I am thinking about replacing the tuning pegs on my 1960 RB-250. Any suggestions? I would love to be able to remove the old ones and install the new ones without any drilling or modifications.
Gotoh tuners would work well. They have 10mm shafts. The original Kluson tuners have 11/16" shafts so the Gotoh tuners would fit in the holes with a slight amount of play. Once the threaded bushings are tightened, they won't wobble around because they have set pins that go into the back of the peghead.
Five Star tuners, or Waverly's have 3/8" shafts. They won't fit as close as Gotoh's.
Lots of people like the Keith standard tuners and the Rickard tuners. They are quite a bit more expensive than the other brands. I don't know if the difference in quality justifies the price because I have never tried either.
I have Gotoh tuners on one of my banjos. I purchased them from Bob Smakula. His price is very good and he’s great to work with. He’ll answering any questions you may have. The tuners work very well.
Edited by - jdeluke137 on 09/16/2024 22:05:09
I replaced the cheap tuners I have on a new banjo with gotohs from Bob. they are wonderful ! as is he. very helpful. and, I had to drill. not for the faint of heart. I would never drill an antique, or anything of value. there are other alternatives
Not all 1950’s and 1960’s RB-250’s came with Kluson tuners. My dad’s 1963 RB-250 came with Grover Rotomatic guitar tuners. It was no problem to change over to banjo tuners when when my dad decided Schaller D-tuners were a necessary upgrade.
Bob Smakula
Rickard tuners stand alone as the best banjo tuners ever made. They are smoother and more stable than any others I've ever used. No need to tune low and then tweak the tuner up bit by bit to land on the right note. Also, a 10:1 tuning ratio rather than the 4:1 ratio makes precise tuning so much easier. When I occasionally take the trouble to do a really precise tuning with a strobe tuner this 10:1 ratio helps me get my "drum on a stick" tweaked just right. No other tuner has ever worked so well for me with a strobe tuner.
I've been using Rickard tuners for a few years now - since they were first introduced - and I've come to appreciate their stability and smoothness of tuning. When my banjo needs to be retuned it's invariably because of temperature/humidity issues or string fatigue if I've been doing lots of alternative tunings. When those two issues aren't present the Rickard tuners hold everything perfectly steady.
They're REALLY expensive, but worth it, I think. They should last a lifetime, and they're easily moved from one banjo to another if you should want to. Recognizing them as an investment rather than just an expense made it easier for me to justify the cost to myself and explain the cost to She Who Must Be Obeyed.
I don't work for Rickard or sell Rickard tuners or have any vested interest in promoting them; this review is based only on my personal experience with the one set I've had for the past few years. I don't generally do reviews, but every now and then an exceptional item deserves a shout out.
quote:
Originally posted by calicoplayerRickard tuners stand alone as the best banjo tuners ever made. They are smoother and more stable than any others I've ever used. No need to tune low and then tweak the tuner up bit by bit to land on the right note. Also, a 10:1 tuning ratio rather than the 4:1 ratio makes precise tuning so much easier. When I occasionally take the trouble to do a really precise tuning with a strobe tuner this 10:1 ratio helps me get my "drum on a stick" tweaked just right. No other tuner has ever worked so well for me with a strobe tuner.
I've been using Rickard tuners for a few years now - since they were first introduced - and I've come to appreciate their stability and smoothness of tuning. When my banjo needs to be retuned it's invariably because of temperature/humidity issues or string fatigue if I've been doing lots of alternative tunings. When those two issues aren't present the Rickard tuners hold everything perfectly steady.
They're REALLY expensive, but worth it, I think. They should last a lifetime, and they're easily moved from one banjo to another if you should want to. Recognizing them as an investment rather than just an expense made it easier for me to justify the cost to myself and explain the cost to She Who Must Be Obeyed.
I don't work for Rickard or sell Rickard tuners or have any vested interest in promoting them; this review is based only on my personal experience with the one set I've had for the past few years. I don't generally do reviews, but every now and then an exceptional item deserves a shout out.
Rickard tuners are great. The finer ratio makes a world of difference. I've got several sets and have been switching everything I have to them.
I like Gotohs better, though the Rickard ones are nice too. Bob Smakula is a great person to deal with too.
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Originally posted by CullodenGotoh tuners would work well. They have 10mm shafts. The original Kluson tuners have 11/16" shafts so the Gotoh tuners would fit in the holes with a slight amount of play. Once the threaded bushings are tightened, they won't wobble around because they have set pins that go into the back of the peghead.
Five Star tuners, or Waverly's have 3/8" shafts. They won't fit as close as Gotoh's.
Lots of people like the Keith standard tuners and the Rickard tuners. They are quite a bit more expensive than the other brands. I don't know if the difference in quality justifies the price because I have never tried either.
I made a mistake in my measurement. The outer diameter of Kluson bushings is 13/32", which is still larger than most other banjo tuners.
All the answers above are good answers. One add, Please make sure to save those original tuners and keep them with the banjo.
Do Kluson tuners have ferrules that install inside the hole and overlap onto the face of the peghead? I guess they could also be called bushings. I recall that my 1972 Aria bowtie banjo had those ferrules for its boxy imitation Klusons. I wonder if those ferrules were part of the imitation. I removed them when I installed Keith D-tuners and two Schaller planets near the end of that year.
Edited by - Old Hickory on 09/17/2024 09:48:23
If your Kluson boxy tuners aren’t holding tune well anymore, they make a reproduction that’d fit and function as originals. Yes, the Kluson have a very large ferrule.
Gotoh's are my go to. Rickards are nice but take some getting used to. Rickard's 5th string tuner is a Gotoh.
quote:
Originally posted by euler357quote:
Originally posted by calicoplayerRickard tuners stand alone as the best banjo tuners ever made. They are smoother and more stable than any others I've ever used. No need to tune low and then tweak the tuner up bit by bit to land on the right note. Also, a 10:1 tuning ratio rather than the 4:1 ratio makes precise tuning so much easier. When I occasionally take the trouble to do a really precise tuning with a strobe tuner this 10:1 ratio helps me get my "drum on a stick" tweaked just right. No other tuner has ever worked so well for me with a strobe tuner.
I've been using Rickard tuners for a few years now - since they were first introduced - and I've come to appreciate their stability and smoothness of tuning. When my banjo needs to be retuned it's invariably because of temperature/humidity issues or string fatigue if I've been doing lots of alternative tunings. When those two issues aren't present the Rickard tuners hold everything perfectly steady.
They're REALLY expensive, but worth it, I think. They should last a lifetime, and they're easily moved from one banjo to another if you should want to. Recognizing them as an investment rather than just an expense made it easier for me to justify the cost to myself and explain the cost to She Who Must Be Obeyed.
I don't work for Rickard or sell Rickard tuners or have any vested interest in promoting them; this review is based only on my personal experience with the one set I've had for the past few years. I don't generally do reviews, but every now and then an exceptional item deserves a shout out.Rickard tuners are great. The finer ratio makes a world of difference. I've got several sets and have been switching everything I have to them.
I have put Rickard tuners on all of my banjos, also on all of the ones that I have built for others.
