CE 24 Tuner Replacement

DramHorst

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2021
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18
Hey, pals!

After about 20 years of lusting after one, I finally joined the PRS bandwagon by purchasing a CE24 last week. It took a long time for the timing to line up between A) finding the right one and B) having the funds. Details on the guitar below, but to get to my point...

I'm looking to "upgrade" the tuners. It's more of an aesthetic thing (looking to switch to either black or gold hardware) and I just kind of prefer the rear-thumbwheel design of other makers to the top-screw design. Anything out there that would be a no-drill replacement for these? My favorites are Schaller and Hipshot, but I've also been eyeing Graphtech. I'm not overly concerned with some light modification if it is needed (I'm not concerned about re-sale), but would prefer a drop-in replacement if it exists. I'll also be upgrading the bridge (already hip to the mannmade upgrade) and swapping pickups eventually. Thanks in advance!
 
I am guessing Hipshot will have what you are looking for. Just make sure you are buying the made in the USA ones. The "Made For" ones may or may not be genuine "Made For" Hipshot tuners. Check their website for options.
 
Schaller did make drop in replacements, and I have them on my 92 ce24. Great, GREAT tuners with back locking wheels. Very smooth and accurate.

The order said Schaller M6 Locking Tuners M6 180 3L/3

By the way, I still have the winged tuners laying around somewhere...
 
Does Schaller have a model that uses the pins instead of the screw-in model? I can't seem to find those.
 
If you're looking for a rear thumbwheel locking, perhaps consider a nice set of Gotoh tuners. I'm pretty sure they make the vintage style tuners for PRS, and maybe the Phase 3 as well. Philadelphia Luthier Tools has the top of the line SGV510 (and others) in a variety of colors. ;)
 
I'll also be upgrading the bridge (already hip to the mannmade upgrade) and swapping pickups eventually.

If it’s a new CE you should bear in mind that you have a quite valuable set of pickups in there. PRS don’t sell the 85/15’s individually so they’re not all that easy to come by. They’ll fetch a pretty penny if you want to swap them out, but they could be tricky to get hold of again if you decide you want them back at some point.
 
It's a 2016! Good to know about the pickups. Maybe I'll hang on to them just in case, but it looks like they'd go a long way toward the cost of some of the upgrades I'm planning.

To that end, I wonder if the fact that I'm looking for a new tuner set for a newer CE is why I'm having a hard time finding what you guys are. Are there drop-in replacements for the 2016-present CEs?
 
One quick bump on this before I just take a jump and buy something. Anyone know of locking, high-ratio, drop-in replacements for the S2 low mass tuners in the 2016 CE 24? Thanks again!
 
Schaller does make the M6 Pin model, but it uses two pins per machine unlike the CE’s that have one. The only tuner I can think of with one pin offhand is Sperzel, but don’t know if they would line up… Sperzel also offers the EZ Mount that grabs the headstock with two teeth instead of pins. Any of the tuners mentioned here are quality replacements. However, you would lose the brass string posts and your guitar might not be following the “rules of tone”!
 
I would be interested in your pickups and tuners if you do decide to replace and are interested in selling. I have the wing tuners on my CE24. Not a fan of them.
 
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