Are these tuners defective?

OldDog52 · #1 05-03-2011, 10:12 AM

I bought a set of Hipshot HB6Y 1/2" Ultralights for my Aerodyne. This required enlarging the tuner peg holes in the headstock. Grrr. Well these tuners have seemed very sloppy since Day 1. They do not tune smoothly. There are sudden jumps in the pitch while tuning. I took one off to look at it closer and discovered there's a whole lot of slop in it. It's like the gear that fits on the peg isn't seated all the way, and it won't seat any further than it already is. All four tuners have this to varying degrees.

Here's a quick and dirty video showing what I'm talking about: YouTube - Hipshot Ultralight Bass Tuner HB6Y 1/2"

I got some Gotoh GB704s (not Res-O-Lites) which, although they're not as light as the Hipshots, have practically zero slop in them. They are very smooth and precise. They are lighter than the stock Fender tuners.

Are these Hipshots defective?

OldDog52 · #2 05-03-2011, 12:52 PM

Well Hipshot has issued me an RMA so I guess the video convinced them there's a problem with these.

Turnaround · #3 05-03-2011, 03:07 PM

Looks to me like someone forgot to install a washer when assembling the tuner. Hipshot is a good company and I know they'll put things right.

OldDog52 · #4 05-03-2011, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turnaround

Looks to me like someone forgot to install a washer when assembling the tuner. Hipshot is a good company and I know they'll put things right.

I dunno, I don't think it's a missing washer. That gear just isn't seated all the way onto the peg. I tried to remove the gear from one of the tuners but they seem to be fastened on with some kind of epoxy, as well as having a screw holding them on. I don't want to try prying on the gear to get it off, or pounding on it with a mallet to get it to seat better. Off to Interlaken NY they go. I'm sure Hipshot will take care of it for me.

john grey · #5 05-05-2011, 09:38 AM

Frankly this is about the 4th or 5th time I've heard about this issue of QC w/ this company. The fact that it occurs so often is a serious warning but what makes this considerably more of an issue is the widening of the peg holes (in that you can't go back to originals in an easy manner). I hope people read posts in here before they attempt alterations and learn for the experience of others.

OldDog52 · #6 05-05-2011, 09:56 AM

Some will cringe at this. To make the smaller diameter Gotohs fit the now-oversized peg holes, I wrapped the Gotoh bushings in several turns of aluminum tape like they use to seal HVAC duct systems (not duct tape; this stuff is made of very thin aluminum with adhesive backing). This works surprisingly well. I just cut some long strips and carefully wrapped it around the bushing until it fit the peghole snugly. My Aerodyne is now a Frankendyne, at least the backside of the headstock is. I like the Gotohs so much I'm not sure I'm going to put the Hipshots back in when I get the replacements.

Nikoubis · #7 05-05-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDog52

Some will cringe at this. To make the smaller diameter Gotohs fit the now-oversized peg holes, I wrapped the Gotoh bushings in several turns of aluminum tape like they use to seal HVAC duct systems (not duct tape; this stuff is made of very thin aluminum with adhesive backing). This works surprisingly well. I just cut some long strips and carefully wrapped it around the bushing until it fit the peghole snugly.

AFAIK, this actually is not an entirely uncommon solution... I've seen a tech do exactly this (down to the aluminum tape part) to fix a similar problem on a friend's bass. By looking at the instrument you couldn't possibly tell that this kind of work had been done and it didn't seem to affect tuning stabilty/accuracy at all. Glad that it seems to be working out for you.

BigOldHarry · #8 05-05-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turnaround

Looks to me like someone forgot to install a washer when assembling the tuner. Hipshot is a good company and I know they'll put things right.

yup

OldDog52 · #9 05-11-2011, 11:27 AM

Got a set of replacement tuners today from Hipshot. They're MUCH better.

charlie monroe · #10 05-14-2011, 09:59 AM

Hey Dog, glad it worked out for you.

I am wanting to do the opposite for a bass I have.
It is a genuine (so don't settle for imitation) Franken-P and it is screaming out for some smoked chrome or cosmo black or whatever the finish on some of these Aerodyne's hardware is called.

My neck already has the 11/16th holes drilled. I have a few options, I guess. I can plug the oversized holes in the headstock and redrill; I can shim the new post in the existing bushing (although it is chrome), or your method.

Are you saying that your temp fix consisted of wrapping the outside of the 9/16th bushing with the aluminum tape and then pressing into the headstock? The flange on the bushing was large enough to cover the enlarged hole? Is it solid enough that you would make this a permanent mod on your own Franken P?

I'm pretty sure I want to make the change, even if I have to plug and drill the headstock, but this way sounds like it is more my speed. Did changing the post diameter sideload the nut at all? I think I read a post about strings jumping and needing a new nut with more support. If I end up plugging it, maybe I could realign the string position if I had to.

Last, but not least, if you have any smoked chrome hardware that needs a new home, send me a pm.

OldDog52 · #11 05-14-2011, 10:25 AM

The Gotohs in Cosmo Black did not completely cover the 11/16" holes on the backside of the headstock. There was a slight bit of "hole" visible in one spot. The front of the headstock looked fine. You would never have known anything was up from the front.

The Fender tuners use a press-in bushing. The Gotohs and Hipshots use a threaded bushing. I don't think the aluminum tape method would work very well with the Fender press-in bushing, but I didn't actually try it. It worked fine with the Gotohs and Hipshots though because only the end of the bushing is threaded. There's plenty of unthreaded body to wrap the aluminum around.

As far as side-loading the nut, hmm, I didn't really worry about that. Maybe I should have?

New Fender Aerodyne bridges in smoked chrome are available on eBay for about $20 shipped. I think that's where I found the Gotoh tuners in smoked chrome too. There's a seller up there who's parting out Aerodynes and he has smoked chrome knobs, necks with and without the smoked chrome hardware, etc.

I've been searching all over the place for Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners in smoked chrome but nobody has them in stock that I can find. I have some on order but they're quoting me June at the earliest and that's very iffy.

I might be willing to sell my original Fender Aerodyne smoked chrome tuners. They're in excellent condition. They won't be going back on my Aerodyne so they're not much use to me. ?

charlie monroe · #12 05-14-2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDog52

I might be willing to sell my original Fender Aerodyne smoked chrome tuners. They're in excellent condition. They won't be going back on my Aerodyne so they're not much use to me. ?

PM'd about tuning machines.