Gibson plastic tuners

tbc

They're all really ugly, and if you have a guitar with them on, you should swap them out for metal ones which match the rest of your hardware. 

Discuss. 

Funkfingers

Depends on the exact model.

Consideration #1 - metal key buttons usually weigh more than plastic or wooden ones.
Consideration #2 - on some models, anything other than the Kluson keystone looks wrong.
Consideration #3 - on Juniors and Specials, anything other than the small off-white buttons looks wrong.
Consideration #4 - on some vintage pieces, the hardware finishing never matched to begin with. 

stickyfiddle

Kluson types ftw. Just not the snot green plastic ones they use on standard-range Gibsons.

tbc

#1 - that's interesting - I suppose over 6 key buttons the difference probably is noticeable

#2 - I would counter that "wrong" is subjective and that the getting rid of the nasty beige-green trumps "period correctness"

#3 - as above 

#4 - put black key buttons on then

I am not completely serious about any of the points I've made, but I do genuinely think the Kluson Keystone tuners are really ugly, and I can't imagine there's a guitar that wouldn't look better without them.

Am I the odd one out here?

Keefy

Both my Gibsons have Klusons with snot-green pegs. They look fine on my sunburst 58 RI LP Standard, but my black CS336 really deserves cream. However I am not bothered enough to spring for a new set.

historyisjunk

With the OP pretty much 100%. Grover's, preferably milk bottle, with kidney bean buttons for preference.

Or, Kluson's with the small oval metal buttons. I'm not particularly serious about it either. I have some affection for Kluson stuff (the open gear bass machines, their Tele replacement bridge is class too.) It's just taste, like lot's of things...

Neil

Disagree OP.

I've got a Standard and Junior and I really like the iconic look of the keystones and round plastic tuners.

It just looks right.

zepp76

Neil said:

Disagree OP.

I've got a Standard and Junior and I really like the iconic look of the keystones and round plastic tuners.

It just looks right.

This^ to me they look just right, but really it's down to functionality and they work just fine for me.

Sassafras

Do people focus on the tuner buttons?

Henrytwang

To be honest I had to sit down and think about which of my Gibson guitars have plastic tuners so I guess that it doesn’t mean that much to me. Looking at a few of them I’m sort of confused as there is little correlation between prices and tuner buttons, for instance  my dead cheap Melody Makers and expensive J50 have plastic buttons and my SG Tribute and Les Paul Standard have metal Grovers .

ICBM

The problem I have with them isn’t the look of the buttons, it’s that the modern versions of them, with the threaded front collars and main parts made from cast alloy - made by Schaller or Grover, including under different brand names - are simply poor tuners.

They’re only held together by soft alloy rivets and easily become sloppy or fall apart completely, particularly if they get knocked. I’ve long since lost count of how many I’ve replaced - I always keep a few spares, which is not too difficult since they can’t be bought individually so I often end up breaking up a set, or replacing all six and buying back the other five from the customer.

And because they use a 10mm headstock hole and have a larger front washer, if you want to fit the far superior original folded-steel Kluson design, you need to use ‘conversion bushings’ which don’t fully cover the old marks and look a bit of a bodge.

Bigsby

tbc said:

They're all really ugly, and if you have a guitar with them on, you should swap them out for metal ones which match the rest of your hardware. 

Discuss. 

IMO, You're right. Nothing to discuss.

FWIW, only one of my Gibsons has ugly plastic tuning pegs - and they're on a G-Force tuner, which makes them even dafter looking.

ICBM

Bigsby said:

FWIW, only one of my Gibsons has ugly plastic tuning pegs - and they're on a G-Force tuner, which makes them even dafter looking.

And gives you two reasons to get rid of them .