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Haole with Aloha
Aloha
USA
3 Posts |
 Posted - 10/10/2005 : 3:24:52 PM
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Aloha All,
My wife has a 1970's Kamaka koa soprano that she has moved around for years and is in pristine condition. She is getting back into playing and I always seem to end up tuning it for her (can you say roadie?). It has the original friction style tuners and I have a very hard time getting exact tuning. I'm considering having geared tuners put on it and have shown it to reputedly the best guitar/stringed instrument tech in Eugene, OR. He recommended Waverly planetary style banjo tuners if I want to do it but has reservations about the instrument being top heavy and then having my wife be unhappy after having drilled out the tuner holes. He suggested that he try to clean up the friction tuners first or perhaps replace them with new ones.
Has anyone installed geared tuners on your ukulele and are you happy with it? If so, what tuners did you use?
Mahalo for any wisdom.
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2005 : 4:12:21 PM
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Welcome to the patch, Jack. It's good to have you here. Some have used Gotoh Mini tuners on sopranos, which you can check out at www.hanalima.com. You might be able to put them on yourself. That little uke plays really nice the way it is, but I understand why you might change it. I also have an old Kamaka on which I have to finesse the tuning.
I think small geared tuners should work fine, though full-sized Grover style might seem a little big.
Jesse Tinsley |
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Haole with Aloha
Aloha
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2005 : 08:40:09 AM
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Aloha Jessie, and thanks for tip and the link. Somehow I knew I would receive some valuable input from you. I just put Pam on a plane to Hilo so have about two weeks for her ukulele to be out of commission. I think I'm going to pursue the Gotoh Mini tuners as you suggest. By the way, your photos on the Kanikapila thread are wonderful. That was a great night and your presence and participation made it even more so. Hopefully our paths will cross again in person one of these days. I'll let you know how things work out with Pam's Kamaka.
Mahalo again,
Jack |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2005 : 06:31:48 AM
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Good luck with the project, Jack. You should find the dimensions on the website, and you'll need to see if the headstock is thick enough to handle the new tuners. It's a sweet little uke.
Jesse Tinsley |
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pjterry
Aloha
2 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2005 : 4:16:51 PM
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Jessie, I got the Gotoh mini-tuners as you suggested and had them mounted by a highly recommended local luthier. He had to do a bit of grinding and thread re-tapping on the tuner posts because the headstock was slightly too thin but it turned out great. It's still a pleasure to play and now it's a pleasure to tune also.
Thanks for your help,
Jack |
Haole with aloha |
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