Schaller Locking Tuners

[noodles]

I now have absolutely no reason to ever buy a set of Spertzels ever again. I got seven of them in black chrome for my Jackson Stars, and they were a perfect drop in replacement for the Gotoh minis that were on there. Popped out the old ones, popped on the new ones.

They have a wider ratio than Spertzels, so the tuners aren't so touchy when you're trying to make that string just a little bit sharper. They're shorter, so the string angle increases over the nut, giving me more punch and sustain. Every thing about them feels solid. Since they're minis, the footprint is much smaller than a Spertzel, too.

FYI: If you like big strings, beware. I use a .060 on the bottom, and it took some persuading to make it fit. With Spertzels, you can drop the locking post out of the bottom and drill out the hole. The locking posts appear to be spring loaded on the Schallers, so I'm not sure how to widen the hole without damaging the top of the post.

I'll try to post some pics tonight. They look really sharp and work great.

 

[eleven59]

Let me know if you figure out a way to drill out the hole, cuz I'm interested in locking tuners for both of my guitars, but use a 65 on my 7-string's low A.

...maybe I'll just replace the top 6 tuners for now...or use 6 of one kind and one of something else (since it's a 6/1 headstock anyways).

 

[dpm]

The Schaller locking knobs are attached pretty much permanently during manufacture. You can get them off but they're damn hard to get back on and are never the same again, so don't try
These are the best locking heads

 

[eaeolian]

I need to get a set of these for my Washburn. While I won't be replacing the Sperzels on my Jackson, the Schallers are enough better that I'll use them going forward...

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

I use a .70 for my low B so if there was a way to drill them out then I'd probably get a couple sets.

 

[dpm]

I'll try to look into that next week, please remind me if I don't reply.

 

[noodles]

I've noticed that the low B is getting easier to install with every string change, so I'm attributing the first time to break-in woes. Division has a show Saturday, and I'll probably change my strings after that (two shows and three practices are about the limit for the way I punish strings). I'll try experimenting with some bigger stuff to find the upper limits of what the tuning peg can accept.

 

[eaeolian]

Hmm. We'll both be playing on strings we used Tuesday. Danger, Will Robinson!

 

[noodles]

Maybe we'll both break an A.

 

[dpm]

Hey, guess what? I forgot to check....

 

[eaeolian]

That's OK, we forgot to remind you.

 

[dpm]

Well, I remembered to take a look at the Schallers we have in stock. This particular batch won't even fit a .052 through the holes!! Schaller's consistency and quality control is getting pretty sad.
The good news is that the spring loaded pin has a lot of downward travel which means it should be no problem to drill out the holes.

 

[noodles]

Well, I remembered to take a look at the Schallers we have in stock. This particular batch won't even fit a .052 through the holes!!

The first time I strung up my seven with Schallers, it took about fifteen minutes of fiddling around to get the .060 through the post. Ever since then, I've had absolutely no problems. I think it has something to do with the locking post getting in the way, until the string keeps it pushed out of the way for a while.

 

[dpm]

Nah. I was pushing the locking post down from one side with a pointy object while testing from the other with various size drill bits. I do recall that we have a seven string acoustic customer using a 74 with Schaller locks.

 

[noodles]

Wow, that really sucks. I've never heard anything negative about a Schaller product ever.

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

So for locking tuners for my 7 with heavy strings should I get Schaller or Sperzal?

 

[dpm]

Either one may require drilling out the posts. Schallers are more precise (gear ratio), and imo that makes them better. Sperzel's are good heads too, and easier to configure for 7 string applications as the components can be shuffled around for left or right side operation. I don't know how easy it would be to get hold of a set of 7 Schallers in your part of the world.

noodles, I'm a real fussy prick when it comes to guitar stuff. There's not much I don't find some fault in. It's my job Schaller still makes great stuff

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

I'll be using a .070 for the low A, so how would I go about getting that drilled? I would have to get someone to do it. Can I mail it to you or someone here and get whoever to drill it? I don't have the equipment to drill metal, and I wouldn't trust myself. Can the Schallers be drilled?

 

[noodles]

Drilling the posts (at least on the Spertzels) isn't as hard as you're making it out to be. The great thing about them is you can turn off the the thumbwheel, and drop the entire lock post out of the back of the tuner. After this, a hand drill and a good drill bit will do the job. I've done them myself, and never ran into any problems.

I haven't attempted to drill a Schaller out yet, because I'm not sure how to deal with the locking post (it's spring loaded and the thumbwheel isn't easily removed), and am afraid of fucking it up (they're $8.50 a piece). DPM, maybe you could offer some advice?

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

They're only 8.50 a peice? I thought they were a lot more expensive than that.