Are there any cheap mini machine heads?

DartmoorHedgehog

I'm looking for some machine heads for a project with a small headstock (it's actually a 5-string violin).  They need to be 3 a side type (actually 3+2) and small.  I've got mini Grover Rotomatics on a 12-string and they'd be ideal, but I can only find expensive ones (real Grover or Schaller etc).  Does anybody make less expensive equivalents or am I just going to have to pay full whack if I want mini tuners?

Oh, and just to be awkward, they need to be black or gold as well.

steamabacus

I put some 'antique nickel' Wilkinson's on a friends strat copy a while back - under £20 delivered from AxesRus and absolutely fine. AxesRus actually had own brand tuners for less (which looked fine) but were out of stock in the finishes I needed.

You could mix a rh and lh strat set if necessary?

Sporky

The Axetec ones are pretty small, very cheap and work nicely.

Funkfingers

I have a bunch of five old MIWG Schaller Minis. (2 up, 3 down.) These will only ever be of any use to me if I combine them with a Hipshot D-Tuner. The finish is gold, in a condition that could fairly be described as naturally relic'ed.

WezV

You get lots of Chinese sellers on eBay... how cheap do you want to go?

DartmoorHedgehog

Thanks for the replies folks...

I've drawn out the shape and tested with a spare Rotomatic I've got, and they wouldn't fit without making the headstock a fair bit bigger.  Mini Rotos like on my 12-string would fit (but are expensive).  Possibly Kluson-style ones may fit.  Whatever I use, the bodies need to be smaller than normal Rotomatics.

@WezV , that's what I was expecting but I couldn't seem to find any small ones.  I'd be happy with paying £20 or £30 for a set, just don't really want to pay £60+ for Grovers.  Apparently the even cheaper ones are perfectly good, but they all seem to be full-size that I could find.  Perhaps I need to look harder

@Sporky , those Axetec ones look like I could just about squeeze them in - good shout. I've done a quick test with a paper template and I reckon they'd JUST fit if I got 90 degree tag ones.

@Funkfingers , interesting... they're even smaller than the Axetec ones, and if by "up" you mean the top side of the headstock as you're holding a right-handed guitar in playing position then it sounds like that's exactly the five I need. I may get back to you about those, thanks.

DartmoorHedgehog

Quick update on this in case anybody's looking at this later...

@Funkfingers sold me his old Schallers for a good price (not a lot more than the Axetecs), so I'm using those.  They're really small and will be an easy fit in the available space.  If I hadn't been offered these then the Axetec ones are still smaller than most and would have worked - if I'd been buying new then that's what I would have gone for (those mini Schallers are a bit pricey new)