What will tuners upgrade get me?

[ejaggers]

I modded a Squier CII Affinity P, except for the bridge and tuners. My modded P is sweet like it is, so I’m trying to find out what changing the tuners (and/or bridge) with get me. I’m also not sure what a VM or Classic Vibe has better, that my P doesn’t now have. May I ask, why changed tuners, and what improvement I’ll see? Same question for the bridge?

My mods: Fralin pup, ’60 RI electronics, swithcraft jack, parchment 3 ply PG, LaBela 760FL

[smogg]

The only reason I can see to change tuners would be:
A) color change
B) tuning issue
C) use ultra-lites to reduce neck dive

[ejaggers]

Thanks, smogg, I was kindda thinking the same thing. But people do change them for some reason, and I was wondering what they see different. Tuners aren't cheap, so can you see $80 worth of difference?

[billiam5billion]

I'm not sure about the tuners, but you mentioned bridge replacement, and for me at least it made a pretty noticable difference to install a higher-mass bridge.

More clarity, improved sustain, and it just feels more solid to my right hand. If you do some digging, it's one of the cheapest, easiest mods you can do and it yields results.

[Jefenator]

Some of the cheezy tuner frustrations I've had include:

• rough to turn
• hard to zero in on pitch
• liable to slip out of pitch
• gears strip / parts break off

If you really like a bass but the tuners are doing any of the above, IMHO some quality gears can be well worth the cost.

If you're satisfied with the way your current gears are working, then you're all set!

[Chrisk-K]

It was hard to zero in on pitch with the stock tuners of my Geddy Lee. Plus, they felt rough to turn. I replaced them with the Hipshot HB2 and couldn't be happier.