Do these old tuners hold any clues?

JBHittle · #1 03-11-2010, 09:01 PM

I am curious about the engraved quarter plate tuners on my old bass... are these fairly generic, or do they offer any clues as to age or origin? I am pretty sure the bass is Bohemian.

AMJBASS · #2 03-12-2010, 07:37 AM

Probably around the turn of the century Czech(Bohemian). Pretty common on the shop basses from that time.

Paul Warburton · #3 03-12-2010, 07:42 AM

+1.
Yours do have the mother of pearl inlays, and the hat pegs look like they aren't as old as the plates and machines....are they newer, ya think?..
Did you check @ Ken Smith's site? He'll prolly tell you what's up over there.

crowsmengegus · #4 03-12-2010, 10:42 AM

Well, they look a bit like mine, but you knew that already....

The plates are a different shape.

Here's mine:

JBHittle · #5 03-12-2010, 05:35 PM

Yeah, the pegs are only five or six years old, and are the second set of pegs I have put on it in 36 years of ownership. When I first acquired it, none of the four pegs matched and all were shot-- worn string holes, cracked pegs. I had a set made of oak and after 30 or so years they too began to fail. I ordered these ebonies with the inlaid dot from Lemur and it took 18 months or so to get them. But the gears are the same ones that were on the instrument when I acquired it.