The closest tuner i can find to an old time friction peg but has a modern improvement is from a manufacturer called Peghed tuners, but i was told that this company has stopped production and closed shop. Does anyone know where i might be able to get a split set ? As in 5 tuners that are all right turn tightening ? Also id be interested to hear from people who use these tuners and find out what they think of them.
I bought a set of banjo tuners last year from him - John Herin.
Email is Sales@pegheds.com.
I'm not sure he is manufacturing them any more but he was at least still selling them as of 9/27/2022.
I put them on a nylon strung minstrel banjo and I think they worked out pretty well. It's now in the owner's possession and I haven't seen him for several weeks, but haven't heard any complaints either. My impression was that they were far better than wooden pegs but not as easy to use as planetaries.
Edited by - Jonnycake White on 03/27/2023 09:17:24
Have you trie Ebay?
I found the man running peghed tuners to be diplomatically , a little difficult to deal with. So i found a supplier in California who has a limited supply left and wont break up the sets into all rights or all lefts.
I've installed a few sets for people, and they are about the most difficult tuner to use that I have experienced. I don't recommend them, but if someone wants them I will install them.
I have had very little experience with them but remember there was some sort of trick to make them work.
That said, I suppose they are a good way for people to cosplay antique banjos when they are afraid to use friction pegs.
The funny thing is, well fit friction pegs, when used with appropriate sized strings, are super easy to use and work fine.
Hmm thank you for your insight. Being a novice player and not having played many different banjos with different tuners, i have no frame of reference to go on but i must say that i did find that i was having to keep tweaking the tuning but in the beginning because of new nylgut strings, maybe the strings were stretching out a little.
One of the "tricks" is that they are designed to stiffen and slip the same way as friction pegs. They get harder to turn if you push in and slip more easily if you let them out a bit.
Wittner, the people who made your Grandma's fine metronome, make a version for various instruments: wittner-gmbh.de/wittner_finetu...vice.html. I've no idea whether any would fit a banjo.
I've removed several sets. While their fiddle version works well (supported at both ends in a pegbox), the banjo version can be cranky and prone to slippage.
As @Joel Hooks sez, properly fitted and installed violin pegs work fine.
You can buy them at pohakuukulele.com/store/grover...ers-pdsp4
They used to sell a 4:1 5th string peghed tuner in nickel.
Edited by - restreet on 03/27/2023 14:26:03
I got a set of Pegheds from the uke company in CA, but they didn't have a 5th string tuner for me at that time. So I contacted John Herin, the creator by email (it took a few days for him to answer, but he did, and things went fine). He's a professional musician and also an engineer, so he's a busy guy. He sold one to me and gave me some tips on installing it. It fit with very little trimming of the hole needed (I got the smaller of the two sizes, and worked like a charm. This was on an old Lyon and Healy I was fitting with new tuners and nylon strings. Nylons always take some time to stretch, so don't be too concerned about that. And much dry fitting is usually necessary to get a good fit on both the pegs and the 5th string tuners, just a little at a time so you don't take out too much material.
And as davidppp wrote: one of the cool features is tightening up the hold of the peg by pushing in on the handle as you tune it. It also works the other way to loosen the grip. My old banjo had the original friction pegs and the old 5th still on it. These Pegheds are a vast improvement in performance and also have a great look. I'm happy.
I have a few sets of pegheds tuners in stock. A few for standard 5-string banjo (2 right, 2 left, and one 5th) and a few for minstrel banjo. Those are all left hand thread tuners for the peghead.
Though I used to sell singles and make up custom sets, I do not do that anymore. The maker, Chuck Herin, changes his specs on a whim. When you expect that you can replace a few pegs in a set that was just broken up, you find the current batch does not match what you have. That business model caused me to loose all enthusiasm for that product.
Somewhere in my shop I have about 50 mismatched pegheds tuners that are now pretty much useless.
Bob Smakula
smakula.com
Edited by - Bob Smakula on 03/29/2023 05:33:55
I have a set of Pegheds on a ukulele, and they've worked quite well so far (4.5 years on an instrument that gets used regularly). No experience with the banjo version....
I installed PegHeds on my minstrel banjo and LOVE them. I found the owner great to deal with, but I dealt with him 7 or so years ago.
I have one spare one kicking around, as he accidentally sent me more than I ordered. If you are at a loss I can send it to you, but shipping is probably relatively expensive for one, and I can only help with one of the five needed.
I used a set of those on a "Boucher" style banjo I built years ago for a Civil War re-enactor who wanted a banjo that looked period correct, but with frets and geared tuners. They do look period correct, and they work okay, but you do have to put a certain pressure on them while tuning, which is 0similar to using regular violin style pegs. I never bought another set of them.
Fitting violin pegs properly is a bread and butter job for any violin shop. The hole should be the correct 2° taper and the peg should match. A little stripe from a peg dope crayon and you're all set.
Fiddle pegs will work if not fitted properly but they are much smoother when they are.
In high school, I went Spartan on my cello and removed the fine tuners using the friction pegs exclusively. That worked great but it did take me longer to tune so I put them back on as you can see.
I have matching set of 5 "pegheds" all clockwise (tightening) available and 5th sting horizontal if needed. I also might be able to help you with a 13" or 14" single ply maple rim - 3/8" thick, 3+" deep. Contact me off-line.
Jim
I have Peghead tuners on a gourd banjo I just bought. They work great right now and I was quite impressed.
