How often have you had to replace tuners?

[Cowboy in Latvia]

One time. On an Ibanez SRX. I was replacing the strings and tuning one up to pitch when I heard a slight ping. The string's pitch slipped and no amount of turning would change it. The post had snapped off of the main tuner. No replacement available in the country at the time so I had to wait a few months to get another. That sucked.

 

[Stewie]

a friend of mine borrowed my jazz bass when I was 19. His mother got mad at him for some reason and swung my bass against the wall. It broke the flat part off the G tuner. The replacement Schallers are still nice, 42 years later.
My Made in China Squier CV 50s Precision needed reverse tuners, just because.

 

[fhm555]

I bought a used Dyna Bass from GC and discovered it had a machine head that slipped and i couldn’t get it to stop so i decided to replace it. All i could find was a used set of four and they were gonna cost me almost as much as i paid for the bass, so i returned it.

 

[MVE]

The little tiny washers and on my gotoh tuners wore out. They still work but not smoothly. Ive ordered new washers through their distributor in canada months ago, but no one knows when or if they will ship because of the pandemic and Im not spending $25 to ship $4 worth of washers.

 

[garp]

Once.

Made the rare decision to buy a preowned Yamaha BB 5-string online. When it arrived, it was in amazing shape for its age...except for an incessant rattle on the G tuner (4+1 arrangement). Upon closer inspection, the bass had either fallen off a stand or been whacked against some inanimate object by a previous owner, and the tuner's clover had been bent on the stem. Tried clear nail polish, instant epoxy, rubber band, etc., and couldn't rectify the issue. Contacted Yamaha customer service by e-mail, and the OEM part just happened to still be available for purchase. Done, and done.

 

[JRA]

Had to - never....Wanted to - many times.

 

[Dabndug]

Just once, on a '71 P. The tuners were always seizing up, so a nice set of drop-in Schallers came to the rescue.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Twice? First when I snapped off the screws on the G tuner and this couldn’t reattach the original tuner, and now again to replace them all with a matching set.

 

[Element Zero]

21 year old Ibanez ATK has the original tuners with no issues other than the E string has a tiny bit of vibration to it and has for years. Never bothered me enough to replace it though.

Curious. Why’d you have to replace yours?

 

[Cutter8]

Needed to = 0 times.
Chose to for reasons of weight, aesthetic or desire to upgrade = many times.

 

[jnewmark]

Never.

 

[Ostie]

Never have, but my Jack Casady came with Hipshot tuners, so the PO must have replaced.

 

[eriky4003]

In all my years of owning basses (44), only once on my Yamaha BBG5S.

 

[SteveFromBerlin]

Never ever!

 

[AudioTaper]

I have had the same bass for 15+ yrs, Cirrus USA. Love it, gets the job done.

I have had to replace tuners on it twice. One (D string) 5 yrs ago and another (B string) went out recently. They seem quality in general. Nice finish, great to the touch, nice ratio. Stays in tune better than any instrument I have owned.

Just curious if anyone has noticed similar lifespan on basses they have used a lot.

The Gotoh style on the Cirrus arent the best. Upgrade to actual Gotoh or Hipshot USA and never have to deal with it again. (Unless its dropped or damaged somehow....)

And join us over on the USA Cirrus page
The Official U.S. Peavey Cirrus Club

 

[HardNHeavy]

nope.......except on a cheap hondo bass........one tuner basically crumbled in my hands

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

I've bought my Ibanez BTB400QM heavily used. Two tuners were replaced by previous owner, two others seemed original, but their shafts snapped while I was trying to tune those strings. As a temporary measure I've ordered a set from Aliexpress. These tuners are matte (or satin), i.e. not black and not chrome, so they aren't easy to come by. They are working fine for now. We'll see how long they will last.

 

[DavC]

had to ;

on a bass - never

on very old 50's guitars with disintegrating buttons ... twice

1929 Gibson UB-1 tiny banjo ... once

changed for less weight or better performance ... several times ... on basses and guitars ..!

 

[micguy]

I made a bass from parts - a 66 Fender Jazz neck. I HAD to replace the tuners, because...the neck came without them.

Other than that, I’ve replaced tuners to shave weight, but never due to lack of function.

 

[Pilgrim]

I have had the same bass for 15+ yrs, Cirrus USA. Love it, gets the job done.

I have had to replace tuners on it twice. One (D string) 5 yrs ago and another (B string) went out recently. They seem quality in general. Nice finish, great to the touch, nice ratio. Stays in tune better than any instrument I have owned.

Just curious if anyone has noticed similar lifespan on basses they have used a lot.

Never since 1964 have I ever had to replace a tuner. This covers at least two dozen basses, including 40-year-old Japanese cheapies from Kay, Lyle and other brands. Likewise for the tuners on my 1964 Gibson EB-0 and 1963 Fender Precision.

I always tune UP to pitch, never down, and have never had a problem with tuners slipping or failing.