Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

A new poll (and a short review of my new tuning machines)


Machines  

22 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts


Apparently my need for your approval is considerable.  Please vote for your favorite tuning machines on my beloved new guitar.

I sourced these locking Schallers from Europe,* and they are straight drop-ins with no new holes required.

I fully expected to base my decision solely on looks, but the sonic and performance aspects proved to be somewhat surprising.  I’ve captured some of my initial impressions below, but I won’t know my final thoughts until I can test them at gig volumes.



Original Imperial Style (243g)

orig Large.jpeg

 

To state the obvious up front, the 243g these tuners weigh renders them completely useless in a professional setting.  I do appreciate the bold yet classic Art Deco aesthetic, but these machines were more trouble than they were worth.  There is noticeable slop in the rollers, and the washers they use are clearly inferior to the magnesium alloys that my luthier recommends (he got this tip from John Mayer’s tech, and the sonic results are undeniable).  Of course this could be easily remedied, but not at 243g!  Schaller, what are you thinking here?


Locking with Nickel Buttons (226g)

nickel Large.jpeg

 

I like the classic look of the nickel bean buttons, and the 1:18 ratio is just what the doctor ordered. 

With these, I was channeling some of the exact tones from Martino’s Live at Yoshi’s performance ( I admit I cop too many of that man’s lines).

Still, there is a thin metallic integument that seemed to glare through at times.  It’s so subtle that I doubt my audiences would ever notice, but it’s enough to drive me mad in my smoke-free home studio through the Two Rock.  That amp is so revealing it’s scary (if you know, you know).

 

The Grab Bag (238g)

sampler Large.jpeg

 

Haha - I just did this as an experiment, but with the Imperial button on the A string it does seem to balance the sound out in a pleasant way.  I could never live with this look, but try it for yourself - you might be surprised at the tonal consistency.

 

Winner - Locking with Ebony buttons (218g)

 

final Large.jpeg

back Large.jpeg

 

The ebony buttons on the locking machines seem to be as good as it gets for the moment.   They come in just under my specified 220g weight limit, and they balance nicely on my ostrich strap.

These buttons seem to lack a tiny bit of the chocolatey midrange I’d expect to hear around 2.5kHz, but I can live with it for now.  I suspect the buttons are not my preferred Diospyros celebica.  They sound more like Diospyros Crassiflora Hiern to me, though Schaller inexplicably neglects to mention that on the packaging.  I have an inquiry in with them, and I’ll update you as soon as they reply.

 

In the end, these ebony buttons are staying, though I may have a local woodmeister craft some higher density buttons if I can’t dial out that midrange null.


Here’s a random photo in front of my unstaged music stand.

 

sophisticated Large.jpeg

 

 

I'd love to hear your own experiences.


_________

* the band, not the city

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone here once told me I should switch to ebony buttons for the 12-string bass octave strings.

I can see where 8 Ebony buttons would make a difference in neck dive.

It's a heavy neck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dunno about tuner buttons, but I had a similar issue with the stock metal Fender 'flat top' knobs on the '00 P-Bass Special I bought used recently (yes, the one with a Poplar body...and BTW it easily sounds as good as any similar Alder-bodied bass I've played).  I changed the factory original gold anodized pickguard for a tortoise-colored one (the bass is Candy Apple Red, and a gold pickguard just wasn't doin' it for me, the tort pickguard looks much better IMO), and had to remove the knobs to do that.  The original Fender metal flat-top knobs weighed about 30g (about one ounce) each on my postage scale, but the more recent (and practically identical in appearance) Fender metal flat-top knobs weighed about 15g (1/2oz) each.  The fact that this bass uses three of those knobs (it's a P/J PU setup) makes for a 1 1/2 oz. (45g) weight savings by using the newer knobs.  It works for me!  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, Schaller finally got me back to me on the exact species of ebony they use, and they said “can’t your forum friends tell when you’re joking?”

I thought this one was obvious, and at times believed I was actually funny.  Perhaps try reading it again as if it was a TGP or jazzguitar.be post?


For the record, I don’t:

  • Own a Two Rock or an ostrich strap
  • Have a luthier
  • Have a gig volume
  • Believe 20g would render a tuner unusable
  • Think a washer’s sonic benefits would be undeniable (even coming from John Mayer's tech)
  • Imagine that nickel buttons would give me Martino’s live tone (that would require ruthenium)
    • The implied brag about copping Martino's lines is obviously something I could never do either, but it seems most guitar players on the internet can easily do that
  • Use ‘integument’ in verbal or written exchanges
  • Describe tone as chocolatey, or by specific frequency
  • Converse with 1982 Swedish Rock-SM winner Europe (the Joey Tempest fronted rock band known for such hits as The Final Countdown and Carrie)
  • Well, all of it.  It was all a joke.  

 

I even totally staged that music stand photo to make you think I was learning sophisticated music.  I said it was an unstaged photo, but I lied. I’m sorry.

As a good friend once told me about jokes, "if you're explaining, you're losing."  I'm losing.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it brings consolation, I thought it was the best post of the year. 

Then again, we're only in early March...

I still think imperials for the win on this one, but if the tuners are sloppy, the ebony tuners do look nice. 

And I know you traded your two rock for a three monkeys. Or was it a divided by 13?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT_UXoxAIGyS-rejJA-nzg

Ebony looks great, and if it sounds better, then even better. I'm about to experiment with some Hipshot barrels vs. beans on a reverse 6-inline headstock. I doubt I'll hear a difference, but I'm curious to know ergonomically which works better for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Extremely well written, strategically placed visuals enhanced the storyline, the reader is immediately pulled into the narrative, made to feel welcome and then thoroughly teabagged.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But....But....But.....The Imperial tuners have less wind resistance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...