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Wilkinson turners and geddy, direct fit?

stuntbass77

stuntbass77

Nov 6, 2007
1,806
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#1
I don't want to spend a lot of money on this project bass. I have geddy lee tuners on my warmoth neck that I would like to swap out for black direct fit tuners. The wilkinson tuners look the same but would like to know if anyone has tried them as a direct fit. I don't always believe the spec's I see online so I trust the good people here at talkbass. Also, I don't want to spend a lot and the wilkinson's are only about $50. I may sell this neck someday so I don't want to have to drill holes, which I have done before but won't on this neck.
 
#5
I'm not sure what year the GL bass was that your tuners came off of but the ones on mine were total crap. Mine is a 1998, the first year they made them when it was supposed to just be a limited run if these basses. Anyway, I replaced them with Hipshots (along with a D Tuner for the E string) and I'm set for life.

I don't work for Hipshot or have any stake in their company. I'm just a fan. All 5 of my basses have Hipshots. Quality stuff.

So, IM(not so)HO, just get Hipshots and be done with it.
 
#6
I have hipshot ultralites on one of my basses and they are by for one of the best tuners for the money. I won't ever sell this neck as it was the first neck I did an epoxy job on (lots and lots of labor) so if for no other reason I will keep it for sentimental reasons. I don't play fretless much so I don't mind a heavy tuners or need them to be the absolute best quality (honestly the 70's style tuners on the neck now don't hold tune very well (at least not in two of the tuners). I may just take the plunge and try the wilkinson tuners and send them back if they don't fit, I would hate to have to do that but if no answer here I will just give them a try.
 
#7
stuntbass77 said:
(honestly the 70's style tuners on the neck now don't hold tune very well (at least not in two of the tuners).
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i can pretty much guarantee you that unless those tuners have actual broken gear teeth the tuning problem is not the keys, but some other part of the setup.

as i understand it the MIJ geddys come with gotoh keys, which are actually some of the best you can get.
 
#8
IMG_2694.JPG
I agree that Gotoh tuners are among the best you can by. However, the MIJ Geddy did not come with them. Here's a photo of the original tuners:
 
#9
bassnyc1 said:
I agree that Gotoh tuners are among the best you can by. However, the MIJ Geddy did not come with them. Here's a photo of the original tuners:
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hmm, yeah.

the gotoh vintage keys i'm thinking of have bigger plates that are widest in the middle, made to fit '50s/'60s fenders.

are we sure those aren't also gotohs though, a '70s-style variant? i'm kinda used to seeing gotoh parts on MIJ instruments almost by default.

in any case, no way are those keys the cause of a tuning problem, you'd probably break the headstock before you broke one of them.
 
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#10
They're not Gotoh. I actually wish you were right because then I wouldn't have spent a lot of $$$ buying and having someone install the Hipshots.
Ask anyone who owns/used to own a MIJ Geddy; particularly the early years of production. For some reason, Fender was making an awesome bass all around except they were really being cheap about the tuners. The original tuners on my Squier are better.
Finally, Geddy Lee himself noticed how crap the tuners were when he replaced the original neck on his #1 bass with a neck from a production model in 2007. He claimed that Fender was going to upgrade the tuners. Whether or not that happened, I don't know.
 
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#11
gotoh does make the '70s style, but i see on their website that they have the writing on the main gear, same as on the res-o-lite '50s style keys. that might be a more recent change, though.

FB30-1.jpg
 
#13
stuntbass77 said:
These are the tuners I have! They have a lot of play in two of the tuners and slip easily.
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"play" is alleviated by always tuning up to the note, and it is literally mechanically impossible for worm gears to "slip". that big gear cannot force the worm gear to turn backwards.

any tuning problems are coming from somewhere else.
 
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#14
walterw: what is the problem? Are you one of those people who always has to have the last word in a discussion or argument or are you just trolling?

Have you ever owned a MIJ or CIJ GL jazz bass; particularly from 1998-2007? Have you read any of my previous posts or are you just looking for a fight? Yes, Gotoh makes excellent tuners. I'm a fan as well. However most people who have experience with this model are in agreement that Fender was installing inferior tuners on this particular model. Even Geddy Lee himself thought so! If Gotoh tuners are so great and if they were indeed the ones that Fender was using, would anyone think so badly of them? Just leave it alone.

OP: apologies for this massive derail.
 
#15
Walter fixes instruments for a living. Has done for decades. He doesn't want the last word; he imparts knowledge here for free and helps dispell myths that plague the instrument scene.

What he says is true about these tuners. Every other person here that does this for a living tells the same facts. I love Geddy but sorry, in this case I'd defer to the decades of knowledge from the professional repair persons on this forum.

They're keeping it real.

Your ad hominem derail is the only grab for the last word here because you made it personal with ZERO useful content.

It is an engineering FACT that a spur gear can't make a worm gear reverse if they are tightly meshed together. They lock. This is achieved by keeping the worm turned against the unwinding pressure, in this case the string tension that tries to rotate the spur in reverse. For this fact many important mechanisms use them for safety purposes. Winches use them. Aircraft landing gear and controls use them. Etc.
 
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#16
bassnyc1 said:
walterw: what is the problem? Are you one of those people who always has to have the last word in a discussion or argument or are you just trolling?
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??

didn't know we were arguing about anything.

my point about tuning keys "slipping" is true regardless of key brand.

(and i've seen lots of geddys from all years; nice MIJ basses and never noticed any particular problems with the keys, whoever makes them.)
 
#17
I guess the best way to put would be "if the tuner knob touches anything even ever so gentle the string goes out of tune". The problem is most likes do to the gear ratio and the fact that the two tuners turn with "almost" no pressure and go out of tune easily. I am part of the group of people who feel these tuners "suck". I have had all four out in my had and the two that I have a problem with have posts that wiggle . When I put the bass back in it's case gently and remove it gentle the A and D strings are out of tune (never had this problem with a bass unless it was in a soft case, may just be my luck). I am not going to say "you are wrong" or "he is right" I am only saying "I" experience problems with these two tuners. I have been playing bass for over 20 years and owned that many or more and this has not been common for me unless stored in a soft case.
 
#18
stuntbass77 said:
I guess the best way to put would be "if the tuner knob touches anything even ever so gentle the string goes out of tune". The problem is most likes do to the gear ratio and the fact that the two tuners turn with "almost" no pressure and go out of tune easily.
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not the gear ratio part, but fair enough, if they're so loose that they move too easily from random bumps then yeah, that's not awesome. sometimes that can be fixed by messing with the little flat tensioning spring that sits under the worm gear, taking it out and bending it so it presses more tightly once reinstalled.

i never noticed a "bad era" of geddy bass keys, but i'm not sitting here saying it didn't happen.

my only point of argument is that tuners can't "slip" by themselves from string pull alone.
 
#19
walterw said:
not the gear ratio part, but fair enough, if they're so loose that they move too easily from random bumps then yeah, that's not awesome. sometimes that can be fixed by messing with the little flat tensioning spring that sits under the worm gear, taking it out and bending it so it presses more tightly once reinstalled.

i never noticed a "bad era" of geddy bass keys, but i'm not sitting here saying it didn't happen.

my only point of argument is that tuners can't "slip" by themselves from string pull alone.
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I agree, untouched they can't. I do feel these particular pair of tuners are poorly made or they just slipped through quality control. I'm hoping the black wilkinson version will be tighter and less easy to move. The posted on the above mentioned tuners also move back and forth against the plate when handled off the neck.
 
#20
stuntbass77 said:
The posted on the above mentioned tuners also move back and forth against the plate when handled off the neck.
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tightening the big screw that holds the gear on the post doesn't fix that?

they're supposed to have a little play, the idea is that the gear locks fully against the post without binding up against the plate itself.
 

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