a_arnold -> RE: Peg Guitars (Pros & Cons) (Apr. 6 2009 15:51:15)
|
People fall into two camps on this issue: Those that had a bad experience the first time they used pegs. Those that didn't. The former are usually quite negative about them. Usually because they were trying a friend's guitar, and there are few things more embarrassing than being allowed to try someone else's precious guitar and having a peg slip to zero tension in an instant. It's noisy and startling. The victim wonders if they have damaged it, is embarrassed, and never wants to experience that again. My first guitar had pegs (at age 10), and I've never gone back. A well-fitted set of pegs is better in ALL regards than machines. Aesthetically, string change speed, weight, and even ease of tuning because you are much more intimately connected to the relation between tension and pitch. And a badly fitted set is an absolute total pain. Big difference. Causes deep divide in opinions. Machines? the functional difference between the very best and the very worst is negligible compared to the huge difference between well-fitted and poorly-fitted pegs. And even the cheapest set of machines is functionally better than poorly fitted pegs. Another big difference. The poor fit comes from using peg wood and neck stock that aren't well seasoned. Both (if inadequately seasoned) shrink in one direction perpendicular to the grain, and both hole and peg become oval, causing sticking and slipping while turning. If only one or the other is oval, you don't notice it, but when both go oval, it is awful. Getting new pegs fitted is an easy job for a luthier. Changing from pegs to machines is easy. Going the other way never looks right afterward. My advice: If you like the guitar, buy it whether the pegs work well or not -- it's an easy fix.
|
|
|
|