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Why Use Anything But Hipshot Ultralites?

#61
Hopkins said:
I only have one issue with Ultralites, and its a fairly substantial one. If using the 1/2" post Ultralites on a headstock with 11/16" holes drilled all the way through with out a step at the bottom of the head stock, the tuner can rock back and forth in the hole along the axis of the single screw that keeps it from rotating. So you have to torque down pretty hard on the 3/4" nut so it will stay in place. The nut is so thin that even when using a proper 6 point socket it can slip easily, and mar the finish on the nut. They could easily fix this issue by offering a tuner with a small shoulder on the casing that will fit snugly in an 11/16" hole.
Click to expand...

I had this problem, and remedied it, after seeing this thread:

Tuner Hole Too Big...Fixed! | TalkBass.com
 
#62
songwriter21 said:
I had this problem, and remedied it, after seeing this thread:

Tuner Hole Too Big...Fixed! | TalkBass.com
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I'm not really into a fix that involves duct tape and bailing wire. Hipshot could easily include, or sell a spacer that acts as a shoulder that slides over the post. I am not saying this is a bad fix, but I don't think someone who just paid $1500 for one of my basses would appreciate it if they took a tuner off and saw a bandaid fix like that.
 
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#64
torqueflite said:
Most probably not. I have used heat shrink tubing as a more elegant solution to this. However if you are a custom builder just drill em the right size.
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I often use premade necks and reshape the headstocks. This saves time and cost, I only build necks if the customer or I want a neck made of a figured wood. I have made aluminum spacers out of .625 x 0.35 wall aluminum tube cut to about 1/8" long. There is about .005" gap between the tuner shaft and the I.D. of the tubing which makes for a good fit on the post, and the 5/8" O.D. fits snugly after finish is applied. I have had to file down the nuts to make them shorter so they don't hit the spacer on necks with thinner headstocks.

These were on licensed by Hipshot tuners, Not Hipshot USA, so the measurements may not be the same.
 
#67
When I find something I like I tend to stick with it. All my recent builds have used Hipshot Ultralights, Babicz bridge, Nordstrand pickups and Audere preamp.

IMG_0564.JPG IMG_0575.JPG
 
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#68
Doner Designs said:
When I find something I like I tend to stick with it. All my recent builds have used Hipshot Ultralights, Babicz bridge, Nordstrand pickups and Audere preamp.
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That's actually very good advice and a nice recipe for success. Although, having had experience with both Audere and East in building custom preamps for me to the exact same outcome spec - I'd go with East. Cost was marginally higher on the East and performance of the two was outstanding but the attention to detail and layout and exceptionally high quality finished assembly of the East far outweighed the Audere on my builds.
 
#70
I like heavy old Fender reverse tuners better than anything but only if a bass comes stock with them, of which I have two.

If I bought a bass with wee cast tuners, ultralight replacements are the ticket. But I would still go with the 1/2" version because E strings wrapped around 3/8" look flimsy to me.

Aesthetic is a major consideration to me when it comes to modifications. So if I'm taking tuners off, if at all possible I'm looking for the same footprint. Fortunately Hipshot products and GOTOH offer drop ins with standard hole patterns AND save weight. If the stock tuners work fine, I'm not usually going to change them just because of a bit of neck dive.

If it was a new build, ultralights might be considered if they fit the look I was after.

Journeyman tradesmen tear the meat off their hands daily; I'm pretty sure I can hold a neck up and readjust the strap placement between songs for a set without being too stressed about it.

Nearly flawless machines though for sure.
 
#71
96tbird said:
If the stock tuners work fine, I'm not usually going to change them just because of a bit of neck dive.
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96tbird said:
I'm pretty sure I can hold a neck up and readjust the strap placement between songs for a set without being too stressed about it.
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yeah, but if you could fix it instead of putting up with it, creating a better-balanced bass, i think it would be worth a little money to do that.

in my case this question was easily answered, because my '96 P had the ridiculously massive boat anchor keys they were using at the time, while the bass itself was a reasonable 9 lb or so; the lightweight schallers i went with made all the difference in the thing just sitting better on the strap, leading to a more relaxed left arm and an overall better gigging experience.
 
#74
mongo2 said:
I've used quite a few sets of Hipshot U/L tuners in the past, but I now prefer Gotoh GB350 Res-O-Lite tuners. Four of the Gotohs weigh about as much as 3 of the Hipshot U/Ls and I find the action of the Gotohs to be smoother.
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My experience as well. I'm finding the hipshot ultra light tuner action gets a little stiff and doesn't feel as precise over time.
 
#78
mongo2 said:
I've used quite a few sets of Hipshot U/L tuners in the past, but I now prefer Gotoh GB350 Res-O-Lite tuners. Four of the Gotohs weigh about as much as 3 of the Hipshot U/Ls and I find the action of the Gotohs to be smoother.
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I found recently that Hipshots won't quite fit in the holes for the A and D strings of my BTB33, because the holes are very close together and because the Hipshots are a bit wider on the back side than the stock Gotoh lookalikes. I'm considering getting a set of the GB350s, but some of the online photos of the "black" Gotohs don't really look black. Can anyone moment on how they look in person?

Thanks.
 
#79
netsmith2001 said:
Icculus - any idea how many grams you saved? I'm wondering if would really notice a difference.
I have a Warwick Corvette and it really likes to dive.
The total weight of the bass is 10 lbs. (4.5 kilos)
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You can get a good idea of what your bass would feel like with Ultralites as follows:
  1. Figure out what size your Warwick has now. 3/8-inch Hipshots are about 40 g; 1/2-inch Hipshots are about 55 g.
  2. Weigh one or more of your stock tuners to determine the mean weight.
  3. Multiply the weight difference for one tuner by however many tuners you have.
  4. Divide that total weight difference by the weight of one of your tuners to see how many stock "tuner-weights" you'd be saving.
  5. Remove that number of tuners from your headstock and assess the balance. (Obviously, you can only remove an integer number of tuners, but that should give you some idea.)
 

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