Mopick - Posted - 11/22/2013:  14:50:24

I finally got my Cheat-A-Keys and got them installed.  I've never used tuners, nor have I ever played Earl's Breakdown.  I quick learned it out of the Scruggs Book.  Here's a short video.  This is the first time I've used tuners.

 

BobbyE - Posted - 11/22/2013:  15:45:34

Good job Randy.  Playing and banjo sounds great.

Bobby

Mopick - Posted - 11/22/2013:  20:16:33

The tuners have been on for almost two days now, and a new set of Gibson Earl Scruggs banjo strings that have been stretching in.  I just got through loosening the two inside strings and putting some pencil lead graphite in the nut slots.   The B string was creaking as it moved in the nut.  The tuners are starting to get broke in too, but every once in a while the tuning goes haywire.  I think the strings are still slipping on the posts a little, and when I twist the tuners, the B and G string go real flat. 



But when they are on they are on.  I can tune down to the A from B and it hits every time.  Also the F# from G.

Edited by - Mopick on 11/22/2013 20:17:23

arnie fleischer - Posted - 11/23/2013:  06:24:42

Mopick, I've had Cheat-A-Keys installed on two banjos since 2004 and 2008, respectively.  If your strings are going flat when you go back to B and G, it means that the adjustment screws on the peg buttons need to be tightened.  Just proceed very slowly in small increments.  It takes a little time to determine how tight to make them so that the pegs aren't stiff when you turn them and at the same time the strings hold their tuning.  But once you've figured that out, these tuners rarely require adjustment and hold their settings through string changes, chokes, snappy pull-offs, and of course, the string bending for which these pegs are designed. 

If you still have problems, don't hesitate to call the maker, Dave Brown.  He's extremely accessible and helpful.

warpdrive - Posted - 11/23/2013:  06:46:34

that's a good sounding banjo randy, did al help you with any of the set up? The more you use the cheats the more you will love them, after 11 yrs of playing them, I still stay amazed at how well they work and hold pitch, especially when you tune the b string up for randy lynn rag, then back down for the other d tunning songs! Arnie, didn't I sell you one of your sets through fotmc, here in Cincinnati? For some reason, I had your name in an electronic personal note pad that I did some sort of transaction with you, just curious!

arnie fleischer - Posted - 11/23/2013:  19:25:34

Yeah, warp, I bought my first set from fotmc in early 2004.  After they arrived I had a really dumb question about them and when I called fotmc you were very helpful and also kind enough not to point out how obvious the answer was.  (I realized that myself as soon as you explained it to me!)

I love these tuners too, even their clunky look, and they are so much fun to use. I think it's because they bend the strings instead of retuning them (and of course "Bending the Strings" is one of my favorite things to play with them, and you're absolutely right about "Randy Lynn Rag").  The way they hold their settings is amazing.

And Dave Brown really is accessible.  I called him shortly after I got my second set because one peg was slipping, and I could not get the screw to hold.  He offered to send me a replacement but suggested that I first try running the screw through a pair of pliers to rough up the threads at the bottom some more.  That did the trick and five years later it's working just fine.

Edited by - arnie fleischer on 11/23/2013 19:26:06