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Thread: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

  1. #26
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    I got mine and they are indeed square and they do fit the square Gotoh tuner shafts of yesteryear. I believe Paul Hostetter made a comment that a Waverly button fit the Gotoh square shaft. I don't know if we can assume that these would fit a Waverly square shaft . I think I'm going to keep these. I might have to find a mandolin to put them on

    Gotoh's Compared on Paul's site
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
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  3. #27
    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton View Post
    I got mine and they are indeed square and they do fit the square Gotoh tuner shafts of yesteryear. I believe Paul Hostetter made a comment that a Waverly button fit the Gotoh square shaft. I don't know if we can assume that these would fit a Waverly square shaft . I think I'm going to keep these. I might have to find a mandolin to put them on

    Gotoh's Compared on Paul's site
    Mike, Now you're reminding me of the guy who had a nice leather strap and just needed to buy a mandolin to go with it. Time buy another mandolin?

  4. #28
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    If I hadn't just bought another one this week I'd be OK. Now I'm looking for that special project
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

  5. #29
    wood butcher Spruce's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    Quote Originally Posted by Spruce View Post
    And you would be correct--they do not fit...

    This, from the auction:

    "You are bidding on ONE ST OF 8 MANDOLIN SOLID MOTHER OF PEARL TUNER KNOB FOR GOTOH TUNERS. These are brand new never used. They have the rectangular center hole with rounded outer holes for your screw and tuner shaft."

    OK, they do not have "the rectangular center hole", but instead have the square hole...
    ...and I'm not in the mood to ream them out...

    Has anyone had any experience with these?
    They look to be correct for the Gotohs with rectangular center holes...?
    OK, for future reference, if you have the rectangular shafted Gotohs, these are the buttons you want, supplied by E%$y seller "jnnpearlinlay"...
    Very nicely made buttons that fit perfectly...

    The buttons that are the subject of the OP are for the square-shafted Gotohs, despite what the description on the E^%y auction states...

    Does anyone have any tricks for aging MOP?
    Strong coffee is a good place to start, I guess...

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  7. #30
    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    Strong tea may work a bit better than strong coffee for staining MoP. Also, try out Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce. Also, you can boil the buttons in any of these. Adding a small amount of acidity helps a lot, e.g. vinegar or lemon.

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  9. #31
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    Maybe next month I'll get a set for my F style that I planned on using these on. I kept mine because I have a set of old style Gotoh A style tuners with the square shafts.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

  10. #32
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    Three-year old thread, but thanks for the tip about teflon plumbers tape. Wouldn't have occurred to me, and really does the job. I had a pearl button on a Gotoh tuner break in two recently while changing strings. Was able to glue up the two halves pretty well, but wondered about the tension on the screws and remaining wiggle on the buttons. All good now. Many thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by sblock View Post
    One of the problems with mother-of-pearl buttons on Waverlys (or Gotohs or others) is that the material (nacre) is comparatively brittle compared to, say, plastic or wood. As a result, the button may not fit very snugly on the tuner button shaft, and this will lead to a bit of wiggling. It's a BAD IDEA to try to eliminate this wiggle by simply tightening the button screw, which can lead to shattering the button if over-tightened, and may not eliminate all the wiggle, in any case. A better idea, for loose MoP buttons, is to first wrap the tuner button shaft once or twice around with some thin, teflon plumber's tape before sliding the button over the shaft. This trick will eliminate the wiggle, and no glue or filler is required. Plus, it's easily removed, and you can trim off any excess that sticks out, making the repair invisible.

  11. #33
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mother of Pearl buttons for Gotoh tuners

    By the way, on this old thread, the square hole buttons that fit the old Gotoh tuners are no longer available. I put the last set I had on a set of Wavery tuners I bought. Fit perfectly. The buttons to fit the newer Gotoh tuners are still available on eBay from jnnpearlinlay. I'm sitting here looking at a set in front of me.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/8pcs-set-Ma...AAAOSw9r1V-i~F

    They've gone up in price. There is another seller selling them about 10 bucks cheaper but I don't know anything about the product or the seller. The jnn stuff is stellar.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

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