I bought a set of Gold Tone Cheat A Keys and the quality aren’t what they was before Gold Tone took them over. The shafts appear to be smaller and the buttons have play in them. Also there is supposed to be a dot on one side so you know how to install them correctly. There is no dot on mine. Has anyone else noticed the same things I’m noticing? Thinking on sending them back and sticking with my Keith Tuners.
Wait a second... Are you saying that a big company bought the design for a US-made product and then shipped the manufacturing off to China, and the quality went down?
Weird.
Edited by - KCJones on 05/11/2023 20:46:12
I was wondering the same thing about the new Chinese-made Cheat-a-Keys. So they're not quite up to snuff, eh? I would give Gold Tone a call, or better yet, email their customer service department and air your gripes about the quality control. I'm sure they'd like to hear some feedback about these Keys.
I ordered a set from Wayne Rogers at Gold Tone and I don’t have a problem with the new Cheat A Keys. Mine are working fine, and I wish I’d gotten them sooner!
The first batch of Cheat-A-Keys that Gold Tone offered were assembled from parts made by Dave Brown, the Cheat-A-Keys inventor and manufacturer. When they sold all those (about 115 units) Gold Tone had the parts (or fully assembled product) made elsewhere.
I can certainly see the possibility of a quality change with the new offering. Dave Brown was the maker and every set was machined and assembled by him. There was no way Dave would let something that fit incorrectly go to an end user.
My opinion is the product from the new manufacturer will not have the same quality control. Many fingers are involved in their production and I can not imagine all of the people involved having the same passion for perfection as Dave Brown did during his working career.
Bob Smakula
I would send them back and stick to the Keith tuners, but that's me.
Robert
Yeah, I believe I like my Keith tuners better.
So, can we get a time line of these changes ? when did Gold Tone buy the rights, and when did Gold Tone run out of the Dave Brown parts and begin having them made elsewhere ? Did this take place a few years back, or in 2023 ? 2022 ? How would someone know if what they bought is a Gold Tone Asia made set ? Thanks, K
I’m not sure. All I know of these I bought are nothing like the originals that Dave Brown made
That’s weird. I’ve had at least 3 or 4 sets of the original cheat a keys and now own a set of the gold tone D tuners as well and they feel the same to me. I also wondered about quality since they are no longer a handmade product and I don’t believe they are made in the USA. The only thing I have noticed is the missing dot on one side and thought maybe they made both tuners the same. Other than that they seem equal in quality so far. For those of you that got defective ones, it could be hit or miss like a lot of Chinese products. I’d call them and try to get a replacement.
