Tuning Machines

Hey there guys!

I am brand new to the CBG world and am currently  gathering supplies to build my first Cigar Box. 

My question for you all is;

Do I want to buy guitar tuning machines?

Will others for a banjo or ukulele work?

Does it even matter?

Thanks guys!

~~Sarah

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Replies

  • Tuning  -  as in tuning the guitar?   Try  http://www.proguitartuner.com/guitar-tuner/

    I'm brand new to building CBG's. But like everyone I have an opinion and a story.

    Go with guitar for guitars. Nothing is as annoying as a stripped tuner and you can only be sure to avoid that with a good set of more expensive brand new "Store Bought" ones. I  cannabilized old broken guitars to make my CBG and now I'm having to use a pair of pliers to tune the middle string. Use any cheap tuner that cannot handle the tension and having to use pliers for tuning or worse might happen!

  • If you can find open gear reversible ones then just buy a stack of them. They will cost about $1 each. To turn a right tuner into a left tuner or vice versa , just remove the center screw, flip the button shaft over, and reassemble. You won't have to plan for 3 string, 4 string, in-line or opposite. One tuner will do it all and you can configure your gat however you want. And try get the ones with the bevel that the string wind sits in rather than the "classical" style ones which don't have that. If I can find a link to them I'll put it here.

    That's the ideal for flexibility. But there are heaps of cheap tuners available. Uke tuners won't hold tension. I don't even use them on ukes. If you are a shallow person like me, you'll just choose pretty ones. You'll end up with a bunch of R tuners left over but hey, a gat with 4 in-line tuners all on the bottom side of the headstock would look cool. Hmmm.....

    • Hey,  it works. Fixed a broken tuner by taking the button shaft off a lefty and putting it on a righty!   Thanks!!!

    • Awesome tip Glenn,

      I didn’t realise you could swap them around, I've been using closed machine heads on my builds and I don't like the way that every second one looks like a left handed one (I much prefer the headstock to be a 2L + 1R configuration as you look at it from the top), will have to order myself some of them me thinks.

  • We have used a number tuners, even made them out of I-bolts. It comes down to how YOU want your guitar to look like. They all work, some better than others. It's your first CBG and if you are like us you will keep it forever. Our current fav is chrome 3R/3L tuners from CB Gitty, they hold the tune for a long time. Shane Speal's brand work well too.

    -keep on playing...
  • banjo    and  uke  tuners (machineheads )  will  work,  ..   although   uke tuners  may not  handle  tension  well  .

    old  guitar tuners   will  work   too..  but  wuth age some    skip  .  rattle  ..   or  bind  .

    if you  are building for yourself     fine  ,  use scrap  ..  if you  are  selling the guitar ..  i    would think  about buying  tuners  ..

     

    unless   you actually  meant a  guitar "tuner  "   like an  electronic  tunner   to help  you  tune and set up  your  guitar  "in tune " .  .  ;-)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • hi there.

    probably does not matter at all

    banjo will work for sure, not sure about Uke.

    if you have them, use'em and if they don't work THEN worry about it

    only rule is no rules

    good luck

    Jeff H.

  • You can buy a large variety of tuning machines for a large range of prices. I've used the "economy" tuners from Gitty and had good results so far, but it all depend on what kind of build you are looking at. I've done a couple of canjo builds where I made my own out of bolts and wing nuts. A lot of it depends on how you want to build and what you can afford. I'm on a tight budget being old and retired so that affects my choices so I tend to do a lot of on line comparison shopping before I purchase and have come to find that you can buy the same basic parts for widely different prices. What "matters" is that you are happy with your choices. As the saying goes "there are no rules".

  • That"s a good question Sarah... I've always used guitar tuners they may be a little bigger and stronger than uke or banjo tuners but prob around the same price, You should get plenty of opinions on this one ...

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