Replacement Tuners for Hofner CT Club Bass??

pstone_foo · #1 04-05-2009, 07:07 PM

Just got a Hofner CT Club bass, and overall it is a great value. Love the red finish, and the tone is awesome (after replacing roundwounds with Labella flats). Only thing I am not happy with is the tuning machines. I have already stripped one of the gears, so tuning my "E string is very difficult. The plastic knobs on the pegs are not very robust either. Has anyone had any luck using other tuning machines on Hofner CT model basses? If so, who makes them and when can I purchase?

bluewine · #2 04-05-2009, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstone_foo

Just got a Hofner CT Club bass, and overall it is a great value. Love the red finish, and the tone is awesome (after replacing roundwounds with Labella flats). Only thing I am not happy with is the tuning machines. I have already stripped one of the gears, so tuning my "E string is very difficult. The plastic knobs on the pegs are not very robust either. Has anyone had any luck using other tuning machines on Hofner CT model basses? If so, who makes them and when can I purchase?

Cool, I have had my Contemporary Club for about 3 months, I love it. Does yours have the German Pups or the Icon Pups?

bluewine · #3 04-05-2009, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstone_foo

Just got a Hofner CT Club bass, and overall it is a great value. Love the red finish, and the tone is awesome (after replacing roundwounds with Labella flats). Only thing I am not happy with is the tuning machines. I have already stripped one of the gears, so tuning my "E string is very difficult. The plastic knobs on the pegs are not very robust either. Has anyone had any luck using other tuning machines on Hofner CT model basses? If so, who makes them and when can I purchase?

Stone there is place in Milwaukee that specializes in Hofner and VOX, you can order anything from them. It'a a 1 man operation it's actua;;y a guy that plays with The Britains, a serious big production tribute band

agplate · #4 04-05-2009, 07:35 PM

If it's North Coast Music- good luck with that. Let us know. He was very unhelpful when I had the same problem last year.

Thornton Davis · #5 04-05-2009, 08:23 PM

If your bass is new, i'd call the store where you bought it and tell them. I'd tell them to either send you another bass that's been checked over or send you a replacement tuner along with a small refund for your troubles.

You're the second person who's experienced this same problem that I know of within the past week. Both were HCT500/2 Club basses and both had stripped E string tuner.

The tuners are Chinese made and the quality is obviously a problem. You can replace the tuners with a German made set of original Hofner tuners. You can buy them online from any Hofner dealer or parts resellers but they're fairly expensive.

TD

Johnny Alien · #6 04-05-2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstone_foo

Just got a Hofner CT Club bass, and overall it is a great value. Love the red finish, and the tone is awesome (after replacing roundwounds with Labella flats). Only thing I am not happy with is the tuning machines. I have already stripped one of the gears, so tuning my "E string is very difficult. The plastic knobs on the pegs are not very robust either. Has anyone had any luck using other tuning machines on Hofner CT model basses? If so, who makes them and when can I purchase?

Just had the exact same thing happen to me with my Contemporary Club. The gear on the E string tuner got all jacked up and wouldn't work anymore. I have the replacement bass coming tomorrow. I had the store check the tuners out before sending it.

I was told this is not common with these tuners.

Johnny Alien · #7 04-06-2009, 07:25 PM

Just got the new one and the tuners are a million times better. Take Thornton Davis' advice and get them to replace the bass. I know it's probably a pain but after getting the replacement I am sure that the tuners are generally OK on these.

agplate · #8 04-06-2009, 08:40 PM

A followup to my earlier but same situation- I did take the bass back to the store (locally owned music shop) and they gladly refunded my money. I have since bought an ICON bass and an Eden Cabinet from them. Very good business!

dfp · #9 04-07-2009, 01:32 AM

so what's the deal here, are the CT Club's being made w/ better tuners now than the earlier batches? if so, how can we know what we're getting when shopping around for a CT Club? if there is a visible difference between the bad and the good tuners, someone please share! the CT Club is on my "someday" shopping list, but not w/ bum tuners!!!

Johnny Alien · #10 04-07-2009, 04:51 AM

I have no idea if mine came from different batches or not but I doubt they are that far apart in manufacturing and I couldn't tell you which one might have been newer. I am also not sure this is a chronic problem.

Just tune and detune the string a bit you should be able to tell pretty quickly if the tuner is wonky. Mine was stripped and stopped working after the second turn.

pstone_foo · #11 04-09-2009, 09:14 AM

Thanks to all who responded. Update......

I am thinking about trying some better tuners that appear MAY fit... see below link:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/G...s.html#details

I am going to call place I purchased bass from (Rock N' Roll Vintage / Hofner USA in Chicago) to see if they will just mail me a new tuner.

jerund · #12 03-30-2010, 07:01 AM

Just got mine used yesterday; it is entirely in new condition, red, and I love it. So far my tuners are good, but I was surprised that the Club CT doesn't come with a case when the violin type does. I'm guessing from the scale that it shouldn't be too tough to find a case, except its a bit thick. Does anyone know if the club fits in the violin type case? Any other suggestions?

I can't believe what a relief this bass is, as I am primarily a guitarist, and have a less than perfect thumb joint. Couldn't play my 34 scale Aria anymore, but this plays like a guitar, and unlike other short scales I've tried, sounds like a bass; nice and full, with a little bite to it. As for fit and finish, my Gibson guitars should have been made so nicely.

jerund · #13 03-30-2010, 08:06 AM

I just checked mine, my tuners are Wilkinsons. Curious if the ones that went bad were Wilks as well? All I know of them is I put a Wilkinson trem bridge on my project strat and love it. I've checked some parts sites and haven't found a direct replacement yet, but I'll wait to see if I have a problem.

To correct my last post, now that I have a playable bass, I am primarily a bassist, hands down.

DanJ · #14 12-01-2011, 05:20 AM

I'm bumping this thread up because I need a replacement tuning key head for my Hofner CT500/1 "Beatle" bass. I'd like to keep it original if possible. Can anyone recommend an online source for these?

DanJ · #15 12-02-2011, 05:11 AM

Correction; I got the model number wrong. According to the Hofner web site it is HCT-500/1-SB. Hope this helps everyone in helping track down the replacement tuning machines.

odysseios · #16 12-02-2011, 08:50 AM

You should contact the Hofner product management on Home page

Baxter66 · #17 05-17-2012, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstone_foo

Thanks to all who responded. Update......

I am thinking about trying some better tuners that appear MAY fit... see below link:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/G...s.html#details

I am going to call place I purchased bass from (Rock N' Roll Vintage / Hofner USA in Chicago) to see if they will just mail me a new tuner.

Just wondering how you went with those tuners. I looked at the Duesenberg site to see what they used on their violin bass and it turns out they're Klusons. I'm waiting to hear back from them at the moment.

If there are other suggestions, would love to hear them!

rfslick · #18 05-17-2012, 06:10 PM

On my Ignition Club, I had no problem, but, the tuners were just loose and cheap. I went to StewMac.com and bought Grover StaTite 18:1 open gear tuners. The machine work is impeccable. The have Nickle buttons rather than perloid. $41 and change. Screw holes match right up. Bushing holes need to be opened up very slightly to 11/32.

Baxter66 · #19 05-17-2012, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfslick

On my Ignition Club, I had no problem, but, the tuners were just loose and cheap. I went to StewMac.com and bought Grover StaTite 18:1 open gear tuners. The machine work is impeccable. The have Nickle buttons rather than perloid. $41 and change. Screw holes match right up. Bushing holes need to be opened up very slightly to 11/32.

Sweet, I'll check that out.

BTW, Kluson got back to me and said they don't supply to Duesenberg, who are using their name without permission. In fact Kluson don't make bass tuners of any kind. Interesting Duesenberg would feel the need to do that.

rfslick · #20 05-17-2012, 07:33 PM

All Hofners use guitar tuners. Not a big deal. The quality of the tuner is the most important thing. The tuners on the Asian Hofners just aren't very good. I use round wounds from Dunlop. The only thing I had to do was open up the string hole in the E tuner slightly as the strings I use is wound out a little further. The Hofner sets I've seen are tapered down almost to wires.