Best Staggered Height Locking Tuners for Strat

[tedtan]

I'm considering replacing the standard tuners on my strat with staggered height locking tuners, partly for convenience and partly to eliminate the string tree.

What are the best staggered height locking tuners for a strat these days?

 

[Bearitone]

Hipshot is the only thing that comes to mind

 

[MaxOfMetal]

The usual suspects come to mind.

In addition to Hipshot there's the Fender/Schaller option. You can get them cheap on Stratosphere if that's a concern.

Gotoh used to make a set, but I think they're discontinued.

GraphTech also makes them in staggered and locking. The Ratio are really cool, very high quality, but expensive.

 

[Drew]

I've got Fenders on my Strats which are totally fine, but the best I've ever used are the Gotoh 510 thumbscrews, which I installed on my Suhr Modern 7. I don't know if they're available in the States, IIRC I imported them from a Japanese company.

https://g-gotoh.com/international/traditional-type-locking-tuner.html

Looks like Stew-Mac has them, though I don't know how competitive their prices are, $60 or so for a set of 6 in line tuners. You might find them for less elsewhere.

 

[cardinal]

I love the Gotoh HAMP (?) tuners for Kluson style, and the Hipshots feel great for a modern style.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I have a set of Gotoh SG381 locking tuners on my Tele that are staggered height. Great tuners, super smooth and stable. I also have a 7 string set of the same tuners on my 7621

 

[tedtan]

Thanks! Guys.

I’ve always liked the (non-locking) Gotoh 510 tuners I have on a couple of acoustic guitars, so that looks like a good option.

For Drew and any others who have tried both, how do the Fender/Schaller locking tuners compare to the Gotoh 510s?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Thanks! Guys.

I’ve always liked the (non-locking) Gotoh 510 tuners I have on a couple of acoustic guitars, so that looks like a good option.

For Drew and any others who have tried both, how do the Fender/Schaller locking tuners compare to the Gotoh 510s?

Quality is comparable between Gotoh and Schaller. Feature set is nearly identical.

I'd probably go by the easiest to install, unless there's an aesthetic preference you have with available button styles.

 

[tedtan]

Thanks for the extra input, Max.

 

[Drew]

Thanks! Guys.

I’ve always liked the (non-locking) Gotoh 510 tuners I have on a couple of acoustic guitars, so that looks like a good option.

For Drew and any others who have tried both, how do the Fender/Schaller locking tuners compare to the Gotoh 510s?

Both are great. The Gotohs look and feel a little nicer, IMO, and have a higher machine ratio (I think they're 20:1), if that matters to you, but I happily use both.

 

[tedtan]

Thanks, Drew.

The Fenders are a drop in replacement, and I may go that route just for convenience, so it's good to hear that there isn't a significant difference in quality between the two.

 

[Soya]

For what it's worth, I just bought a set of the staggered locking Gotoh tuners last week so they're still available.