Core model tuner woes.

I agree. my 93 Custom 22 has them and that guitar has a rock solid tone anywhere on the neck. The mass of the tuners is part of that tone….

I put some phase 2s on my CE for a day once and that's how I found out. Suddenly it was wimpy sounding so I swapped back.


I push up on the wing as well after the tuner grabs the string and that really locks it.

Yup, follow the directions. Most people that complain about the winged tuners often don't ime.

I'd love to buy up all the unwanted winged tuners. They're terribly designed junk so they should be cheap right? ;) :p
 
I have a small herd of prs guitars. They all stay in tune very well. Phase 1, 2, 3 and mann locking klusons.

My 86 cu24 stays in tune ridiculously well even with aggressive trem use. I also believe my 86 still has the original factory setup.

People forget the stock prs nut is self lubricating. That is important to remember. When I put new strings on, I use trem vigorously while stretching strings. I think that helps quite a bit.
 
People forget the stock prs nut is self lubricating. That is important to remember. When I put new strings on, I use trem vigorously while stretching strings. I think that helps quite a bit.

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I have a small herd of prs guitars. They all stay in tune very well. Phase 1, 2, 3 and mann locking klusons.

My 86 cu24 stays in tune ridiculously well even with aggressive trem use. I also believe my 86 still has the original factory setup.

People forget the stock prs nut is self lubricating. That is important to remember. When I put new strings on, I use trem vigorously while stretching strings. I think that helps quite a bit.

So a good wang!
 
I don't think we're talking about the same thing. I didn't have a problem stringing the guitar or with tuning stability, it's just that the tuners felt all wrong. Besides slop, they were not smooth.

Here's what I did:

* Stripped all of the machines down to their individual components.
* Cleaned out nasty, dried grease which had a consistency ranging from dried mud to hard tar. I used a flat-head screwdriver, toothpicks, and a naptha bath.
* Re-packed the gearboxes with new grease.
* Two of the tuners had both a nylon washer and a steel curved disc spring washer between the button and the machine body and the rest had just the spring washer. As far as I know, based on pictures online, the nylon washers are not stock, but those two felt the best to me, so I ordered more for the other four. Note to self, the original washers were 6.8mm/4.1mm/1.1mm OD/ID/thickness. The new ones (Allparts TK-7716-025 Plastic Guitar Tuner Washers) were 6.2mm/4.0mm/1.2mm, so I reamed out the ID a little.
* There was a little slop between each button and its shaft. That was the slop I was feeling, not backlash. I dipped a toothpick in CA glue, spread a thin layer on one of the flat surfaces of the shaft, waited for it to dry (actually, I hit it with accelerator), then put it back on the shaft. That tightened up the slop.

I'm now happy with the tuners. I can live with the gear ratio if they're smooth and slop-free--they are now, but they definitely weren't before.


Question, for posterity: Besides the very thin steel spring washer, did stock phase 1 tuners have any flat washer (nylon, brass, etc.?).
 
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I have a 2000's CE24 as well as a late 90's CU22. Phase I and Phase II tuners. I have the same issue on both guitars. There is play in the tuner when i turn it back and forth and tuning stability isnt great. I have already tightened the buttons on both but the play is there. Is this normal? Are these tuners worn out and need replacement? What is the best tuner i can put on these guitars that don't have play? I have some strats with Hipshot tuners and no play in those.

Many folks do not realize that a tuner has backlash. What is that, you ask? Gears, by their simple nature of design, must has a certain amount of "slop" or tolerance. Otherwise you would find it hard to move them under tension.

This is why you should always tune from below (flat) the note up to pitch. If you over-shoot the mark, go flat and then back up to pitch.
You will discover your tuners work much better ! ;)
 
I have a 90s Martin dread that has some tuner slop/backlash. I own or have owned a lot of guitars over the years but I will agree with the OP that the tuners on my newly acquired 08 DGT seem to have quite a lot of slop - more than any other guitar I've owned. Not a deal breaker at all because I really like the guitar but I may seek a solution to this.
 
I have a 90s Martin dread that has some tuner slop/backlash. I own or have owned a lot of guitars over the years but I will agree with the OP that the tuners on my newly acquired 08 DGT seem to have quite a lot of slop - more than any other guitar I've owned. Not a deal breaker at all because I really like the guitar but I may seek a solution to this.
What do you mean by slop ?
 
Well ok. So it does.. if you are tuning from flat to on pitch, this “play” will have no effect on the tuning because the play has already been taken up…… no big deal…
I’ll agree to a point, but in a gig situation when you need to retune quickly it’s better to have little to no play and a predictable response from the tuner. Really not optimal to have so much slack.
 
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