Gotoh Tuners

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Gotoh Tuners

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jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

Gotoh Tuners

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.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 10 2009 6:00:58

gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

quote:

any comments on Gotoh tuners

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).

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gj Michelob

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 10 2009 6:47:40

ngiorgio

Posts: 168
Joined: Nov. 1 2005
From: Florida, USA

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to gj Michelob)

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.

Domo International is a distributor.

domointl@gmail.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 10 2009 8:30:46

Armando

Posts: 302
Joined: May 27 2005
From: Zürich, Switzerland

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

quote:

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.

regards

Armando

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 10 2009 11:36:35

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 12 2009 14:20:23

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 12 2009 14:29:39

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 12 2009 16:14:28

ngiorgio

Posts: 168
Joined: Nov. 1 2005
From: Florida, USA

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

jlneng,

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.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 12 2009 16:55:14

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

thanks very much for the information, I will check it out!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 12 2009 18:54:24

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

jineng--go to ebay and type in classical guitar tuner buttons and you find tuner buttons in ebony and rosewood--the price seems reasonable.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 13 2009 9:41:26

ngiorgio

Posts: 168
Joined: Nov. 1 2005
From: Florida, USA

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to keith)

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.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 13 2009 10:04:12

gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

Here is one of my favorite resources for luthier’s supplies, Luthiers Mercantile International:

http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/Secondproducthead.asp?CategoryName=Tuning+Machines

Fusteros are about $100 more than Gotoh,

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.

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gj Michelob

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 13 2009 12:01:15

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 13 2009 12:51:34

Stephen Eden

Posts: 914
Joined: Apr. 12 2008
From: UK

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

Those are nice tuners. I've used them at Stephen Hill's on his harp guitar. Plus that year a few students from the course used them.

They have a good solid feel to the mechanism. A similar feel to Alessi.

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Classical and Flamenco Guitars www.EdenGuitars.co.uk

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 13 2009 23:58:03

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 14 2009 6:35:15

mrMagenta

Posts: 942
Joined: Oct. 25 2006
From: Sweden

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

All business, no engraving. Those gotohs look serious. Perhaps a bit too serious

They're available, but with the black mop knobs.. Very edgy look.

There's another one in aluminium too, with a more traditional look. Have you tried that one Anders? Gotoh 35AR-510AM-EN-XG/B

http://www.madinter.com/b2c/index.php?page=pp_producto.php&md=0&ref=ACG35AR510AMENXGB

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 14 2009 8:25:33

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

Thanks for all of the input. See attached pic. I thought black rollers would look really good on these....

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 14 2009 19:39:31

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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....

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 14 2009 19:41:45

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

Top of same..

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 14 2009 19:43:27

ngiorgio

Posts: 168
Joined: Nov. 1 2005
From: Florida, USA

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

Good looking Fusteros.

Nice work on the guitar. Did you make the rosette?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 15 2009 6:49:20

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 15 2009 13:54:10

jlneng

Posts: 118
Joined: Jun. 28 2009

RE: Gotoh Tuners (in reply to jlneng)

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.