Ibanez machine-heads, am I unlucky or doing something wrong?

[Killed_by_Death]

This will be the third Ibanez SR for me that has crap for machine-heads:

This is a SR600, so I expected better, but I also expected better from the limited edition H.R. Giger SR eXtreme.

They were fine yesterday, but this morning while setting neck relief it started binding & then SNAP!
The worm gear slides over in the chassis & then binds. Replacing the O-ring would do nothing, as it would just happen again.

Sure, it's only $60 for a new set of GOTOH, but it burns me deep that Ibanez uses these, even on a limited edition model.

For a moment I thought maybe it's me, that I'm turning too fast, but then we've got peg winders specifically for the task.
Do other folks turn these like they're fragile?

Generally I'm happy with Ibanez, but this & their A/C taper blend pots are sticking points for me.
I'm spoiled by the SR Premium with GOTOH machine-heads & Titanium stiffening rods.

That's my other complaint about my latest acquisition, the neck is as flimsy at the pawn-shop SR300E I had over the Summer.
I would chalk it up to "that's just the way thin necks are", but I just had a SR300E from Sam Ash that had a very stiff neck. Too bad it was twisted a little also.

 

[Stumbo]

This will be the third Ibanez SR for me that has crap for machine-heads:

View attachment 3221037

This is a SR600, so I expected better, but I also expected better from the limited edition H.R. Giger SR eXtreme.

They were fine yesterday, but this morning while setting neck relief it started binding & then SNAP!
The worm gear slides over in the chassis & then binds. Replacing the O-ring would do nothing, as it would just happen again.

Sure, it's only $60 for a new set of GOTOH, but it burns me deep that Ibanez uses these, even on a limited edition model.

For a moment I thought maybe it's me, that I'm turning too fast, but then we've got peg winders specifically for the task.
Do other folks turn these like they're fragile?

Generally I'm happy with Ibanez, but this & their A/C taper blend pots are sticking points for me.
I'm spoiled by the SR Premium with GOTOH machine-heads & Titanium stiffening rods.

That's my other complaint about my latest acquisition, the neck is as flimsy at the pawn-shop SR300E I had over the Summer.
I would chalk it up to "that's just the way thin necks are", but I just had a SR300E from Sam Ash that had a very stiff neck. Too bad it was twisted a little also.

Didn't you get the memo that you're part of Ibanez's QC dept.?

 

[MoeTown1986]

I gave Ibanez a shot, twice, in the past. Had a SR645 and then an SR885. Neither really grabbed me. They sound, feel, and build quality were just "meh".

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I'm off to return it. Could barely down-tune to Eb w/o the strings flattening against the board. Anything lower & it's unplayable.
Meanwhile my SR Premium can down-tune to C Standard & remain playable. Yes, I set the neck relief & action the same.

 

[fhm555]

For future reference;
I don’t recall where but i found the white nylon washers that go in Ibanez machine heads back when i was messing with a Jet King. I do remember they were not a lot of dough for a big bag of them. I didn’t really need then for the Jet King so i didn’t buy any. I’ve still got that bass but it’s just not working out so it’s not long for the world under my roof. Sorry yours didn’t work out.
Also, sorry my brain has turned to mush and my CRS has been getting worse of late, but do recall they were easy to find so it was most likely eBay or amazon.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The washer isn't the problem, the thing binds up on every full rotation, causing the washer to snap.

 

[Lesfunk]

You’re not wrong. They are simply garbage tuners

 

[Dan_reeves]

This happened to me - I owned three Ibanez basses at one time, and it happened on a SR and an SRX. Ironically, it never happened on the Mikro I owned, which was the cheapest of the three by far.

 

[Nashrakh]

This hasn't happened to me yet, but I agree, the tuners do appear kind of flimsy. The ones I have are also screwed in with just one screw each. They're doing their job, but I can see trouble in the future.

 

[sissy kathy]

The washer isn't the problem, the thing binds up on every full rotation, causing the washer to snap.

We know what the problem is, just not how to fix it since they are sealed. There's a burr(s) on the diecast worm gear, (it could possiblely be from a misaligned mold) that is causing the shaft to move toward the string side of the gear, binding there. Poor cleanup of the shaft post casting.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Only just now got back from the long drive to return it. I got caught in lunch-hour traffic on the way out & rush-hour traffic on the way back!
I'm sick of this problem. I was livid about them using the craptastic machine-heads on the limited edition H.R. Giger bass, but it seems to be a common failure mode.
Unacceptable!

A company that makes & sells as many instruments as Ibanez should be doing their R&D & know about this failure.
Either they're not noticing or they just don't care & expect the ender users to shell out for a Premium or above or just replace them on their own.

I think I'm finally going to replace the A/C taper blend pot (with a 2nd volume) on my SR Premium & just settle down with that as my ONE bass until the end of my days.

 

[96tbird]

Warwick tuners are bunk too, cast capstans bend. Sealed tuners are bunk. Anything with a cast capstan is bunk. Why would anyone buy a bass with 3/8” cast capstans? Lesson learned.

I passed on a very nice active Ibby, mettalic black with pearl binding, a while back for $100 just cause the tuner capstans were cast and I didn’t want to bother swaping Hipshots in.

Why aren’t any Hipshot tuners sealed? Cause they know it’s bunk. And completely unnecessary to boot.

And people try to say Squier Classic vibe tuners are bunk. Nope. They’re excellent all machined tuners. No cast bunk.

Just ranting. Sorry you almost got duped KBD, almost. BUUUUUNNNNKKKK.

/rant.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Yep. I’ve had tuners on 2 different Ibanez basses or bass necks break and when I got my 6 string Ibby it had 3 gold and 3 black tuners so, I’m guessing, some of those broke to.

 

[bobdabilder]

What's bunk?

Warwick tuners are bunk too, cast capstans bend. Sealed tuners are bunk. Anything with a cast capstan is bunk. Why would anyone buy a bass with 3/8” cast capstans? Lesson learned.

I passed on a very nice active Ibby, mettalic black with pearl binding, a while back for $100 just cause the tuner capstans were cast and I didn’t want to bother swaping Hipshots in.

Why aren’t any Hipshot tuners sealed? Cause they know it’s bunk. And completely unnecessary to boot.

And people try to say Squier Classic vibe tuners are bunk. Nope. They’re excellent all machined tuners. No cast bunk.

Just ranting. Sorry you almost got duped KBD, almost. BUUUUUNNNNKKKK.

/rant.

 

[96tbird]

What's bunk?

Metal made of stale chocolate

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I think bunk = dodgy


originally to mean nonsense, but also can mean rubbish

 

[bobdabilder]

Ahhhhh rubbish.....

I think bunk = dodgy


originally to mean nonsense, but also can mean rubbish

 

[Gilmourisgod]

That’s too bad, in your shoes I’d probably keep the Giger model and upgrade the tuners, but I can understand why that would stick in your craw on a brand new bass. Pots are cheap, good tuners....not so much. The one screw thing doesn’t bother me, all it has to do is resist rotation, but crap is crap when it comes to the gears. I wonder if they’d give you a discount = cost of new tuners? They can’t resell the bass as is, seems easier for the original seller to give a partial refund, free tuners for you.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The bridge on the Giger was wonky, as well as the machine-heads. Neither was a "normal" finish either, so it's gone.
This latest one was not new. I have one I bought new, but it's a Premium with GOTOH.
TBH I don't think it would matter if it were new or not, I'd still destroy a Ibanez machine-head in no time.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

They are simply garbage tuners

Their machine-heads are sub-par.

the tuners do appear kind of flimsy.

The machine-heads can get wonky.

This happened to me - I owned three Ibanez basses at one time, and it happened on a SR and an SRX.

I’ve had tuners on 2 different Ibanez basses or bass necks break and when I got my 6 string Ibby it had 3 gold and 3 black tuners so, I’m guessing, some of those broke to.

Ah well, at least I'm not alone!