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Hello Luthiers,
I have a contemporary A-style mandolin, which I bought used. The original tuners are Grover 409's. They work well, but they look really cheesy on my beautifully built $5K+ instrument. Normally I'm a workhorse guy, not a showhorse guy. But Stew-Mac is having a 15% sale and free shipping, and I'm tempted. Still...$465 delivered? Have mercy!
Mae West said, "I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it."
What would you do?
Fair winds,
lostsailor
If you think you will keep the mandolin "forever" I'd go for it. You want to feel good when you play it, right, not cheesy? :)
I resisted the temptation for years. Folks will tell you how there's no reason to buy them and there might not be but when I finally bought two sets someone here posted a statement on my thread that said "The heart wants what the heart wants." I don't regret buying mine.
It's not an either or, binary choice - Waverly or cheesy. I put a set of Rubners on my F5 (years ago when you could still get them). I also put Schaller Grand Tunes on my Eastman mandocello. None of these were close to Waverly prices.
Sonny Morris uses Gotoh tuning machines and they work quite nicely on my hybrid F4 he built for me. Plus you can swap buttons around for a different/better look. The mother-of-toilet-seat pearloid buttons weren't working for me so I replaced them with ebony.
I would save a couple of hundred bucks and get a set of Rubners...
https://www.rubnertuners.com/hauser-...lin%20Machines
NFI
I have a set on my Huss & Dalton guitar and one on my Campanella mandolin. They are very nice tuners but I would consider Rubners or other quality ones if they fit. I wonder why the Waverly mandolin tuners are so much more expensive than the guitar ones. Yes, there are two extra tuners but the price is well over twice the similar guitar tuners. Anyone have a clue?
Thanks to all who replied! Yes, I know Rubner tuners are well worth considering, and certainly less costly than Waverlies. Food for thought.
As long as the Grovers are working well, I'm in the replace the buttons on the Grovers camp.
Good luck finding tuner buttons for Grovers. There lots or Grovers out there yet replacement tuner buttons seem to be hard to come by. If anyone know of a good source I would appreciate knowing. I would prefer ebony but open to other options.
As a frield of mine always said “If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing to excess!”
Nicolo Alessi....
"Resistance is futile."
I agree that the Grovers are ugly tuners, but just a day or so ago I was removing a set of Waverlys from a mandolin and was reminded that I don't like the looks of them either! Especially at the price.
I agree with those who have recommended Rubners, or Alessi if you can get them. Either brand offers much more style and attractive detail at a lower price.
My favorite mandolin tuners of all time were Gilchrist's "reworked" Gotoh tuners that he used for many, many years on all his mandolins. They always worked effortlessly and perfectly.
Perhaps Gilchrist and Northfield should team up and create something we all really need, which is an affordable, dependable set of tuners. The new Gil/Northfield tailpiece is nice, but there was nothing wrong with the Northfield/James tailpiece. Tuners! Tuners!
Interesting, I’ve always thought that mandolins, for the most part are beautiful instruments. Someone even complimented me on my Rogue-clone the other day.
But then the metalwork stuck onto the poor mandolin. Like what happened to you, little guy?!
I found ebony tuner buttons for Grover mini rotomatics that fit my mandolin tuning machines perfectly. Of course now it shows "out of stock." According to an email I got from them all their buttons are interchangeable. I did a quick Google search and there lots apparently available on ebay, Reverb, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Northwest Steve
If you get Rubners, get the RMp tuners. There is nothing better or even close at the price IMHO.
Here’s a vote for “Don’t expect too much with Waverly tuners on your mandolin.” It’s just my personal experience, but it is one real world data point.
I have Waverly tuners on two Martin guitars and the tuners are SO wonderful smooth, so when I bought a Kimble mandolin with Waverly tuners, my expectation were high. I was surprised and disappointed that the Waverly tuners on the Kimble were NOT that much better than the Grover 309 tuners on my Eastman MD315! I have Rubner tuners on another mandolin and I think they are a bit better than the Waverly tuners (but even the Rubners aren’t anywhere near as smooth as the Waverly tuners on my guitars. I wonder if the difference is the inline construction of mandolin tuners - four tuners all tied together on one plate. The guitar tuners are standalone, so no issue with tolerances.)
Thanks all, your generous input is most appreciated. I've decided that I WILL resist the Waverlies, and if I make a swap at some point, I'll probably go with Rubners.
A Footnote: I'm old, and I can't say "Waverly" without being transported to New York City, 1967, Sixth Avenue & West Third Street, and this song: "I met a boy called Frank Mills on September twelfth right here in front of the Waverly but unfortunately I lost his address."
I really like my Waverly tuners, but they came on the 4th Gen. I'm not however planning to upgrade my F5S from the Gotohs. There is a noticeable difference, but I'm not sure I'd be happy with the difference versus the cost.
Hmm. I have been disappointed with the tuners on my 4th Gen. I was expecting much from the mystical Waverlys, but they seem uneven and not-that-precise. A couple are notably stiffer than the others. I brought it up when the mando was back at the NF shop for some work, but was told that mine are normal.
Jim - The excuse i've heard for the high Waverly price is the base is one solid piece of machined metal...still doesn't justify the coin.
A set of the pretty Rubners came from a fellow cafe member and they suit me well enough on the Stanley. There are 4 Waverly tuners on the house O18T tuned octave, and i've found them to be a superior guitar tuner, but not all that inspirational. One nice thing about these Waverly is that Stew-Mac will sell them individually and i could buy just 4.
Did you see this, or are you a mind reader? Looks like the 4th Gen actually comes with these now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Glassweb
https://www.northfieldinstruments.com/gotohdeluxetuners
I've replaced tuning machines on several instruments. I've used Schaller, Rubner, Waverly, Golden Age, and Grover. 4 on a plate and individual machines.
The best, smoothest tuning machines I've used are Grover rotomatics - both the mini's and the good old milk bottles. I put some on my 10 string F4 style mandocello, with an F-style headstock. I love them.