Jazz Bass Tuners ?

[Jerri]

I just got a rescue bass
It has some easily cured issues
And has had some mods

including these Wilkinson tuners
Which do work perfectly well but

I thought a set of used MIM tuners would be easy to find but no

so mostly I’m finding new “fender pure vintage 70s “

anyone know if these would fit
Or any fender alternatives

thanks in advance

 

[SteveCS]

Other than the questionable vintage aesthetic of the black finish, is there anything fundamentally wrong with the Wilkinsons? They look the right shape and Trev's stuff has a good reputation - from a pure engineering perspective those machines probably trump the generic MIM tuners, which is long-hand for saying MIM tuners would probably be a downgrade. If you really want an upgrade, maybe look for Schaller 'BMF'.

Edit - Welcome to Talkbass

 

[Jerri]

Hi Steve
Yeah those wilkinsons work perfectly
They do look awful to me tho
And I’m guessing they are the main reason I got it so cheap

the reason I bought it was it looked so good (from the front)

 

[sissy kathy]

Yes, the 'fender pure vintage 70s' tuning machines should fit, along with the Schaller 'Original F Series BMF' which are what was originally fitted to Fender basses.

CAUTION: Sweetwater's price is for a set of four; Schaller's price is for an individual tuning machine. I don't know if there is a difference in quality.

Pure Vintage '70s Bass Tuning Machines (Set of 4) - Sweetwater

Original F-Series BMF

 

[Jerri]

Thanks Kathy
I’m in the UK schallers are £65 fender are £98
They do look the same
I just swapped tuners in a bronco and not keen to go the trial and error route again lol

 

[sissy kathy]

Thanks Kathy
I’m in the UK schallers are £65 fender are £98
They do look the same
I just swapped tuners in a bronco and not keen to go the trial and error route again lol

If you fill out the information page here, your country of residence can be listed; then you'll get recommendations (from me anyway) based on your location.

FYI the Schaller dimensions are listed further down the page so you can compare them with your required measurements. Here they are for you.

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[Jerri]

Thanks for that
I need to take the wilkinsons off and see what’s hiding under them but those measurements invaluable
Think I’ve added a location lol

 

[fhm555]

Regards the MIM bass machine heads, they are the same as those used on Highway one (1?) basses, which are the same used on all other current American made Fenders using that style machine head.
I'm pretty sure I've got a new and used set somewhere. They are both takeoffs, but it might take a minute to find them. I've recently moved and was not very particular about packing stuff up, so I'll have to go through quite a few boxes, but if you are interested I'll see if I can find them this weekend.

 

[iiipopes]

Leave them on. Why spend a bunch of bucks on something that is only cosmetic? Now, if you are getting neck dive and want to switch out for elephant ear Hipshot Ultra Lights, that's one thing. The ones on there will grow on you, just like the black 20" wheels are growing on me on my new (to me) SUV. I wanted the chrome version; not available except used and then at too high a cost. I have black trim, kind of like the black pickguard and other trim on the OP's bass. Leave them on unless they are causing neck dive.

 

[Tim Schnautz]

Hi Steve
Yeah those wilkinsons work perfectly
They do look awful to me tho
And I’m guessing they are the main reason I got it so cheap

the reason I bought it was it looked so good (from the front)View attachment 5334820

Looks ok to me, but I’m easy to please, too!