Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Working my way up the list on my 480! I've gotten alot of great advice from alot of great people here and have been slowly but surely progressing with my "mini restoration".

So there are 3 tuning keys on my 480 that appear to be bent. You wouldn't notice it from a picture but it's obvious as soon as you try turning one. It looks like it was probably dropped or banged up against something on more than one occasion. One has a very obviously bent shaft, and the others sort of 'wobble' as you turn them. Like you'll be turning it smoothly a half rotation, and then suddely get more friction on trying to turn it and it gets a bit harder, then softens up when you pass that spot. If that makes any sense. I called a local guy who runs a guitar store and he said I should just replace the whole set and that it was common to do so, but A) that's no fun, and B) the keys and tuning heads have all aged very nicely and match the rest of the hardware on the guitar.

So I took the tuners out to do a basic visual inspection(and found a bunch of woodchips waiting for me underneath all the covers...weird) and I noticed that the little piece of metal which covers the gears, is held on by a couple metal tabs that are bent over the frame. Can I bend this back to take off the cover without them snapping? And how would I go about fixing my little issue? Any general maintence tips while I have them open?

Oh, right. They're Kluson 'Deluxe' tuners from an 80's guitar. Here's a pic.

If it's only the shaft to the keywind button that's bent, then the resistance is from the shaft contacting the cover as you turn the key (likely). If the threaded section of the schaft inside the cover is bent (less likely) then that is more problematic, and the resistance is coming from the threads on the shaft being out of line with the threads on the base. Either way the tuners need to come off the guitar to be straightened. It is most likely fixable in either case. I can't remember how to take the cover off, et cetera, at this point, though I remember repairing one of the tuners on my 381/12 that this happened to. You'll likely have to adjust the tabs, et cetera after everything's straightened out, because the shaft binding against the cover or threaded base has worked the parts loose from their original position. IRC, the tabs on the various parts can be adjusted to put them back in place. Someone with more experience should be able to give you a more detailed, step by step procedure.

klusons can be fixed but with those little tabs on housing it is about 50-50 that they'll break off....there is very good modern replacement made by tone pros - pickguardian is selling them, it is exact retrofit with better quality tuners...if you use that 480 a lot you'll be happy with replacement ...+ it is invisible change...