Schaller tuners with 'Ebony' buttons.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Are Schaller tuners available with 'Ebony buttons already installed ?. I know that Ebony buttons can be bought,but as Schaller tuners have the buttons glued on & needing to be broken off before replacements can be fitted,i'm not about to do that with my tuners as they are real MOP,
Saska

[mandroid]

I don't believe they are , Stew Mac offers options, The MOP faced composite knob set was used on my Lebeda, also, 'Elite' tuner from SM offers options, as I said, black plastic with a 'grain' and Ivoroid. and also something like MofP which is a connection visually to the marker dots ,and inlays on the instrument.

play with the parts or just play your part

[peter.coombe]

They are not available from Schaller or the usual commercial suppliers, but I can supply hand made ebony buttons on Schaller tuners. I do not supply just the buttons, but can supply a set of Schallers with the buttons installed, or you can send me the Schallers and I will install the buttons. Email me for details.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Peter - Thanks for the info.. If i was to change the buttons,i'd have to change the whole thing,tuners and all. The existing tuners have real MOP buttons which i'd keep. I need to make 100% certain that the Lebeda tuners ARE indeed Schaller - all i know is that they're 8 years old,so i don't know if there's been any change to the tuners over that period ie. hole spacing etc..
I'm having difficulty getting a 'current' standard Lebeda tailpiece which is a much bigger problem,
Saska

[JEStanek]

Another option since you're in Europe are the Rubner machines with ebony buttons. I have them on my Spira and like the look and feel for how well they work. But, a decent repair person should be able to make the switch and preserve the MOP buttons.

Jamie

[Ivan Kelsall]

Many thanks for the suggestions guys.After i sort out the tailpiece issue,i'll investigate further. In the meantime i'm maybe going to have to look for a tailpiece maker that can 'custom make' a tailpiece with an attachment hole & endpin hole pattern,to suit the existing holes on my Lebeda
"Special" - a much more difficult proposition,
Saska

[mandroid]

I took an opposite approach with My Lebeda , Bought a Bill James tailpiece, ebony Faced the cover
and my friendly local instrument technician fitted it,

made and glued in a plug,

re-drilled a new hole, redid the end button jack to bridge piezo wiring,
and then installed the tailpiece and the jack/Button,

all modification work un seen, covered up by the new tail-piece..

Standard part, custom installation..

[Ivan Kelsall]

I'd considered doing exactly that myself.but installing an Allen tailpiece. The problem is,that i don't know just how much of the tailpiece end,the tailpiece block spans ie.is it wide enough to take the wider hole spacing ?. - i don't know. It seems from what you've said,that it is,which is reassuring.
I'd probably go for a 'woodscrew' type end pin also rather than an ebony one,much easier to install.
Easy enough to get a Violin endpin made of Rosewood to plug the existing hole,the screw holes are no problem as i can buy wooden dowelling 1/8" dia.from a local Hobby's store. Many thanks for the info.,
Saska

[j. condino]

You could also take a weekend trip over to northern Italy and have Nicolo Alessi make you a fine set of machines with any type of button or baseplate you wanted. That's what my workin' rig is sportin' these days.

j.
www.condino.com