Replacement tuners for Harmony 1201

[HonketyHank]

OK, so I bought an old 1201 with a few minor issues just to get play around with and see if I liked the TG world.

The tuners are just this side of intolerable. I lubed them with Triflow and they are a bit better, but I would like to install something a bit better still. So I could use some recommendations.

I am attracted to Grover Rotomatics or Gotoh 381's. If the guitar was really nice, I would probably be looking at Waverlys, but no. When I look for individual 3+3 style tuners, I see a bunch of very inexpensive tuners which I am not tempted by; I also keep seeing these "Tenor" brand tuners. Less expensive than the Gotohs and Grovers but more expensive than the real cheapos. Are they any good?

Also, I wonder about planetary banjo tuners? Should I be considering them? If so, for any reason other than looks?

Finally, the tuner holes in the peghead are 0.25" diameter, so I would have to ream them for most sets. Are there any good sets where I would not need to ream the peghead holes?

Thanks for your help.

[HonketyHank]

I ended up buying some Grover 102c Rotomatics. I also went to Harbor Freight* and bought a reamer for $3.99. I already had a rat-tail file. After removing the old tuners it took me about 10 minutes to expand the tuner holes from 1/4" to 3/8". Dropped in the Rotomatics and believe it or not the screw hole matched the existing screw hole from the original tuners. No need to drill new holes.

Very easy installation. And the Rotomatics are soooooooo nice. I wish they had these to fit a mandolin.


* Harbor Freight is a chain of discount hardware stores in the USA. Just about everything in the store is a very inexpensive knockoff of a high quality tool. If you are a craftsman and you need a reliable, accurate, durable tool that will last forever and be a joy to use, Harbor Freight is not the place to shop. But if you want something 'good enough' for a quick job, this place is great. Buy it, use it, toss it. Smile. NFI. (If you don't have a Harbor Freight nearby, Amazon has the same reamer for about double the HF price. Stewmac has the real thing for muchmuch more.)