Hipshot Detuners For Every Tuning Peg

[Funksquatch1020]

(Hi! This is a question for the great and powerful Michael Manring! Hi Mr. Manring, if you end up being able to read this, I posted this question in another general thread, so I just copied the post and put in here let me know what you think! Thank you for everything you've done for the bass as an instrument, and for inspiring me to explore the instrument as much as I can. And as always, thanks for your time!

P.S, if you're teaching anywhere currently, please let me know!)



Hi everyone! I was posting this thread mainly for questions I had about hipshot detuners. I've been getting really into Michael Manring recently and watching him play has inspired to try to explore some of the aspects of his great playing. Obviously one of the coolest things he does involves his masterful use of using different tunings while he plays by using all the detuners on his bass. Obviously, there are so many aspects into doing what he does, including his technique, hands, and his zon hyperbass, but I know he does have detuners on his headstock and those are available for purchase online.

My question is,

Could I get some resemblance of the hyperbass headstock setup by buying 4 sets of detuners and putting them all on one bass headstock? Does the hyperbass use specific detuners on the headstock? And if so, is there any similar detuner available for purchase somewhere? Maybe if anyone has tried something similar to what I'm trying to do, I'd love to see it . Thanks everyone!!

 

[Michael Manring]

Thanks so much for your kind words, Funksquatch1020!

I have 2 Zon basses that have Hipshot Xtender keys (Bass Xtenders) on each of the 4 strings. As you may know, Xtender keys are designed to be put on only the low string to increase the range of the instrument. Our interest was in exploring a little bit more elaborate dynamic tuning ideas so, way back in 1990, we got two right-handed ones and two left-handed ones to fit on the 2x2 headstock. The Xtenders need a little space to operate, so Joe did a few modifications to make them fit. I think Joe probably has more experience in this mod than anyone else, so your best bet would be to get a Zon designed for this, but there's no reason you couldn't rig up something on your own as long as you make sure you've got enough real estate on the headstock. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[DeathDancer]

@Funksquatch1020 - Like you I was also inspired to use xtenders on other strings thanks to Mr. Manring! I only wound up doing it on my high string to switch between A#/C. I can't recall his name but one of the guys at Hipshot machined a custom bushing and sent it to me for free when I explained that I was using a L/H xtender on the high string of a 6'er. This was prolly 15-20 years ago but if you ask they might be able to do something like that, maybe a upcharge for a whole set. I'm sure it helped that I bought the xtender from them directly. Hope that helps as well. Not great lighting but you can see the bushing mod if you zoom in.