Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
Hello All, Does anyone here have any comments on Gotoh tuners. I am thinking of trying some on a new build. I have always used Fustero in the past but liked the look of the gold plates with black knobs and rollers.
My two pesetas: Mechanically Gotoh are undoubtedly more accurate than Fustero. Cosmetically they are very attractive, and they too add a “Spanish” flair to the guitar. My only complaint, when I had them on for a short while, is that they are much heavier than Fustero. On a feather-light blanca, Gotoh tuners seem to upset the balance carefully calibrated by the guitar maker, while Fustero is of no such consequence. Yet, I hear many complaints about the latter's approximate tuning. Personally, I love Fustero (without that horrible lyre some of them sport).
I have installed Gotohs as an upgrade on quite a few of my guitars. Specifically the 510, 1600 and 6500 series. They work very well and have excellent craftsmanship along with being a good value.
My only complaint, when I had them on for a short while, is that they are much heavier than Fustero.
Hy jlneng
I totally agree with gj Michelob. I've purchsed a set of gotohs and i had planned to put them on one of my blancas but the weight (150 gramms) brought the guitar out of balance, so i have desided to go for fusteros again.
Thanks GJ, Giorgio, and Armando. After sanding down the spanish cypress back & sides down to 2.5mm and the german spruce top to 2mm, the last thing I want to do is add heavy tuners. I will stick to the Fustero tuners. I have used them on guitars that I have built and many that I own and play, and am happy with them. The only reason I wanted to try the Gotoh tuners was that I liked the look of the black roller & knobs. Am building a blanca for myself based on a 1932 Esteso that I have had the good fortune to borrow and measure, and also play for some time. I am putting my plan for same on Autocad. The Esteso has wooden pegs, but I prefer tuners for esthetics and playability. Thanks for your input!
not trying to be a nay-sayer here but i am a little shocked that a set of gotoh would weigh significantly more than a set of fustero. my doubting half says that i would want to get data from gotoh and fustero on the weight and then make the decision. if gotoh is less expensive and perform better than fustero there would have to be a significant difference to go with fustero. i bet one could get the weight of each brand.
that said, if indeed there is a difference one could always get black buttons and possibly black rollers. as i recall the fustero sets have removable buttons so one could get ebony buttons and put them on the fustero set. i suspect rollers as well but i have seen black buttons for sale at one of the luthier stores.
Hi Keith, As of now, I have been unable to get black rollers by Fustero. If I could obtain same,the point would be moot. Thanks you for your comments. I am going to try to investigate weights of same. I have a set of beautiful fusteros still in the wrapper that can weigh. I will look for some published data on the Gotoh tuners. I pay about 300$US for the Fusteros, the Gotoh tuners that I had in mind were 232$US. That 68$ saved would buy some fun!
I would think that the Gotoh distributor, Domo International, should be able to give you the weight of a particular model. Gotoh has many roller, button combinations available in black.
Not all tuner buttons and rollers are interchangable. For example the buttons from DJ tuners made in Taiwan won't necessarily fit on Gotohs or Fusteros. They will fit on other tuners made by DJ.
Also, regarding weight, All Gotohs not the same weight. Some are lighter than others. I believe the 510 series are heavier than the 1600's.
I called them and asked if there were any difference in weight. While they confirmed Gotoh are slightly heavier, they felt it is not much of difference. I –personally- had both sets and remember distinctively that Gotoh felt significantly heavier than Fustero. I am referring to the Gotoh Classical Premium. I too had a thing for black buttons and rollers –the reason I had chosen Gotoh at the time. I was able to switch rollers for the black which LMI had sent separately. An easy task, if I could complete it.
However, as I said, I felt they added weight to my guitar. Not an issue for Classical, I believe, but a little problem for a light Blanca.
I have a set of Taiwan made tuners –on an old and cheap guitar. They are pretty, with reddish button- and frankly perform quite well, perhaps better than my beloved Fustero. Yet it is the latter set that enjoys the “Spanish authentic look” recognition. Vanities and whims…. really, but fun nonetheless.
Gotoh makes a very light aluminium high end tuner. They are backorder right now, but as soon as I try them, I will let ya all know They have aluminium stringposts which is not touching the wood of the headstock but running in a kind of bearing
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
gj michelob et.al: well this thread goes to show the beauty of such forums--information about products not in our field of vision. i like the idea of wood buttons--they do look nice (not as nice as pegs but i love pegs so i am biased).
i just hope gj michelob does not get pink buttons and then request a cejilla to match....the casper was a challenge enough (a cejilla i made for gj which i ended up using a clear acrylic violin peg)
Some eye candy, a negra I am building, just got the back binding on. German Spruce top, East Indian Rosewood B&S, bloodwood binding and alot of sanding to do....
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
Hi Giorgio, I really like the fusteros, the engraving is done by hand and it shows. They work well enough for me. Thanks for your comment on the guitar. Bloodwood binding is easier to crack than EIR so I try to use alot of glue which results in alot of scraping and sanding. I have not yet made a rosette from scratch YET. I bought some pre-made rosettes from LMI. The one pictured really gets toned down under a finish. There are probably many guitars with these rosettes. After Christmas, I plan on making an original. I found some great free shareware to design same using the computer. The top on this guitar is quite stiff, and very lightly braced. I hope the result works...Am gluing the top binding tonight.
Anders, thanks for the info on the Gotoh tuners. Aluminum is a novel idea and a blanca is a great application for them. I am hearing many great things about the mechanicals in the Gotohs as well. You might find this side note interesting; I played a new Robert Ruck blanca two weeks ago. It is built exactly like the one he made for Gerardo Nunez and included a thin titanium tube reinforcement in the neck. That is what I was told by the owner. Is the lightest guitar I have ever held. I did not get to weigh it though. Ruck said that the tube is lighter than the wood it replaced.See picture of new Ruck.
Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px
Printable Version
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread