Vintage reverse tuners... Why God why!

[WillyW]

I realize when Leo invented the precision bass on the 8th day it was a thing of almost perfection...

but why would anyone choose to replicate reverse tuners....

pick a direction and stick with it....

just got done replacing my second set of them.... thank god that is over... although my brain is probably fully rewired, and I will need extensive retraining.

 

[JRA]

i have an ax with reverse tuners...i have to think about it sometimes.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Righty, tighty. Lefty loosey.

 

[WillyW]

“I’m just a few cent off let me tweak this really quick on the fly...... HALF STEP!!!!!!”

 

[king_biscuit]

I like them. Part of the charm...

 

[bikeplate]

I like em

 

[Samatza]

On my Tune basses the tuners are regular but the way the headstock is designed the tuners work in reverse. Eh, I got used to it and now when I switch to the Tune I no longer go the wrong way first. I guess the cue is that the strings go over the top of the post and not under it.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Not worse than his decision to make it hard to access the truss rod.

 

[king_biscuit]

My 1980 4003 has a replacement tuner on the g string which turns opposite of the other tuners.

 

[2112]

Most of my J's and all of my P's have reverse tuners.

 

[Willicious]

I realize when Leo invented the precision bass on the 8th day it was a thing of almost perfection...

but why would anyone choose to replicate reverse tuners....

pick a direction and stick with it....

just got done replacing my second set of them.... thank god that is over... although my brain is probably fully rewired, and I will need extensive retraining.

When spec'ing hardware for his first electric bass, Leo went the pragmatic route, as he usually did: he chose Klusons, which were standard equipment on most acoustic uprights at the time.

That Kluson long stem "reverse gear" tuner dates all the way back to 1925. It would be decades before anyone decided to "reverse" the gearing from the original winding direction.

So, yeah, if you count Klusons as the original design, then everything since is an actual reverse winding machine head.

 

[Pings Bass]

When spec'ing hardware for his first electric bass, Leo went the pragmatic route, as he usually did: he chose Klusons, which were standard equipment on most acoustic uprights at the time.

That Kluson long stem "reverse gear" tuner dates all the way back to 1925. It would be decades before anyone decided to "reverse" the gearing from the original winding direction.

So, yeah, if you count Klusons as the original design, then everything since is an actual reverse winding machine head.

This, exactly. "Reverse" gearing isn't reverse, non-reverse is reverse. Deal.

 

[JMarkD]

Yeah, it's a real brain drain dealing with reverse tuners. I don't know how I cope sometimes.

 

[bolophonic]

Not worse than his decision to make it hard to access the truss rod.

I am 100% pro-headstock access.

 

[mdogs]

I like problems which are actually problems. This...is not.

 

[Eric Swaim]

Leo did pick a direction for the tuners and stayed with the idea for years. He being the inventor gets to pick the direction the tuners go. We being the players are at the mercy of the Creator.

 

[Slater]

I have a bass with vintage reverse tuners, and I find the reverse aspect to be a very minor annoyance.

 

[edencab]

my 3+1 tuners on my Sterling mess me up ..tune up is CCW for all 4 , but the G is upside down so CW from my perspective

 

[CapnSev]

Not worse than his decision to make it hard to access the truss rod.

Ugh. That’s the worst!

 

[kentiki]

There’s a reason why they were changed.