Being a pro stage tech for many years Im always looking to find ways to do things quicker, esier and less expensive.
After several rounds of restringing to dial in the fretwork and setup, I was getting pretty worn out and costing me strings too, as well as mucho frustration trying to reuse the used strings —so I decided to find a long-term solution to make any future work easier.
I picked up two packs of these Grover vintage style tuners. They have slots like the old Fender 50's teles and strats. For the regular strings, they worked perfectly. However, in having no holes to feed the strings through, the octave strings posed a challenge: the existing slots couldn’t be used because the neck obstructed access.
To solve this,instead of attempting the risky task of drilling through the shaft, which could compromise its strength and be just as before with the Klusons.
I used a Dremel with a small diamond bit to deepen the slots. And thus by increasing the slot depth on just one side, I was able to access the string hole easily. Having it on only one side also prevented the string from going through as well as help guide it into the shaft. This approach made stringing much simpler than it was with the original tuners.
Now, the strings can be bent to a slight angle, slipped into the shaft quickly and smoothly. I even used old bent up string when I tested it and it was easy.
The Made-in-Korea Grovers look and perform beautifully—and the 60-year-old Klusons can finally retire to the case, or to resell or trash...where ever!
.Now if I could only figure out how to put the two ball ends in that single hole bridge efficiently I'd be all set.
