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Thunderbird Club

Spector Sunday!!
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Just to be clear, the 2013 NR tuners are the Grovers.
Both my ‘15 and the ‘13 NR are Grovers and work great.
I think if I were going to replace the tuners on my Thunderbird IV with aftermarket, I'd like to try these:

RATIO 4 String Bass Tuner Y Style Button PRB-4400 | GraphTech

They'll require the tuner-holes to be reamed slightly (the Schallers on my CP did as well), mostly just enough to take the finish off on the inside of the holes, ime.



I really want to get a set for my Pro 5, but they aren't available in a 4+1 set, atm :(
I’d forgotten about those. I may give them a shot at some point on the Goth.
 
I think if I were going to replace the tuners on my Thunderbird IV with aftermarket, I'd like to try these:

RATIO 4 String Bass Tuner Y Style Button PRB-4400 | GraphTech

They'll require the tuner-holes to be reamed slightly (the Schallers on my CP did as well), mostly just enough to take the finish off on the inside of the holes, ime.



I really want to get a set for my Pro 5, but they aren't available in a 4+1 set, atm :(
Ahem! But I’m serious. What is the safest ways to ream the holes?
 
I think if I were going to replace the tuners on my Thunderbird IV with aftermarket, I'd like to try these:

RATIO 4 String Bass Tuner Y Style Button PRB-4400 | GraphTech

They'll require the tuner-holes to be reamed slightly (the Schallers on my CP did as well), mostly just enough to take the finish off on the inside of the holes, ime.



I really want to get a set for my Pro 5, but they aren't available in a 4+1 set, atm :(
Kara - thx for posting those! Never heard of them before but they make a lot of sense and solve my biggest gripe about most good tuners. I wonder how they compare to ultra lights in weight?
 
There’s a similar school of thought in the fly fishing world. If a reel holds line, it’s good enough. But a quality reel with precision drag makes a big difference under a variety of circumstances. YMMV.
I don't fly fish, but would not agree there with that line of thinking. One is constantly being used (reel), and the other (tuners), if just holding tune should not need to be constantly or even used again for a few hours or even days. But I understand the point. If something was more in use, I completely agree with you there. Kind of like cars is suppose. They all roll, just depends on how you want to roll! I want something that looks good (to me), and rides really well. Speed and turning on a dime are cool, but are not important to me. Hauling something would be a higher priority for my wants/needs. What were we talking about again....? :laugh:
 
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Yep, that’s the Eppi tuner!
String is flat, so turn, not quite to tune yet. So turn just a hair more, oops too much! Dang, turn backwards just a hair, nothing, turn more, nothing, turn more, opps too much. Repeat as necessary on each string. For playing at home I can live with it until they break (soon I hope), but with tuners like these I’d be embarrassed to hand the bass to someone else to play. If I were gigging they’d come off in a heartbeat! No time to mess with crap designs like these while on stage.
I don't think I have any that are like that. There is are a couple of the vintage basses that can be a little more challenging, but nothing more recent. But if I had much of what you mentioned, yes, I'd likely consider a change.

I loved my '78 Pbass that was stollen. I added the high mass bridge with micro tuners. Those were great.
 
I don't think I have any that are like that. There is are a couple of the vintage basses that can be a little more challenging, but nothing more recent. But if I had much of what you mentioned, yes, I'd likely consider a change.

I loved my '78 Pbass that was stollen. I added the high mass bridge with micro tuners. Those were great.
I could have probably been more specific. The Eppi VP tuners are just fine, no issues. My complaint is with the run of the mill Eppi IV and Eppi Goth tuners. I’ve played a bunch, and own a few. Every single one of them had crap tuners to varying degrees. Sometimes just one of the four tuners is sloppy, sometimes it’s all four. The issue is entirely too much backlash in the gears (gear mesh gap tolerance is too big). It makes for very imprecise tuners. That said, every single one of the crap tuners still holds tune and does not slip. It’s just the slop and complete lack of precision when adjusting the tuner that I’m not fond of. They work, therefore won’t be replaced until they fail or until I decide to step on stage with them.
 
Thanks. Ouch. It looks like standard size works for 3/8. But for 1/2 you would need to buy the large one. Gotta love StewMac.
LOL - sized that way on purpose no doubt. At two hundred bucks a pop for the set for something that you’ll use once every ten years (unless you build basses) makes it kinda steep. Much cheaper to find someone who has some and have them do it for you or see if you can borrow their tools.
Situations like these are when places like Harbor Freight comes in handy. You can buy a cheap tool that’s perfectly adequate for that once every ten year job. Except in this case you need to be careful using a cheap cutting tool that may be too coarse for fine work and could possibly chip the paint.
 
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