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Guyker Xtender Drop Tuner - How Is This A Thing??

#42
Kevlanco said:
I guess it was surprising to see, considering there haven't really been many alternatives to Hipshot for drop tuning levers. Particularly ones that use similar thumbscrew-tuned, lever-on-a-plate mechanisms that are also called "Xtender Drop D tuners".
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Hipshot sells their extender hardware with Gotoh, Schaller, Fender or MusicMan tuners premounted, in addition to Hipshot's own tuners. To elaborate on what @micguy said above, I suspect that other companies making tuners might have researched what they'd have to do to make extenders and decided it wouldn't be worth the effort. The mechanisms are surprisingly expensive for what's arguably two bent plates and a sprung lever, but that might reflect the quality of material, precision in manufacture or QC needed to make them useful, or the economy of scale possible. If you can't beat them on volume, price or quality, you've eliminated almost all the ways a newcomer can undercut an established product.

It'd be fun to have a Manring-style bass where each string can drop multiple half-steps and experiment with shifting tones on the fly... but not $800 worth of fun, especially since I'll never play like him.* At the same time, I can respect that this is not a product that can be made cheaply in the kind of volume that the market accommodates.

*I suspect it'd also turn the headstock into a brick, but that's just sour grapes on my part.
 
#45
I’ll still buy from Hipshot for this product, regardless of what a competitor sells. Why? Customer Service. The last one I ordered was an oddball - a mini clover. This caught their eye and they followed up multiple times to verify I ordered correctly and to provide return options if I hadn’t. This tells me that each order gets reviewed by a real person, and to me, that is worth supporting.
 
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#50
Malak the Mad said:
I love everything you reported, but, as a point of "semantical snootiness" on my part…

…I've fixed that for you. :bookworm: 😁
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wvbass said:
I love when people can actually write coherently without resorting to AI, but…


…I’ve fixed this for you.
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Ironically, your fix is practically the definition of "semantical"…


…but the judges shall accept your response, anyway! 😂

anigif_sub-buzz-2448-1641487702-2.gif
 
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#52
TeeSee said:
I recently bought some CTS pots from a UK online music store and when they arrived they came in a package with a Guyker sticker on them which is strange as I don't see CTS on the Guyker website. We all know CTS's factory is in Taiwan but the pots I had were stamped CTS, measured at 245 ohm and 260 ohm respectively for 250k's well within the +/- 10% and had a nice solid turn to them. If CTS is now being manufactured in China instead of Taiwan I'd say the Chinese are striving to build much better these days than before, maybe to shake off their tardy image from years gone by?
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Just sit back and wait. Most importers, including China, are learning the manufacturing techniques needed to produce quality products. And don’t forget the companies like MTD who have their Kingston line built by China. I can assure you that MTD sent reps to China to school them on how to make quality products.

Also, it’s a learning curve much like early Japanese products. The first cars from Japan were pretty rough, but they eventually surpassed US auto makers in quality and we had to play catch-up for many years. That’s what’s happening with a lot of import products, with obvious exceptions.
 
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#53
I’m not gonna knock Guyker or anyone choosing to buy their tuners and other gears. Nor will I wade into the pool of patents and intellectual property.

It’s this simple. I’ve had great experiences with Hipshot and Oscar has always been personable and most helpful.

So I’ll continue support and buy parts from Hipshot.
 
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#54
My only experience with Guyker was a set of guitar knobs I bought a while back. Nothing wrong with them, they were super lightweight and basically looked identical to any Fender barrel knob they put on their P-basses. That being said, I fully support and have bought tuners and X-Tenders from Hipshot that have lasted me 30+ years so far. My only complaint with Hipshot is their prices keep going up and up which is a bit disappointing and getting harder to justify but, that's the world economy for you. Everything is more expensive now and we just have deal with it.
 
#55
Snibborwocky said:
My only complaint with Hipshot is their prices keep going up and up which is a bit disappointing and getting harder to justify but, that's the world economy for you. Everything is more expensive now and we just have deal with it.
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The cost of materials, shipping and labor continue to rise, especially here in the US. Even if everything costs/prices remained where they are right now, it would take about 8-10 years for wages to catch up, which isn’t going to happen.

It’s because of all of this that you see importers offering similar products for considerably less. While I’ve been a Hipshot customer for many years and believe they are the best at what they do, economics are gradually coming into play with every purchase I make. That’s the sad truth.
 
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#56
lowfreqgeek said:
I have no experience with Guyker, but I do have many Hipshot tuners and X-tenders and I know their top-notch quality. Speaking as a patent holder myself, I'm ok with bumming off expired patents, but I expect that if you're going to bum off that IP, you should do it better than the original. You've had 20+ years to figure out where it could be improved, so do it! Once a patent is published, it's out there for the world to evaluate, critique, and improve. So as long as you aren't infringing on an active patent, there's no excuse to put out an inferior product once the patent expires. To do anything less is just grifting.
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Likewise, Hipshot has also had 20+ years to improve their products or modify them to get a new parent. It doesn’t appear that has happened so the door is open for any company to reproduce their tuners / detuners.

How about lightweight tuners? It appears everyone is in the game. Some of these are name brands so who ripped-off who? Even Allparts, who’s an authorized dealer for many major brands, is offering less expensive alternatives.
This is the market we live in today.


Hipshot
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Schaller
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Badass
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Grover
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Wilkinson
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Guyker
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Unknown
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#57
lethargytartare said:
Metal, casting, plating...not rocket science either, but those are where they get their savings, and you don't find out until a tooth shears off. I buy lots of cheap stuff, but let's not pretend every chrome plated part is the same quality because they look the same.
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What we’re dealing with here are Chinese companies that are learning the business. Their failures lead to better products through proper manufacturing procedures and techniques.
If you think not, look at the Dingwall imports and the MTD Kingston line. Both made in China. Yes they are worked on and set-up at Dingwall and MTD but the quality of the builds is every bit as good as any American manufacturer.
The reason they’re less expensive is that everything is controlled by the Chinese government and their labor rate is a fraction of the labor cost here in the US.
 
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#58
Pep said:
Likewise, Hipshot has also had 20+ years to improve their products or modify them to get a new parent. It doesn’t appear that has happened so the door is open for any company to reproduce their tuners / detuners.

How about lightweight tuners? It appears everyone is in the game. Some of these are name brands so who ripped-off who? Even Allparts, who’s an authorized dealer for many major brands, is offering less expensive alternatives.
This is the market we live in today.


Hipshot
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Schaller
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Badass
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Grover
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Wilkinson
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Guyker
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Unknown
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Yuck.

Some of those are not actually lightweight. For instance, I have some of those Wilkinsons. Not only are they not-light, they aren't particularly smooth.

You get what you pay for in most cases.
 
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#59
ctmullins said:
Yuck.

Some of those are not actually lightweight. For instance, I have some of those Winkinsons. Not only are they not-light, they aren't particularly smooth.

You get what you pay for in most cases.
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It’s just an example of what’s going on everywhere no matter what the product may be. The only thing that will change is the quality and it will get better.
I’ve used the Hipshots, Schaller, and Wilkinsons. Zero issues with any of them.
 

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