This tops the Ray Ross Bass Bridge

If they do start making them for bass, you can get both!

 

In essence, it's a Steinberger-esque micrometer tuner relocated from the bridge to the headstock. Wonder how the weight compares to a conventional tuner? For bass, I'd like to see a distilled lightweight version with a string lock-down...no tuner. Could be used in conjunction with any number of bridge tuner assemblies.

Bigger question: will it ever fit in a case or gig bag?

Riis

 

Those raggedy cut string ends will shred your case lining.
Why the different post heights?

 

Yeah, Steinberger beat them to it years ago, and a lot more elegantly.
Steinberger Gearless Tuners | stewmac.com

 

The knurled knob and string clamp are attached to the male threaded post (visible in pic) which is threaded into a female threaded sub-assembly bolted onto the headstock. As you tune, the male post advances backwards. Check the website and look at the slide show...it'll make more sense.

Riis

 

Looks all business from the front..kind of a party going on in the back. If I had to be honest I’d say that headstock hardware is one aspect of a bass I’ve not felt an urgent need to re-evaluate...although there’s cool retainer/string trees that seem to come out now and again...I’d dabble in that if I was having a problem.

 

Dude, rayross does not make tuners...

 

Rather than all this engineered mess, why not just use regular tuners?

 

Can you say neck dive? I don't like the angle the string come out of the tuners either. A solution in search of a problem that makes things worse.

 

For a bass version I could easily see

1) problems with the windings being caught on the edge, leading to tuning issues, and

2) lots of broken strings for those strings that don’t take kindly to being bent at that severe an angle.

 

Yes to #1, ? to #2. The Zon headless string clamp and NSD Radius tuner assembly both require 90 deg bends during installation...I've had both and had problems with neither. OTOH, I would hate to do a 90 degree bend then have to drag it through the headstock while tuning up.

Riis

 

well those solve a problem I've never had.

 

I know there are strings, particularly flats, that warn against through-body stringing because the angle will damage the string. This seems at least as severe as that.

 

The concern about forming a right angle bend on the string is well founded if the bend is located at the full diameter of the string. After all, strings form a right angle bend at the tuner post, but usually that's not at the full string diameter.

 

Welcome to 1995.

 

Those are just lock-downs, correct?

Riis

 

I knew I’d seen this somewhere before. Clearly it revolutionized tuner technology.