I am a big fan of these Rickard 10:1 tuners and have them on all three of my banjos, however I have 2 that turn too freely. They do not turn so freely as to not stay in tune, but I have to be careful and they do not behave the same as the other 10 tuners that I have on banjos. Has anyone else experienced this ? Tightening the knob screw doesn't not change anything. I have emailed Rickard with regards to servicing, and never heard back from them.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
I've noticed something like this with mine, but they're consistent across the set. Just not as much turning resistance as I'd expect. They don't slip or anything, and there's no backlash, so it doesn't really affect much and they do work quite well. Just a different feeling from typical planetary tuners, easier to turn. I figured it's just the nature of the 10:1 gearing.
You might have better luck trying to call them. I also had issues with e-mails going unanswered, but a phone call got answers right away.
Thank you, I'll try calling. Happy Holidays.
Change the tuner button and screw on one that is loose with one that is not loose. See if it follows the tuner button and screw. If it does the screw may be a bit long and bottoming out, or the button itself may be a little short causing the screw to bottom out before the button tightens up against the actual tuner.
Yes this is happening on mine too, so it's good to know it's not just me.
I have these tuners on two of my banjos - and Gotoh tuners on others - and I don't really find a difference in usability.
I've had some issues in the past getting ahold of them too.
I ordered a set of Rickard 10:1 tuners a couple of years ago from Stew-Mac. My Gotoh's were working fine but I thought I'd buy a set of Rickards on a lark just to support their much touted innovation. One tuner was missing the little spike that keeps the tuner from turning on the peghead and another tuner's shaft was hard against the tuner body. IOW, the tuner post was not centered. It was impossible for me to hold the tuner post centered while trying to get the threaded sleeve to engage the threads so it could be tightened. I gave up and called S-M to return all four and they said I'd have to pay return shipping which was $9.00. What? They said if I ordered a new set, return shipping would be free. A fifty percent failure rate and they think I'd order more Rickard tuners? I called Rickard and they said they would sell me some but I'd have to pay shipping. Great customer relations. I wouldn't installed Rickard tuners on either of my banjo's if they were free.
Nothing to do with banjos or tuners, but your tale reminds me of the house (?) coffee with my breakfast at a restaurant in Brandon, MB several years back. I don't know if it's an actual brand or just the restaurant's hype, but it was touted as "better than Seattle's best." I've got a pretty strong stomach, but it was undrinkable. I said to the waitress that I didn't see how it could be "btSb," as it surely wasn't even Brandon's best! Then I had to explain that to her. So she says she could bring me another cup?!?!? "No thanks... I'll make do with the water."
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