Schaller Grand Tune rattling

[ADY]

Hi there,

Apologies if this thread exists somewhere already, but I could not find this exact issue.

I recently picked up a lightly used 2019 Martin D-41. It’s great in every way … except the tuners rattle. All of them. Especially when I play the open G string.

The culprit is the ‘S’ logo on the back of these Schaller Grand Tune tuners. They move and rattle if you touch them. I notice Martin doesn’t use these anymore and I’m wondering if this might be why? That said, I can’t find similar accounts anywhere. Some people say they love these tuners… so who knows?

I showed the guitar to a local luthier and he said he hadn’t dealt with these tuners much, but that they were definitely the problem. He tried to pop the logos off the back, but was worried about breaking the tuners.

I think my answer is going to be to replace them.

So, two questions:

1. Has anyone encountered this before?
2. Does anyone know if Waverly open-back butterbean tuners will have the same footprint as these Schallers? I really don’t want to have to drill a hole.

Thanks for reading! And for your time. I appreciate it!

[Coler]

Congrats on your D41.

Yes I had this exact issue on my new 000-28. It really hacked me off. The vendor offered to take it back but it is a lovely guitar in every otber way so that was not my preference.

There is no Martin AD in Ireland but when I contacted them they hooked me up with their United Kingdon AD who were fantastic to deal with.

They gave me the option of a fix by them, which they said would be to work a bead of superglue in behind the S plates, or to ship me a set of Grovers.

I opted for the latter.

I'm afraid I don't know if the replacement you are looking at will drop right in. I can check what grovers they sent me because they certainly were a perfect fit.

Best,

Eoghan

[Mandobart]

Never had this (or any) problem with the original Schaller Grand Tunes (chrome button) machines on my 2017 HD-28, or on the snakewood button machines I replaced them with purely for aesthetics. I also have a set of 4-on-a-plate Grand Tunes on my Easman MDC805 (same open gear style, same logo) that have been trouble free for several years.

[ADY]

Originally Posted by Coler

Congrats on your D41.

Yes I had this exact issue on my new 000-28. It really hacked me off. The vendor offered to take it back but it is a lovely guitar in every otber way so that was not my preference.

There is no Martin AD in Ireland but when I contacted them they hooked me up with their United Kingdon AD who were fantastic to deal with.

They gave me the option of a fix by them, which they said would be to work a bead of superglue in behind the S plates, or to ship me a set of Grovers.

Interesting. Thanks for this. It’s kind of nice to know I’m not alone… and that there isn’t an easy fix that I’m missing. I don’t love the idea of a superglue solution!

[ADY]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

Never had this (or any) problem with the original Schaller Grand Tunes (chrome button) machines on my 2017 HD-28, or on the snakewood button machines I replaced them with purely for aesthetics. I also have a set of 4-on-a-plate Grand Tunes on my Easman MDC805 (same open gear style, same logo) that have been trouble free for several years.

Yeah. Like I said, there are a lot of people who swear by the Schallers. If it wasn’t for the rattling logos on mine, I think I’d be in the same camp. Nice and smooth and they look great. I don’t know why the logos are loose on mine!

I hope yours keep working as well as they are now. Thanks for the reply!

[JC.]

I had the Schaller Grand Tuners on a Martin custom shop dread and found that Gotoh open backs were are direct drop-in replacement, so maybe look at those?

[Coler]

Originally Posted by ADY

Interesting. Thanks for this. It’s kind of nice to know I’m not alone… and that there isn’t an easy fix that I’m missing. I don’t love the idea of a superglue solution!

No problem.

Quoting you from the guy from the UK AD who emailed me with proposed solutions:

"It’s a really pretty tuner and I do like the ‘S’ plate on the back, however I have come across a few that have this little rattle on certain frequencies and it is the little ‘S’ plate that is causing the issue.

The plate is locked and not made to be removed, however our tech has had good success running the tiniest amount of super glue, with a pin into the edge of the ‘S’ plate and this stops it vibrating.

They sent me a set of Grovers which were drop in replacements. H97-18N Sta-Tite.

[UncleJesse]

I had this exact problem on a 2019 HD-28. I contacted Schaller directly who sent me replacement tuners. Unfortunately they had to send 3 sets before I found one that didn't rattle or wasn't super tight. But to their credit, they kept sending them free of charge. I'd reach out through their websirte.