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Thread: Golden age Tuners

  1. #1
    Registered User Benjamin T's Avatar
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    Default Golden age Tuners

    I replaced the most likely original Handel tuners on my F4 back in January. I read that there was some break-in time associated with them, so I was just grinning and bearing the time until, the tuners broke-in. Instead they just broke. Yesterday, the first G's gear, just started sloughing off metal shards and then it was rendered useless. I was tuning between sets so the timing was far from perfect. I think I will be replacing these with some waverly tuners and just stop messing around. Any thoughts? Any similar experiences? Any refunds???
    Raphael Ciani Galiano circa 1920
    Gibson F-5G FB 2003
    John D'Angelico 1933
    Vivitone Acoustic #338 circa 1933
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  2. #2
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    I would call Stewmac and see about warranty first. They might just apply the money spent to the Waverly tuners if that's your choice. It doesn't hurt to call either way. They should last longer than 7 months. If you still have the Handel tuners those can help pay for the new tuners as well. People are always looking for them.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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  4. #3
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    The Stewmac site says this on their Returns page:

    "Returns

    100% Guarantee: If any item fails to meet your expectations,
    please return it, unaltered, for a refund or exchange.
    "
    So it seems a return is in order. And go for the Waverly's on that instrument. I replaced the original Schallers with Waverly's on my Lebeda mandolin, and couldn't be happier with them. I admit it was mainly to get ebony buttons, because I wasn't having tuning issues with the Schallers. But the Waverly tuners do have a slightly smoother, more precise-feeling operation. The pricing is extravagant, but then the instrument I put them on is kinda extravagant too. I figured it deserved 'em.

    Just make sure the shaft holes are drilled perfectly perpendicular to the peghead, because they can be fussy about alignment. I also had to use the original Schaller bushings because the ones supplied with Waverly tuners were too small for the countersunk holes. If you're working with a luthier for the installation, this shouldn't be a problem.

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  6. #4
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    peeling off plating seems a clear cut Mfg Defect..

    I found turning new tuners + a little oil while the strings are off does loosen them

    if all 8 pegs did not drop in easily then some mis match in the holes they went into may be a binding source..

    It was severe on a Waverly set I got on a used mandolin.. but Stew Mac took them back & I was not the original buyer..
    they tried repairing them and sent a new set.

    [having fitted a lower cost 'Elite' set that tolerated the mis match better
    I resold the Waverlys]
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  7. #5
    Registered User mandobassman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    I had a set of Golden Age tuners on my Breedlove for a couple of years and they were pretty stiff when I first got them. Two years later they weren't any better. They weren't terrible, but they weren't smooth either. I've read quite a few posts about stiffness problems with Golden Age.

  8. #6
    ************** Caleb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    Golden Age/StewMac needs to go back to the drawing board here. I bought and returned two sets because I wanted black tuners on my Eastman. The tuners (Schallers?) it came with were just much better tuners and the Golden Ages were actually a downgrade, though the black vs pearly buttons looked better to me.

    My Collings MT has Golden Age tuners and they aren't horrible but they're not great either. The thing about tuners is that they need to FEEL like quality in the hand of the player. It's partially a mental thing for me when tuners are buttery smooth vs stiff and needing to be somewhat wrestled with.
    ...

  9. #7

    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    When a builder replaced my faulty custom build (with a far more faulty custom build), he put cheap Golden Age tuners in place of the reasonable (but not perfect) Grovers that were there before. The Golden Age tuners were, in a word, rubbish. I eventually replaced them with superb tuners from Robson in England, with no help from the builder. More than a few lessons learned there, then.

  10. #8
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    We read similar complaints often her but in my experience premature wear of tuners is caused by improper installation in 90 out of 10 cases. Even soft material will take decades to wear (most of the early 20th century tuners were of soft brass and many of them still work).
    I installed several sets of these tuners and they worked great. I also had quite a few mandolins with tuning problems for repairs and the flaw nearly always was misalignment of holes or tight holes or gummy oil or finish in the holes etc. regardless of type of tuners used. After redoing what was wrong and some lubing all worked as it should.
    Adrian

  11. #9
    Mandolin & Mandola maker
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    I got a set of golden age tuners around 2 years ago and was disappointed. Very stiff off the mandolin, but a bit of lube and working them and they were ok, but not great. Yesterday another set arrived and these are fine, not stiff at all and work quite smoothly. Not sure what has happened in 2 years, but if this is typical maybe Stew Mac have solved the stiffness problem.
    Peter Coombe - mandolins, mandolas and guitars
    http://www.petercoombe.com

  12. #10
    Registered User Benjamin T's Avatar
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    Thank you all for the comments. Stew Mac let me know that new pair is on the way, before I could even ask them about sending the defective tuners back to exchange towards an upgrade to Waverlys. Their customer service was fantastic. I look forward to easily tuning in the coming months.
    Raphael Ciani Galiano circa 1920
    Gibson F-5G FB 2003
    John D'Angelico 1933
    Vivitone Acoustic #338 circa 1933
    Gibson F4 1915 Blacktop
    Shutt/ Harmony Viol Mandolin circa 1930

  13. #11

    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    I wonder how many folks who have problems with the Golden Age tuners are installing them with the bushings they come with. I installed a set on an old L-1 and a set on an A2. Both sets are performing nicely, and were buttery smooth right out of the package. I found I had to expand the holes on both instruments to accept the bushings, which I did with a violin peg hole reamer to avoid tearing anything up with a drill bit. The bushings seem to fit very tight around the post and add a great deal of support to the post. I would imagine leaving the older, looser bushings on may cause some issues in the long run...

  14. #12
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    Default Re: Golden age Tuners

    I'm sure they had rhe right bushings on my Clark GBOM and I'm sure Austin would have fitted them correctly. As I've concluded previously, they are inconsistent.

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