Lightest tuners on the market

[AndyPanda]

Just had gotoh resolites put on my mia standard p. Couldnt be happier

Which Gotoh Res-o-lite did you have installed? They use the name "res-o-lite" on different tuners. The really light one is this GB-350. It weighs 40 grams and this is the one I like

But I wonder, from your description, if you had these res-o-lites put in your Fender since you said you don't have exposed screw holes. These weigh 59.2 grams and are also called res-o-lite:

 

[leavetheconnoli]

Which Gotoh Res-o-lite did you have installed? They use the name "res-o-lite" on several different tuners. The really light one is this GB-350. It weighs 40 grams and this is the one I like
View attachment 2760544
But I wonder, from your description, if you had these res-o-lites put in your Fender since you said you don't have exposed screw holes. These weigh 59.2 grams and are also called res-o-lite:
View attachment 2760545

GB528

 

[MrBassman17]

Another vote for UL Hipshots. I put them on my Jack Casady sig & on my recent Moses neck Jazz parts build and they do the job very well (and help the JC neck dive issues a lot, coupled with a better high mass bridge).

Same here - the Hipshot Ultralites absolutely cured my neck dive on both the JC and EB-3!

 

[Eilif]

Aside from dropping half a pound from my headstock, now my bass is balanced perfectly for me. They are a beautifully made product. Very high quality and look exactly like fender vintage tuners. I looked into hs ultra lights, not crazy about the look and i would also have exposed screw holes to deal with. The resolites are lighter and better in every way.

Very interesting. I somehow missed that Gotoh made reso-lites to vintage specs. Pics?

 

[rojo412]

FWIW, I installed a set of [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] on a local TB'ers Roadworn P and it was a tremendous weight difference and no neck dive after the fact. It was also a direct drop-in, no drilling required.

They are the vintage style, but VERY lightweight. I was truly shocked when I opened it up. And they felt amazing, too. Much better than stock by a longshot.

 

[Eilif]

FWIW, I installed a set of [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] on a local TB'ers Roadworn P and it was a tremendous weight difference and no neck dive after the fact. It was also a direct drop-in, no drilling required.

View attachment 2761211

They are the vintage style, but VERY lightweight. I was truly shocked when I opened it up. And they felt amazing, too. Much better than stock by a longshot.

Where did you get those? Cost?
I've got a MIM P that has ultralights on it, but I might want to swap those to another bass and if the gotohs line up with the old holes that would be amazing!

 

[rojo412]

@Eilif, the guy who had them installed didn't tell me where he got them, but Mojotone sells them, Philadelphia Luthier Tools has them, Allparts has them...
They may not be a direct-drop into a standard MIM, but the holes you'd need would likely just be the little screws, not the bore of the shaft or anything.

And it looks like they range from about $100-150, so not cheap. But they are killer tuners, so you know... if you want to dance, you gotta pay the band.

 

[leavetheconnoli]

@Eilif, the guy who had them installed didn't tell me where he got them, but Mojotone sells them, Philadelphia Luthier Tools has them, Allparts has them...
They may not be a direct-drop into a standard MIM, but the holes you'd need would likely just be the little screws, not the bore of the shaft or anything.

And it looks like they range from about $100-150, so not cheap. But they are killer tuners, so you know... if you want to dance, you gotta pay the band.

That rug really tied the room together, did it not

 

[Clark Westfield]

I put a set of Gotoh 350's on after a Hipshot tuner caused a bit of undesired neck dive.

The Hipshot came with a Gotoh tuner, so I stayed with the brand.

Great descision. I like them a lot, and would use them again.

 

[WouterP]

Ok, so I just my hipshots in the mail. Only now I figure that the pieces that appear to be glued/hammered into the headstock actually need to get out. (The ribs around the sides make me suppose it's hammered in. The spots on the wood inside the headstock - I assume that's glue.)

I was thinking about warming it up with a hair dryer in order to loosen the glue, and then use [the piece of the hipshot that is not the tuner itself (so the little tube, if you wish)] to lightly hammer on, in order to get it out. It jiggles around a bit in the hole, but it do is exactly the same size as the tube that's still in the headstock right now.

Is there a better way to do this?

 

[AndyPanda]

I've never seen those be glued in. But the wood does tend to shrink around them so they can be quite tight sometimes. On older instruments where the wood has really shrunk tight around those sleeves, sometimes the top surface of the headstock will splinter when you hammer out the sleeve. So ideally you would have something round of the correct diameter to support the top of the headstock while you are hammering out the sleeves from behind.

If you have a socket set (like for a ratchet) you may find a socket just the right size to support the wood but have enough room for the sleeve to go through. You may also find a smaller socket just the right size to use as a punch to hammer out the sleeve from behind.

 

[AndyPanda]

Here's what it looks like when it splinters out

 

[WouterP]

Alright! That seems like a very good idea.
So no glue, that's a relief.

I'll take my time looking around for pieces that I can use in order to do it right - will keep you updated!

 

[WouterP]

I was quickly succesfull yesterday - to my own surprise, frankly. I've got a wooden ruler here, with a metal tip, that happened to fit in juuuuuust right. Small enough for the hole, just wide enough to firmly grab the ring from the inside.

I really didn't have anything like the sockets you recommended laying around. So I just tried hitting it lightly whilst resting the headstock on a nice fleshy part of my leg. Best I could do. It's a new instrument, no real shrinking should have been going on already, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Didn't dare hitting it all too hard given your splinter-picture, but it all came loose with rather light hits (never thought I'd use a rubber hammer on my guitar!). All 4 out came out without any splinters. Hooray!

Sure, now I've got that new-on-a-vintage-model thing going on, but I knew that when starting out. Still gotta string them, I took the opportunity to put some oil on the fretboard as well, but all looks well up till here

Thanks a lot AndyPanda!

 

[AndyPanda]

Glad it worked out easily for you! I bet it hangs more comfortably now. I was amazed at the difference the first time I swapped heavy tuners for super light ones.

 

[WouterP]

I only shedded about 160 grams, but I do notice the difference. It's as if now it's built to play, i/o to kill somebody with rough hit on the head. The neck isn't waving around so much anymore.

Letting out 2 tuners to check whether it would help left me with a bass a tiny bit to airy, but these tuners, being slightly heavier than I anticipated, are spot on great

(Now all this beginner needs to do is to learn how to play the goddamn thing. )

 

[Turnaround]

I've never seen those be glued in. But the wood does tend to shrink around them so they can be quite tight sometimes. On older instruments where the wood has really shrunk tight around those sleeves, sometimes the top surface of the headstock will splinter when you hammer out the sleeve. So ideally you would have something round of the correct diameter to support the top of the headstock while you are hammering out the sleeves from behind.

If you have a socket set (like for a ratchet) you may find a socket just the right size to support the wood but have enough room for the sleeve to go through. You may also find a smaller socket just the right size to use as a punch to hammer out the sleeve from behind.

View attachment 2764002

Usually they are press fit, but they can work loose and later the owner glues them in - not a bad solution. But if a decent glue was used, a hair dryer isn't going to be hot enough to loosen the glue bond. If it were hot enough it would make a dangerous hair dryer - what's that I smell?

Since they are pressed in, it's best practice to press them out. You can find a socket from a sock driver set that will fit into the hole and rest on the base of the bushing. Use that to press out the bushing using clamp pressure against the socket. Like this

https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/bassbushings_02-jpg.1662835/

Choose sizes to suit your tuners.

 

[Acmak]

So, lightest tuners on the market. From what i can see it's the Gotoh 350's @±39g or 1.4oz . But those have been around for ages, is there nothing lighter yet? I have a Warwick Thumb NT5 in need of an upgrade

 

[sissy kathy]

So, lightest tuners on the market. From what i can see it's the Gotoh 350's @±39g or 1.4oz . But those have been around for ages, is there nothing lighter yet? I have a Warwick Thumb NT5 in need of an upgrade

There is a tonne of stuff lighter; but they are so undersized you wonder if they will hold up. The lightest PRACTICAL tuners are the Gotoh GB 350 (with plastic buttons), the Hipshot Ultralites, and the various Schaller offerings MB lite, M4S, M4 90 and so forth.

 

[Dadagoboi]

These are new to to me. I have some on order, 41 g (1.7 oz). 1/2 the price of GB350s and they come in small and large post, clover or lollipop, chrome also.

Lightweight Large Post Bass Key| Allparts.com