Classical tuning heads and strings

stufisher

Bought a little Aria electro-acoustic at the NE Guitar Show last Sunday but one of the tuning heads has broken.

I've decided to buy new ones and new strings so any recommendations for either or both, would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

JonnyBgoode

The two makes of tuners I bought when I was gigging/getting through many classical/flamenco guitars were Gotoh and De Jung. I used to get my Gotohs from Mansons - really nice amber colour tuning pegs on them, and the De Jung ones were from an Ebay dealer. The latter had cool black tuning pegs and a more accurate  gear ratio than bog standard.

My favourite strings were Savarez Cantiga - not cheap post Brexit of course. With strings it helps to know what you have and whether you want to go brighter/darker etc. D'Addario make a good neutral sounding string that is a good reference/starting point.

ICBM

It may be more difficult than you think to get some which are an exact fit - the positions of the screw holes relative to the rollers isn’t standard. It might be easier just to replace the broken key, assuming it’s not a rivetted type. Can you post a photo?

BillDL

I believe @ICBM could very well have one that fits on one of his tote boxes shown here:
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/3519555/#Comment_3519555

stufisher

Thanks for the tip off @ICBM ; ... photos uploaded for reference.

stufisher

Sorry ... forgot the pics 
As you 

stufisher

The wormscrew peg is bent and the end stop has detached so can't be reseated in the recess on the baseplate.

IMO it's feqqed!

ICBM

It *could* be fixed, but it will be tricky. First you need to straighten the keyshaft - you need to support the ends and tap the middle where the loop is, protecting that with something soft - lollipop sticks are ideal. Then you need to refit the loops to the baseplate and re-rivet the pins over. Not the easiest repair but certainly not impossible.

Or you could just replace them - have a look on Amazon etc and see if you can spot some with the same baseplate style and screw positions. Many will have the more common 'hook' type keyshaft retainers where the sides of the plate are bent up, rather than a rivetted loop. These are usually perceived as 'cheaper' or 'lower quality', but in practice they work equally well and have the great advantage that you can change a damaged keyshaft without replacing the whole thing. (If the shaft is bent too badly to be straightened, or broken off.)

stufisher

Thanks @ICBM ; ... as ever, your expertise shines through.

I have decided to take the easy option and replace the whole lot, give the guitar a proper clean/refresh and new strings.

Probably overkill but it'll be better in the long run and hopefully play/sound better. I'll even upload a photo or two when it's sorted out  

Thanks to @JonnyBgoode also.

stufisher

As promised some time ago, a few pics of my ARIA electro-acoustic now that it has been repaired and shown some love.

TBH it has exceeded my expectations and I've been enjoying a little bit of playing time with it every day.

Thanks again @danishbacon for helping me out  

PrecisionGuided

Those look like Gotoh 35G450 Classic Tuners

For Classical Guitars アーカイブ - G-GOTOH

stufisher

Correct.
Acquired from @danishbacon, along with some quality strings.

Another successful project completed  

Littlejonny

There are several options for strings nowadays. Nylon give a soft, thick sound but you can go louder and brighter with carbon strings. I like D’Addario carbons for price to tone ratio. Savarez are a bit brighter but more expensive too. The pro classical players I know use Knobloch, which are the most expensive I’m aware of, but they swear by them. The company Aquila is really experimental and have a great variety of string materials such as nylgut and sugar!

stufisher

Ta muchly @Littlejonny I just don't have that level of knowledge. I was playing the little Aria tonight and it's lovely ... I'll treat it to some top notch strings next time, eventhough I'll never do them justice