Those Cranky Tuners

[O'Cearnaigh]

Ok, kind of a continuation thread from the General Discussion Forum. If you haven't read there, I got me some stiff tuners on my Kentucky 150. The worst and most annoying is the first A string as your looking from the players POV. I can get it close to A but most times it takes a wild notion and will go either sharp or flat depending on if I'm tightening or loosening. I have a similar problem with the first D string, although, it's not nearly as prone to slipping as the A. I've machine oiled the blue-blazes out of all the gears and made sure the blots are tight. It hasn't really helped that much. They are a little smoother, but the A still continues to behave very badly. Any suggestions or homeremedies?

[Tim2723]

The A string, especially the first one, is a constant trial for mandolinists. The D strings tend to follow a close second. While there are many ideas about it, most agree that it has something to do with them having a proportionately long stretch between the nut and the tuner; part of the basic design of the instrument. In a nutshell, they're the troublesome ones that tend to slip. Many have found some relief by lubricating the slots in the nut with graphite.

As an aside, I'd recommend that you take the tuners off and clean the machine oil from them, replacing it with a dry Teflon lube. Machine oil can cause problems down the road in some cases. If nothing else, it's messy.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Have a look at the Frets.com site. Frank Ford advocates loosening up the centre screws for ease of use. A couple of weeks ago i applied his wisdom & my tuners are as smooth as they'll ever be. I simply loosened them all the way until they almost rattled. I tuned the Mandolin up with the tuners like that & they didn't slip sharp or flat,& then i simply tightened the screws until they were just 'finger tight' - on my 2 instruments it worked prefectly,& i see no reason why it shouldn't work for you - well worth a try. (Pic.courtesy of Frets.com)
Tim's advice above is a good idea as well. Clean off your tuners & make sure they're working ok. Re-fit them & leave the centre screws as per.Frets.com's advice.One thing to note - are they tight with strings or with AND without ?. If they're tight without & ok when off the instrument,they string winding posts could be binding in the bushings,
Ivan;)

[Steve L]

It's possibe the problem is not in the tuners, but that the string is binding in the nut or the bridge.

[MikeEdgerton]

It's also possible that the holes for the tuner posts weren't drilled correctly. I'd go for getting the nut slots checked first though.

[Ray(T)]

I'm having much the same problem on an instrument I bought new almost 12 months ago. The tuners on it are Waverleys so I wouldn't assume that your tuners are to blame.
Ray

[Paul Hostetter]

The jumping string is typical of a badly cut nut. Start there. I have a tuner maintenance page that might help you, click here (http://www.lutherie.net/tuner.maintenance.html). It says old, but it applies to any machine. But I doubt the tuners are the problem.

[Rob Gerety]

I have a similar problem on my Eastman. Drives me crazy because I have gotten used to excellent tuning on my guitars. I have a feeling that in my case there is some binding going on between the wood and metal interface. It could be the tuners themselves but I honestly don't think so. I've got my intonation set perfectly right now so I'm reluctant to remove all the strings to pull the tuners. Although I suppose I could remove them all from one side only and do it that way. I do admit it bugs the heck out of me.

[man dough nollij]

I can get it close to A but most times it takes a wild notion and will go either sharp or flat depending on if I'm tightening or loosening.

That might be part of your problem right there. Never tune down to the note. I always tune down to about a half-step below the note, then tune up. That's the only way to make sure all the slop in the tuner is taken up.

[O'Cearnaigh]

The A string, especially the first one, is a constant trial for mandolinists. The D strings tend to follow a close second. While there are many ideas about it, most agree that it has something to do with them having a proportionately long stretch between the nut and the tuner; part of the basic design of the instrument. In a nutshell, they're the troublesome ones that tend to slip. Many have found some relief by lubricating the slots in the nut with graphite.

As an aside, I'd recommend that you take the tuners off and clean the machine oil from them, replacing it with a dry Teflon lube. Machine oil can cause problems down the road in some cases. If nothing else, it's messy.

Hum, didn't know that about those particular strings. I do the graphite deal and there have been times when I've changed the strings and forgotten to do this. I have noticed a difference.