Ultralight Tuners for Fender American Special

[PennyroyalWe]

I recently acquired a Fender American Special, and bought some Hipshot USA ultralight tuners ( and .70 bushings) but they don't seem to size up right. There's a bit of play in the peg hole yet, the tuner key doesn't clear the top of the headstock (can still turn freely), and there's a noticeable size difference on the backside of the tuners. Any suggestions for how to fix that?

I like this bass a lot, but it is a little neck heavy and I'd love to balance that out. I can use the tuners on another bass of these won't work for the AmSpl, but I'd like to think there's got to be something that will work.

 

[Murivan]

Wait, what do you have there? Can you measure the headstock?
EDIT: Sorry but going between metric and imperial is a nightmare.
USA 1/2" tuners should have no compatibility issue with a fender neck. They are meant for a tuner hole of 11/16".
The extra bushings available from hipshot should be for 23/32". You said you have 0.70"? Are they from Hipshot?

 

[Deleted member 407575]

The issues you described are normal. The key length issue bothers me more than it should but Hipshot insists nobody wanted the long key version (that is now discontinued). The bushings in my experience also have play to them despite the stated size. You can widen them with tape.

Gotoh is releasing their version of the ultralite in a few months (the GRL series). Hopefully it fits and looks better than Hipshot's.

 

[bassdude51]

If they will fit, Gotoh's current Res O Lite tuners are about 5 oz lighter that regular tuners.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Wait, what do you have there? Can you measure the headstock?
EDIT: Sorry but going between metric and imperial is a nightmare.
USA 1/2" tuners should have no compatibility issue with a fender neck. They are meant for a tuner hole of 11/16".
The extra bushings available from hipshot should be for 23/32". You said you have 0.70"? Are they from Hipshot?

Yep, bought directly from their website

Adapter Nuts and Bushings

So it turns out that your headstock has odd ball sized string post holes and your tuners don't fit, right? Well, put away your drill bits because we've got you covered! Our adapter bushings and nuts allow our tuning machines and Xtender™ models to fit all the in between sizes so you can quit...

hipshotproducts.com