In the near future I’m going to replace the robot tuners on my Gibson SG (they no longer work) and I have 2 main choices. I can replace them with vintage style tuners that essentially will look the same as the guitar does now (when viewed from the front) or something like Grover locking tuners that have chrome tuning pegs. I don’t really find that the guitar is prone to getting out of tune a lot, and I’m not looking to sell the guitar, so the question is mostly about aesthetics. On that basis, would you keep it original looking or go for chrome? There’s no right or wrong and I’m not promising to go with the majority either, just curious!
eh I’d go classic
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If you want to maintain its value then go for the snot green tulip button tuners, if you’re just interested in functionality get a decent quality locking tuner + also check that your nut slots are correct for the strings you use, slightly tight nut slots = tuning instability, they can stick!
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I think if I go vintage I’ll be going for the yellow tuners (I’d say that’s what mine has already), not such a fan of the snot green ones! I’ll definitely be taking the opportunity to change strings and give the fretboard some TLC but the plan is to keep with the same gauge strings which will hopefully minimise issues. Thanks for the advice
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I prefer the look and feel of the Grovers. I would avoid heavy locking tuners on an SG. This would aggravate the SG’s tendency to “neck-dive”
YMMV
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Watch for alignment pin holes and screw holes to be in the same places on the new tuners you get. I don’t like the look of an unused hole to the side of the tuner.
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It’s a fair point, thanks, although thankfully based on all of the videos I’ve watched on people doing this swap, the robot tuners aren’t actually screwed into the headstock and come off without leaving a mark. Depending on what I replace them with I will have to make 1 or 2 holes per peg to install the new tuners