, and they promptly replaced it. Same with the mandolin tuners. I recently had one A style tuner with backlash that I couldn't correct with adjustment. They replaced the entire set and even sent me a refund on my shipping charges (without asking!) on the defective return! Jay and his folks at SM are top notch. Lynn

[mandolooter]

those pontiac's were donated and that was a little off topic and unnessary IMHO Keepin it clean and mando-related is all thats asked of us around here.

[Mando4Life]

I pondered purchasing Waverly's at one point. #The thing that ultimately stopped me was that they are not recommended as replacement tuners (something to do with the angle of the stringpost and peghead holes...it's been a while since i checked it out). #The price was also a factor but I would have been willing to pay the $$$ in the end.

You would think that they would realize the appeal and demand for the tuners and lower the price to stimulate an increase in sales (in a perfect world i suppose). #at any rate my brother has waverly tuners on his HD-28V and if the mando tuners are anything like the guitar tuners they are worth the extra $$$$.

[Scott Tichenor]

There was a totally unacceptable post made that has been deleted. Please folks, appropriate language is a condition of continued membership on this board and I absolutely will not stand for that kind of behavior to continue. Another post was deleted that mentioned the member's name and that was removed as well. Please help get this discussion back on track where it belongs.

[Big Joe]

Personally, I like the Grovers we are using on our mandolins (except MM). They have an 18:1 turning radius and work wonderfully. They are much lighter than the Waverly's, and the cost is substantially less. I have Waverly's on my MM but prefer the Grover's. JMHO.

[Mando Medic]

I have both Waverly and Grovers in the shop. The Grovers are a nice tuner, but to say they are as good as Waverly would be silly. They are not even close. Waverly in my opinion, is a far superior product. I do not know exactly why Gibson chose to go with them instead of Waverly tuners. I can only speculate that it was the cost. That's their business and they can suggest that their spokespersons say what they want. One only has to look at the two products to see the difference.

A spokesperson for Stewart MacDonald said to me a year ago that they will eventually farm out production to some Asian machine shop and offer the product at a reduced cost. I suspect that those who jumped ship over the price will get back on board like nothing ever happened. Are Waverly's the perfect tuner? I think not, but they certainly work better and are more consistent than Grovers. I have returned 7 sets of Grovers, I have never returned Waverly's. The Grovers are a better choice these days than Schaller in my opinion.

This is not an attempt to discredit Gibson, rather, just the facts in my opinion. Kenc

[ethanopia]

I've hard a few complaints about the weight of Waverly, does any one have any idea what the difference in weight is from waverly's to other tuners? The complaint is generally that the headstock feel unbalanced with the body?

Another thing I remember from Monteleone's CGOW week on Co-Mando was he had found some kind of mechanical flaw that sounded really bad and I can't recall what that was something about a bushing that isn't adjustable?

At any rate I'd love to put a set of Waverly's on mine...

[Big Joe]

I have not spoken about the stock Grovers, only the ones they have produced for us. They are not inferior to Waverly's. Whether you have a preference is your opinion, Ken, and that is fine. I do use them on a couple of my mandolins but only because I have not gotten any silver plated Grovers yet. Otherwise, we've had less problems with the Grovers than anything else we've used. Both are good quality products, but I prefer the Grovers. Charlie may have a different opinion and Danny another. I really don't know and have not spoken for them or for Gibson, just me. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif .

[Mando Medic]

Joe, Are the Grover tuners that you folks get propeitary(SP), not available to anyone else? If there was a retail price on them, what would it be? Joe, I can honestly tell you that the Fern Varnish I sent back had inferior Grover tuners on it. So I have seen the tuners. And as you and I pointed out, it is my opinion.