3-on-a-plate tuners - all standard size?

goldtop

I've recently bought a nice little Gretsch Gin Rickey as a sofa guitar. It's fun, except one of the tuners goes slack/tight just at the correct tuning (for G). Looking closely the gearing seems imperfectly aligned. And it goes so tight that it feels that the plastic tuner button's about to break off.

A quick Google shows that the tuners are quite often upgraded, and I've found quite a few, like this one: 

https://www.allparts.uk.com/products/gotoh-35p-450-tuners-for-slot-head-acoustic-guitars-nickel-finish

Ideally, they'd be a drop-in replacement and the dimensions seem right.

So just wondering if anyone knows if these tend to be standardised spacings, etc?

ICBM

Nowadays, the post spacing is fairly standardised at 35mm, but the screw hole positions can still vary a lot.

goldtop

Thanks - it seems to check out, so I've ordered a set. Will check that they all turn smoothly before installing, as I'll bet most come out of the same factory.

Endpin

The tuner set you’ve linked to is for a slotted headstock. Does your guitar not have an ordinary flat paddle headstock?

drofluf

Endpin said:

The tuner set you’ve linked to is for a slotted headstock. Does your guitar not have an ordinary flat paddle headstock?

I think it does but the tuners are mounted in a “block”

https://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/build/acoustic/g9520e-gin-rickey-acousticelectric-with-soundhole-pickup/2705000506

But I agree that the tuners linked in the original post may not fit

goldtop

Apologies - I had bookmarked a couple of options as I was researching, and I just copied one of the links.

If I narrowed it down properly, the appropriate ones are turning up in about an hour!  

(I saw a few owners had upgraded to individual tuners, but didn't think the extra woodwork was worthwhile.)

ICBM

goldtop said:

I saw a few owners had upgraded to individual tuners, but didn't think the extra woodwork was worthwhile.

I’ve never understood why individual tuners are considered such an upgrade - yes, historically 3-on-a-plates were usually cheaper and individuals usually more expensive, but decent quality 3-on-a-plates are actually better, because they remove the full string tension from the mounting screws so there is no possibility of them coming loose - they’re locked in position by the three posts, the screws just hold them against the headstock.

goldtop

Belated update to say that the 3-on-a-plate tuners worked out fine. The Gretch's original set had one worm/gear thing which was either out of alignment or badly made. That was for the G string.

The replacements went straight in and have a slightly nicer and bigger button. 

If anyone has a use for the ones I took off, let me know and I'll post them out.