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I am considering installing Wilkinson tuners on my 12-string project. Has anyone had any experience with this brand of tuner? The price is tolerable. Please don't tell me how nice Gotoh tuners are. I concur, but my banker balks.

Thanks.

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Peter Havriluk

In my experience, Trev Wilkinson's stuff is good - pickups, vibratos, tuners, you name it.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I have used the odd parts for a tremolo set up and a set of tuners for a recent build. All are excellent, and very good value. I can't understand why they are not more popular. Mike.

I've used Wilkinson open backed and individual tuners, fine. Can't say about longevity.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Well, I'll soon see. Ordered the tuners today.

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Peter Havriluk

I just looked them up-they average around $30. a set!

I am curious as to the quality..

Well, the proof is in the pudding. It'll be some months before they get a functionality test, but I can inspect for smoothness and general lumpiness when they arrive. I got spoiled on a prior 12-string project, I bought Tacoma minis from someone who had literally buckets of unused Tacoma-branded tuners. They sure work nice.

I do need to manage costs on my projects. Still learning, and upscale stuff (wood, tuners) sure is nice but I can also spend multiples of what usable stuff costs and my results would sound and perform no better.

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Peter Havriluk

I’ve used them on a few (the open backs). I would say they are the best of the Chinese no name, on par with some Grover’s.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Wilkinson IS a name last time I checked.
You owe Trevor Wilkinson an apology. Do a search sometime. He's a guitar hardware legend.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I didn’t say he was “no name”. Read more carefully sometime. And you can start with the apologies. I don’t need etiquette lessons from you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

My reading comprehension is on point.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Apparently not, as we are all awaiting a post that is actually relevant to the OP.

Do you have a comment on the tuners? Can you tell us about the factory in China where production is outsourced? Can you tell us what other brands are produced at that factory, or even if Wilkinson tuners are outsourced to multiple factories?

Or is it just your feelings were hurt because Trevor Wilkinson’s tuners were compared to no name Chinese tuners? If so, this probably isn’t the right thread for talking your feelings out about how mean the world can be. Perhaps you could come up with a meme to send a niece on Facebook? I understand that’s quite popular. Here we try to discuss the making of guitars, tools, and supplies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

https://www.projectguitar.com/product_r ... review-r5/
Hi Peter,
Above is a link to a long term review of a particular model of Wilkinson tuner. Because of the price point I am also interested in finding out more about these tuning machines. From appearances they appear to be about as good as many of the stock tuners supplied with the typical name brand instruments - which is good enough for many of the things I build. But again, I don't have any experience using them.

Clay, we're singing in the same choir. And thanks for that link. The Wilkinsons were branded, and priced right. And sold in bulk, so I think I won't be getting any packaging and data sheets. But a few cents shy of fifty bucks, state taxes and shipping from New Hampshire included. And configured with mini buttons, a feature I wanted so they'd fit on a 12-string headstock. There is a blank spot in my experience: I have limited experience, with exactly one factory guitar, a GS Mini, and a branded set of Taylor tuners and the Tacomas I mentioned at the top. Everything else has been unbranded stuff off EBAY.

When they show up, we'll see what I get.

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Peter Havriluk

I got a set for my Ibanez bass .

They are great!
mike

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Mike Collins

The Wilkinson stuff was pretty consistently good when we saw it come in on instruments or when customers specified use for replacements on lower-end imports. No, not Mastery or the like, but a well-curated collection of consistently good gear. The reason to go with a recognizable brand like Wilkinson over what are essentially identical, lower-priced items on eBay, etc. is not that there is any real difference beyond the stickum label on the back of something like a tuner, but instead the expectation that the ostensible brand/manufacturer will replace it 5 years on when something stops working.

Re: earlier... as I tried to teach my daughters, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. The problem is that it is nearly impossible to determine in an online context what is definitively shown and what is merely affectation presented as persona or due to exogenous factors (i.e., the moon cycle, which we are now informed is not just for the half of the population capable of human gestation). My experience with the web-taciturn and electronically-obdurant is that they are very nearly always anything but when compelled to physically occupy the same space as their erstwhile nemesis.

So you guys don't fool me at all... I see a huge hug-fest and perhaps a bit of bromance in your shared futures. I want a Hallmark Moment here with video documentation... who else is feeling it?

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Moving right along...my noodling around about Wilkinson tuners scared up enough of a conclusion that they're one brand in the Jin Ho product line. I got a start when I searched for tuners with the Jin Ho brand, and up pops a offer by Jin Ho picturing Grover tuners, which I knew had been sent offshore for manufacture and were stablemates of Ping brand tuners.

I can't tell the players without a program. It looks like the Jin Ho, Wilkinson, Ping, and Grover brands are all produced by Jin Ho. Does anyone know if the relationship is more than skin deep? Or what the hardware relationship(s) is (are) among them?

Thanks!

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Peter Havriluk

I seem to remember there's been a thread about Wilkinson having like two levels of quality, depending on where it’s manufactured, by whom and "under licence" or something like that. Quality seems to vary within the brand, and Wilkinson is not very helping in clearing up matters. I've done a bit of searching in the past to help make my mind up, but couldn't get a clear picture about what's great and what's not-so-great about the products bearing this name. So I gave up. I feel like I'm taking chances every time I'm ordering something Wilkinson.

Does anybody knows the full story and can someone give us a clear picture about this? I see they now have their own website but AFAIK it's quite recent. https://wilkinsondirect.com/


Pierre
Guitares Torvisse

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Pierre Castonguay

I have a half dozen sets of Ping tuners I bought for dirt cheap some years back at a music store. Haven't used any yet, but they seem decent for lower end builds.

They are fine. As Darrel said, unless your builds are commanding high dollar prices, they are fine. We're only talking $50+- more for Gotoh or which ever. They are on par with Grover. I use them, for the most part, tuners usually don't make or break the guitar unless they slip, they are fine to save a few bucks. More expensive tuners are a selling point though. I've never bought a guitar thinking wow, those are only mid range tuners, guitar must sound bad.

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Just a box with strings https://www.facebook.com/wadesguitarshoporcas

I concur with the original poster's rationale for budget (as opposed to low quality) tuners, but for those building or repairing for customers, it's worth considering the cost difference in providing that customer with the option for speedy replacement.

Where tuners are purchased may matter in terms of eventual repair/replace. Purchase a set of expensive Schallers from the average eBay seller and you will still get the lifetime warranty... but it will take six weeks to exchange the tuners, and you will be shipping the tuners back at something like $15-$20 out of pocket for shipping and insurance. Purchase that set or any other tuning machines sold by StewMac and you'll have replacements in hand within 3-4 days, and may or may not be sending the defective tuners back on a return authorization.

Based on my experience and others in the shop where I worked for a while, Stewmac does not have a time limit on replacement of defective products, so that stands in contract to Amazon, which has a generous replacement or return policy, but is strictly time limited... after that, it is a manufacturer warranty and return policy issue.

Looking at the cost of this level of post-sales support, two sets of the Wilkinson mini ovals in chrome run about $58 from Amazon, while two sets of Grover Minis from Stewmac will run $120 (at retail), so just a bit more than double the cost of the Wilkinsons for some improved level of service over time. For a builder working at or below minimum wage to build their way out of journeyman status, that cost difference and hit on total material costs is significant. As the gentlemen I worked with at Greenridge noted, tuner costs may run 30% or more of wholesale materials BOM, and may be the most expensive single item on that BOM, so smart choices apply where budgets are limited. It may be cheaper over time to use a few core tuner configurations and just pick up a few extra sets in case of need to replace a machine or two.

We frequently doubled up on tuner orders and as a consequence of that policy had a fair number of sets available for urgent replacement or while-you-wait upgrades. But uncommitted inventory is as much an opportunity cost as it is a potential goodwill building expense for a shop just starting out, so not necessarily wise or even financially tolerable. Even now, I find myself 'leveraging' my former shop's stock... but in fairness to the gentlemen, I pay with lemon bars and my sparkling company, so in my opinion, a very fair exchange.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Used the black open back Wilkonsons on my last three builds without any problem. Used them on the first guitar I made for my son ten years ago which is played every day and they are still fine.

My god I love lemon bars! I'm probably fortunate that I live in a different country or else I'd have no tuning machines left!

I've used Wilkinson tuners and a couple bridges on electric guitars. They have all been very good.

There are also Wilkinson/Gotoh parts made that are a lot more expensive. On my first order, I got a Wilkinson as well as a Wilkinson/Gotoh bridge and sent the much more expensive W/Gotoh back, not seeing any quality difference.

Too bad about that pesky international border thing...

CA Customs Person: Do you have currency, other medium of exchange in excess of CA$10K, or anything to sell or trade which you are bringing into the country? Say... these scrumptious looking LEMON BARS???

Me: Those sweet treats? I have never seen that container of deliciousness before in my life, officer!

CA Customs Person: (Motioning to the nearby heavily armed but very tubby Customs tactical team): Got another one, guys...

But seriously, the gentlemen threatened to have a t-shirt made for me: "Will bake for guitars parts." I debated a snippy response, but instead opted to 'borrow' back my #5-1/4, which I know to be Mr. Morelli's current favorite in the Greenridge handplane lineup (yes... I know... I still have their LN 62, but it is quite safe and so very happy camping out in my little shop). I did leave him one solitary lemon bar to soften the blow, with Mr. Stock getting the rest of the Tupperware container, which I stashed well clear of Mr. Morelli's roaming of the shop fridge in search of his late afternoon snack.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan