Tuning peg slipage

[tcamp22]

I have a D32, and have somethng that annoys me. It seems like the tuning pegs slip a bit before engaging the string while tuning. Not much, but I can feel it. Kind of hard to describe really. But its like they have a little play before they engage.. Anybody have a thought? I tightened the screws on the knobs up a bit, but that didnt make a difference. Its not just on one peg, but all of them. Bad batch? Normal? Thanks.

Tim

[frankhond]

I have the same on my A25. It's a bit annoying but I got used to it. Maybe it's the wood tuning handles?

[tcamp22]

Maybe, but should you have to 'get used to' something like this in a guitar of this price range? My daughter has a $100 Cort that has better tuners.

[frankhond]

Hm, maybe there is some hidden way to tighten them? JB, are these grovers, gotohs? Is there a way to tell?

[tcamp22]

I tightened up the end screws on the knobs. After that, if there is something to tighten, it must be really hidden. Cant be that much to it, its not they're a Swiss watch.

[JB]

We mostly use Gotoh SG381 but have used Grovers as well.
The Gotoh's come in batches not sets so it would be very unusual to get six doing that and all six to be selected for the one guitar, Gotoh's in general are extremely reliable, the last time we had any problem with one of their tuners was about 8 years ago.

The screws that hold the button in place should not be over tightened, the shaft slot is shaped to hold the button with pretty much no slack, you should be able to tell if it's the button slipping or the shaft if you watch closely when tuning.

If it's the shaft, that would point to the sealed gearing, but again, very strange to have all 6 and some tuners can have a very small amount of slack in the gearing, but obviously it's hard to judge how much slack without testing.

[tcamp22]

Thanks for the reply JB. I'll check them a little closer tonight. It feels like its the buttons that are slipping. Rare or not, they all do it. Its slight, but enought that it can be felt when tuning. Like I said earlier, I tightened up the buttons previously, which did nothing. But, if feels like that is where the problem is .

[tj]

Hi

I had the same problem , you must take the tension of the string before
tightening the screw on the tuner. Good luck

[frankhond]

I just found some similar issue in a different forum for different guitars. Anyway the solution there was to remove the ebony knob an put a little masking tape on the shaft.

I will check all the options next time I change strings and report back.

[frankhond]

When troubleshooting a rattle, I accidentally solved this problem. The issue is not with the small screw on the tuning button, but with the nut around the peg - it needs to be real tight.

Here is what to do:

Remove string completely.

Loosen the small screw on the tuning button.

Tighten the nut around the tuning peg real good with a wrench.

Tighten the small screw on the tuning button. Now it should need only very little tightening and it will turn like butter. I got best results by tightening a little, twiddle a bit, loosen and retighten again.

Finally, if you don't want to strip away some gold plating on the nut like I did, put some tape or cloth between the wrench and the nut.

That's it, hope it works for you too.