Replacement tuners for Ibanez M700

**Gsutton** · Feb-21-2023, 10:51pm

I have an unused Ibanez M700 that has never been played since my folks gifted it to me about 7 years ago. The pearly tuning pegs crack when trying to tune and my dealer went out of business and he never received replacement warranty parts. I found a similar peg at a guitar store and it also cracked as it was being turned. Are metal pegs available for this mandolin? Thanks for any consideration.

**MikeEdgerton** · Feb-21-2023, 11:06pm

Originally Posted by Gsutton

I have an unused Ibanez M700 that has never been played since my folks gifted it to me about 7 years ago. The pearly tuning pegs crack when trying to tune and my dealer went out of business and he never received replacement warranty parts. I found a similar peg at a guitar store and it also cracked as it was being turned. Are metal pegs available for this mandolin? Thanks for any consideration.

There may be another issue besides bad pegs. Could you post a picture of the back of the headstock so we can see the tuners? If you're going to replace them again you need to make sure you're getting the right configuration. From what I can see on the examples on the web that I fund you're looking for worm-over F style tuners, possibly in gold. The tuners I'm seeing on the example appear to be a copy of Schaller tuners that was made in Korea and aren't very good tuners.

With that said, if the tuner is binding in the headstock or at the nut then it might not be an issue with the tuner itself. That isn't to say you can't have a bad button, you could but there are plastic mandolin buttons that have been turning without breaking for 100 years.

Keep in mind also that most neighborhood guitar stores and national chains aren't the best place to take a mandolin. If you can give us an idea of your location (city/state) we might be able to suggest a local luthier that is familiar with mandolins in your area.

Nobody makes metal button sets anymore that I'm aware of.

**Gsutton** · Feb-21-2023, 11:15pm

Thanks for the full and rapid reply. I will take photos when I can, likely tomorrow evening. I can't tell the difference between over and under, even from looking at some handy comparison photos available on this forum. Sadly I'm just a pre-beginner, but have years of music association from drum playing so that may help me later. I live in Jefferson City, Tennessee and John Rushing lives down the way but no longer performs repairs. Thanks again and I'll soon post the pics. So glad for the helpful attitude I'm seeing here.

**Ray(T)** · Feb-22-2023, 4:07am

Hold the mandolin upright, with it’s back towards you, tuner end at the top. The worm gears (attached to the tuner knobs) will either be above the cogs or below them; i.e. either worm over or worm under.

**MikeEdgerton** · Feb-22-2023, 7:47am

If you can post a picture it takes the guess work out of things. The late Paul Hostetter has this picture on one of his tuner pages. I've added the notes. The tuner buttons are attached to the worm gear. The string post is attached to the cog. Some tuners have the worm gear above or over the cog. Some have the worm gear below or under the cog. The tuners on the left side of this picture are worm over and the tuners on the right side are worm under. Either way post a picture.

**Richard500** · Feb-22-2023, 8:13am

Mike, another tuner oddity that you probably can answer: Finishing up a restoration on a ‘21 Calace bowl back. Noticed that the almost certainly original tuners operate ‘backwards’. Could the revered builder a) pay the strings off the outboard sides of the posts, b) mistakenly swapped sides and not noticed, or c) like to set up that way.
It is a little curious that, as received it’s worm-over. The tuners are nice, and marked ‘France Pq’. They become worm under by swapping sides…

**MikeEdgerton** · Feb-22-2023, 8:32am

Originally Posted by Richard500

Mike, another tuner oddity that you probably can answer: Finishing up a restoration on a ‘21 Calace bowl back. Noticed that the almost certainly original tuners operate ‘backwards’. Could the revered builder a) pay the strings off the outboard sides of the posts, b) mistakenly swapped sides and not noticed, or c) like to set up that way.
It is a little curious that, as received it’s worm-over. The tuners are nice, and marked ‘France Pq’. They become worm under by swapping sides…

In that case they probably swapped sides at some point in their history. That happens all the time. Remove them and reverse them and see if they line up screw hole for screw hole. If they don't have additional screw holes already covered by the tuners and they don't swap out hole for hole it was built that way.

**Gsutton** · Feb-22-2023, 9:04pm

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies and comments. This is a great place!

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**MikeEdgerton** · Feb-23-2023, 8:06am

Those tuners are copies of Schaller tuners made in Korea and honestly weren't very good tuners.The also use (at least all of them I've seen have) plastic bushings on the front of the headstock. The are worm over F style tuners in gold. The post spacing should be the normal modern 29/32" (23mm) center to center. There are several brands of tuners that meet your specifications but stay away from Grover's in this configuration as they will turn backwards. You may have to drill new holes for the screws but the old screw holes should be covered by the new plates. You have some issues with the new bushings if they don't match up. I can give you some links to tuners that you can order but you might want to get someone that knows a little bit about mandolins to swap them out for you and get the mandolin playable.

**Pappyrich** · Feb-23-2023, 10:19am

You might run your mandolin over to Audey Ratliff in Church Hill, TN which is just a few miles from Johnson City. Audey is a well known mandolin builder, and he does some repairs. I am sure he could tell you what your instrument needs, and he might even fix it for you. He is a super nice guy.

**Gsutton** · Feb-23-2023, 12:39pm

Many thanks for the information. Too bad this instrument has never been played because of shortchanged components. Maybe I can have it fixed and trade in on something more dependable. I appreciate your help.

**Gsutton** · Feb-23-2023, 12:41pm

Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton

Those tuners are copies of Schaller tuners made in Korea and honestly weren't very good tuners.The also use (at least all of them I've seen have) plastic bushings on the front of the headstock. The are worm over F style tuners in gold. The post spacing should be the normal modern 29/32" (23mm) center to center. There are several brands of tuners that meet your specifications but stay away from Grover's in this configuration as they will turn backwards. You may have to drill new holes for the screws but the old screw holes should be covered by the new plates. You have some issues with the new bushings if they don't match up. I can give you some links to tuners that you can order but you might want to get someone that knows a little bit about mandolins to swap them out for you and get the mandolin playable.

Many thanks for the information. Too bad this instrument has never been played because of shortchanged components. Maybe I can have it fixed and trade in on something more dependable. I appreciate your help.

**Gsutton** · Feb-23-2023, 12:42pm

Originally Posted by Pappyrich

You might run your mandolin over to Audey Ratliff in Church Hill, TN which is just a few miles from Johnson City. Audey is a well known mandolin builder, and he does some repairs. I am sure he could tell you what your instrument needs, and he might even fix it for you. He is a super nice guy.

Thanks for the contact info. I love Johnson City and work in church hill periodically so I'll have to look him up! Many thanks.

**Gsutton** · Mar-30-2023, 10:01pm

Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton

Those tuners are copies of Schaller tuners made in Korea and honestly weren't very good tuners.The also use (at least all of them I've seen have) plastic bushings on the front of the headstock. The are worm over F style tuners in gold. The post spacing should be the normal modern 29/32" (23mm) center to center. There are several brands of tuners that meet your specifications but stay away from Grover's in this configuration as they will turn backwards. You may have to drill new holes for the screws but the old screw holes should be covered by the new plates. You have some issues with the new bushings if they don't match up. I can give you some links to tuners that you can order but you might want to get someone that knows a little bit about mandolins to swap them out for you and get the mandolin playable.

Yep, those are crappy tuners. They rattle when shaken. Ibanez should be ashamed to use such junk, even on this level of instrument build

**Gsutton** · Mar-30-2023, 10:08pm

Originally Posted by Pappyrich

You might run your mandolin over to Audey Ratliff in Church Hill, TN which is just a few miles from Johnson City. Audey is a well known mandolin builder, and he does some repairs. I am sure he could tell you what your instrument needs, and he might even fix it for you. He is a super nice guy.

QUOTE=Pappyrich;1896440]You might run your mandolin over to Audey Ratliff in Church Hill, TN which is just a few miles from Johnson City. Audey is a well known mandolin builder, and he does some repairs. I am sure he could tell you what your instrument needs, and he might even fix it for you. He is a super nice guy.[/QUOTE]

Mr. Ratliff was kind enough to replace my tuners with a set of Gotohs that worked perfectly, and without redrilling or anything. It was a drop-in replacement that was unexpected by me. Also, Mr. Ratliff is the first person to ever play my mandolin, which is rather cool in itself. What a class act he is, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him. I'm so glad you suggested him. I'm less than an hour away, so he had better be careful that I don't wear out my welcome!

**b4idie** · Mar-31-2023, 6:56am

Glad you got it worked out. People like Audey [per your description] make life better. Wish I lived closer and could visit his shop. I'm in Louisiana.

**Gsutton** · Mar-31-2023, 10:23am

Originally Posted by b4idie

Glad you got it worked out. People like Audey [per your description] make life better. Wish I lived closer and could visit his shop. I'm in Louisiana.

Yes sir, it is nice to find people who can help and then actually do help. I got lucky with Audey Ratliff. I bet there's some excellent luthiers in your area if you just knew about them. Perhaps ask that question here if you need to locate someone to help. Here in my neck of the woods, he's retired now from repairs but John Rushing is from Louisiana and he's exceptional so I know it's in the Cajun blood there so to speak!