Help choose Waverly tuner color

JakeStone · #1 08-02-2015, 01:27 PM

Sunday afternoon question here.. Gonna place order tomo.

I decided to upgrade the original tuners on my OM-21 Special to Waverly.. My OM currently has the Martin label (Gotoh I believe) and are a pewter finish and frankly I do not mind the look. I guess the dull metal makes it more "vintage looking".

So which ones look better to you all ... Nickel or Relic Nickel?

Here is my guitar with orig tuners:

Nickel Waverly

Relic Nickel Waverly

goufousdoufous · #2 08-02-2015, 01:32 PM

I vote for Relic

rmyAddison · #3 08-02-2015, 01:32 PM

They're more expensive but beautiful, done it with two of my Martins.... Snakewood with gold (also come silver/chrome).

Very nice classy look on Martins IMHO........my .02

sahill · #4 08-02-2015, 01:32 PM

Definitely nickle relic! By a large margin. By the way, if you own both of those and end up selling the relics, I'm in the market.

mercy · #5 08-02-2015, 01:33 PM

I like the relic, Waverly and Gotoh

JakeStone · #6 08-02-2015, 01:35 PM

They come in the oval and butterbean (scalloped) knobs.

I am leaning toward the oval style ..

Additional thoughts ...?

devellis · #7 08-02-2015, 01:39 PM

So, I guess the real question is, why are you wanting to replace the tuners? The original Gotohs should work quite well. Is the idea of Waverly tuners just appealing to you or is there some functional or aesthetic shortcoming that you want to remedy? The original tuners are good enough that, if it's a functional problem, it might be something other than the tuners themselves.

If you just like the idea of having Waverly tuners, that's your call, of course. I have them on some guitars and they are very nice. But I also have kept the original non-Waverly tuners on some guitars when those have worked well. And, frankly, on a day-to-day basis, I'd be hard pressed to tell you which are which without looking to see what's stamped on the back.

I actually like the relic nickel look. I also like the polished nickel look. I probably slightly prefer the former.

I know that, in your situation, I'd stick with what's already there and save the money and hassle of swapping them out. But there's certainly nothing wrong with putting on a set of Waverly tuners if that's what you want to do. You just might want to give some thought to why you want to do it.

JakeStone · #8 08-02-2015, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devellis

So, I guess the real question is, why are you wanting to replace the tuners?
......The original tuners are good enough that, if it's a functional problem, it might be something other than the tuners themselves.

Good question.... I've owned the guitar for 2 weeks.

The current tuners have always been "creaky" when I initially turn them and not easy to turn to pitch (hard to get precise tune). Also, the strings do not stay in tune as nice as my Taylor. The 2 guitars live right next too each other in the room and I usually keep them in cases. I can tune both... put them down for 1 hour. Come back and the Martin is slightly off and Taylor is spot on..

So I took a couple tuners off (A and G) the guitar and check them... they were still stiff... But not terrible... But when fully stringed they do not act well. Also, I thought maybe I did not string it up correctly... so I changed strings too . But that did not remedy.

Maybe you are right and something else is off... Maybe it's the nut?

TaylorTele · #9 08-02-2015, 02:58 PM

Oval relic

rogthefrog · #10 08-02-2015, 03:21 PM

I'd keep the ones you have. They look fine and the problem is likely at the nut. Try putting pencil lead dust in the slots.

Waverlys are expensive and very stiff. Gotoh makes excellent tuners. I wouldn't swap Waverlys in for anything, and certainly not Gotohs.

AcornHouse · #11 08-02-2015, 03:38 PM

I'm going to buck the trend and say nickel, not relic. The guitar itself (from what we can see) looks to be in like-new condition. Like-new condition tuners will match better with it; then they can grow old together.

devellis · #12 08-02-2015, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JakeStone

Good question.... I've owned the guitar for 2 weeks.

The current tuners have always been "creaky" when I initially turn them and not easy to turn to pitch (hard to get precise tune). Also, the strings do not stay in tune as nice as my Taylor. The 2 guitars live right next too each other in the room and I usually keep them in cases. I can tune both... put them down for 1 hour. Come back and the Martin is slightly off and Taylor is spot on..

So I took a couple tuners off (A and G) the guitar and check them... they were still stiff... But not terrible... But when fully stringed they do not act well. Also, I thought maybe I did not string it up correctly... so I changed strings too . But that did not remedy.

Maybe you are right and something else is off... Maybe it's the nut?

I'm certainly not an expert but I'll share my thoughts, based on personal experience. First, I've pretty much never encountered a guitar tuner that couldn't hold pitch. I've seen guitars that couldn't hold pitch but it was usually something like binding at the nut rather than the tuners slipping. The way tuners are made, with a worm gear, it's pretty much impossible to have string tension move the gear train. Now, if you don't tune up to pitch, there can be a bit of play that will get "taken up" by string tension and cause a change in pitch. But if you tune up to the desired pitch rather than down, that shouldn't be an issue.

Second, if the tuner post isn't in its hole in the peghead squarely or if the tuner screws that hold it to the peghead come lose, the tuner can bind in the peghead. I wouldn't expect that on a new Martin but it's a possibility.

Third, in my experience, Waverly tuners are pretty darn stiff when they are new. I think they're built tight so that as a bit of wear occurs, they remain nice and snug. So if the stiffness you're encountering is actually the tuners themselves, it may be more a matter of time than a matter of switching brands to get a smoother, more effortless feel.

I'm certainly not trying to talk you out of Waverly tuners. They're great. But I did want to give you the benefit of my experiences, for what they're worth.

Brucebubs · #13 08-02-2015, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcornHouse

I'm going to buck the trend and say nickel, not relic. The guitar itself (from what we can see) looks to be in like-new condition. Like-new condition tuners will match better with it; then they can grow old together.

I agree.
Why have relic tuners on a lovely new guitar.
Would you put wood spoke wagon wheels on a new Ford Mustang?

Gasworker · #14 08-02-2015, 03:45 PM

I wouldn't want to talk you out of the Waverly's but WHM posted about the Shertler open gear tuners and I am sold. Bought them for my latest Halcyon.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=376276

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_...ning_Keys.html

bozz_2006 · #15 08-02-2015, 04:11 PM

You can't go wrong with any of them. They're all the same top quality. Which one speaks to your style and musical sensibilities? I'd go for the standard nickel but I think the relics are really cool too!