Double Bass Tuning machines

[Adrian Cho]

What are the best tuning machines right now? I'm looking to upgrade the tuners on my Shen Willow 7/8. I had a set of Gallery Strings Knobel tuners on my last bass and I was very happy with them. Ideally I'd like something that would be an easy upgrade for my luthier.

 

[RCWilliams]

do you want individual tuners of tuners on a plate? and what kind do you currently have? some might require bushing the current peg holes, before we designed our own, we used to use Sloan machines (available through David Gage in NY).

I admit I am prejudice , but having installed both I think ours are easier to install. there are some good european models too, just search the web.

 

[arnoldschnitzer]

Lately I've been using the Sloans. I spoke to David Gage about the weight of those and he told me they can now be ordered with aluminum shafts. It makes a big difference. The shafts are gold anodized so they blend in well. I used to use quite a few of the K.C. tuners but I found too many quality issues to continue.

 

[Adrian Cho]

Thanks Arnold, I was hoping you would chime in. Do you happen to know if upgrading from my current Shen tuners to the Sloans would involve much work (filling in of holes, etc.?) I do like the look of the Sloanes and have heard more goodness about them than anything else. Thanks for the tip on the aluminum shafts.