Official Luthiers Forum!

Something I'm not aware of ever having seen...enclosed tuners whose shells are not metal castings but made from composite (carbon fiber/fiberglass/adhesive) materials. Idea being that the housings could be made with metal bushings for wear areas and the rest can be lightweight non-metallic material.

There seems to be many comments about Grover tuners, for example, working well but burdened by being heavy.

What if the enclosed tuners weren't heavy?

I apologize in advance if I'm asking about something already in the marketplace. If that's so, can someone please point me towards it/them?

Thanks very much.

_________________
Peter Havriluk

This is the only maker I know of: http://heart-sound.com/en/products/guitar-tuning-machines/

Not very nice to look at, but neither are Gotoh Stealths, and that's the only other option for steel strings below 100 grams per set. It would be great if someone could make housings with a more sleek design like Gotoh 510, and polished to a nice gloss.

Thanks for the link. Nice weight, nice low gearing. I dunno about direct sale from Italy, at a price that is a mite bit character-building. Long way to go for advice. I hope that the manufacturer can see their way to getting the product into the US distribution process.

Has anyone reviewed and criticized these (not negatively, comprehensively inspected)?

_________________
Peter Havriluk

If I recall correctly, I fitted a set of plastic bodied enclosed schaller tuners to an Aria acoustic guitar around 1972 to replace the useless originals.
I don't think I have seen a set since.