David Oxford
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What do you like about the new design vs the old?
PRS has re-engineered the shape of its tuners
- Thread starter littlebadboy
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SonicBlue
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I liked the locking feature on previous PRS tuners, but have been fine on all guitars I've owned without locking.
The lighter headstock end is a bonus on a hollowbody for balance. At least it seems like it is.
I was surprised how much I like the look, feel and experience with these tuners so I wouldn't swap them out even if someone offered to do it for free, I like the instrument exactly as it is.
David Oxford
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I definitely can appreciate your input. I think PRS needs to offer the original Phase III as an option still on their guitars rather than the newer less expensive design, perhaps as a cost savings option.
SonicBlue
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I'm not so sure they're less expensive. If they are, I don't think cost was the driver in the change, they were after a way to reduce weight on the headstock and the locking phase III's have the 6 steel locking screws and usually metal knobs that all add weight. You can also get locking if you really want them because they're still offered on trem models.
On these new tuners, there is an aluminum collar with a set screw between the buttons and the body of the tuner that doesn't look cheap at all. The tuners are still machined, open gears, the posts where the strings go through appear to be machined brass. and are rock solid. I don't see any indication of a reduction in quality. They had a lot of thought put into them and they're very well executed. In use, they don't jump at all while tuning, they are butter smooth right to the precise point you want them to be and they hold solid once there.
d^rren
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My guess is that these tuners are reversible, similar to Sperzels.I'm not so sure they're less expensive. If they are, I don't think cost was the driver in the change, they were after a way to reduce weight on the headstock and the locking phase III's have the 6 steel locking screws and usually metal knobs that all add weight. You can also get locking if you really want them because they're still offered on trem models.
On these new tuners, there is an aluminum collar with a set screw between the buttons and the body of the tuner that doesn't look cheap at all. The tuners are still machined, open gears, the posts where the strings go through appear to be machined brass. and are rock solid. I don't see any indication of a reduction in quality. They had a lot of thought put into them and they're very well executed. In use, they don't jump at all while tuning, they are butter smooth right to the precise point you want them to be and they hold solid once there.
The tuner body is now symmetrical. The spacer makes it a modular design. Disassemble them and you can probably pull the worm gear and flip them to either side of the headstock.
That means they now only need to cast or machine one part instead of two. Definitely cost savings there.
SonicBlue
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That's just good engineering. I work for a manufacturing company and believe cost savings there would be negligible in this case. It's still done in batches with the same tooling and materials and the changeover from one part to the other is likely automated anyway. If they're cast, they're probably mirror images in the same mold.
Though I didn't state it very clearly, my point is less about whether the new design is a cheaper to manufacture and it's more about weight savings and quality and user experience. If they can achieve that while also reducing costs and simplifying a design, more power to them. But this tuner change is not a "cost cutting measure" with lower costs as the primary goal. Impact on price would be a secondary benefit in this case, IMO.
In any case, it doesn't really matter. What does matter to me is that I love the new tuners and would consider adding them to other guitars if the holes lined up.
SonicBlue
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d^rren
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Oh, I agree. When I first learned that Sperzel tuners are completely modular, I was like, "Why isn't everyone making them this way?" Casting unique left and right tuner bodies just seems wasteful and inefficient, not just from a manufacturing standpoint, but from assembly and inventory as well.
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
I'm not so sure they're less expensive. If they are, I don't think cost was the driver in the change, they were after a way to reduce weight on the headstock and the locking phase III's have the 6 steel locking screws and usually metal knobs that all add weight. You can also get locking if you really want them because they're still offered on trem models.
On these new tuners, there is an aluminum collar with a set screw between the buttons and the body of the tuner that doesn't look cheap at all. The tuners are still machined, open gears, the posts where the strings go through appear to be machined brass. and are rock solid. I don't see any indication of a reduction in quality. They had a lot of thought put into them and they're very well executed. In use, they don't jump at all while tuning, they are butter smooth right to the precise point you want them to be and they hold solid once there.
They look like Phase III’s with a different tuner button, so no drop in mechanical reliability.
There was a lot of dislike for them when they were first announced. But they’re probably replaceable, the buttons that is, if people don’t like them.
Horses for courses.
