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Topic: National Grand Console Tuner Replacements |
J.P. Davis
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2022 3:09 pm |
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| Hi. I recently got a National Grand Console -- 1954 according to the serial # -- and all 16 turners need to be replaced. Looks like I will have to buy 18 since they are sold in sets of six. Don't want to spend a bundle for premium tuners at this point. What do you think of this eBay option? They get good customer reviews. All opinions appreciated! https://www.ebay.com/itm/294449017164 |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 11 Jan 2022 3:12 pm
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First: why do they need to be replaced? Is it due to crumbling buttons? Because those can be replaced without swapping out the gears themselves. Old Kluson tuners are notorious for crumbling plastic - and a '50s National would definitely have Klusons as original equipment.
Those Grover clones may be nice tuners, but they'll also probably require drilling new screw holes. Kluson clones should drop right in with no drilling needed. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 11 Jan 2022 3:19 pm
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| I agree wholeheartedly with Noah -- re-button the original Klusons, if possible. If you're uncomfortable doing it yourself, find someone who will. I've re-buttoned dozens of old Kluson tuners on my rescued Gibsons with replacement buttons from StewMac. It ain't rocket surgery. |
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D Schubert
From:
Columbia, MO, USA
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J.P. Davis
From:
Florida, USA
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Eric Dahlhoff
From:
Point Arena, California
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Posted 11 Jan 2022 9:48 pm
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Gotoh makes excellent Kluson clones that drop right in. Stewmac has them, also available elsewhere.
_________________
"To live outside the law you must be honest." (Bob Dylan) |
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Jeff Highland
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 12 Jan 2022 12:54 am
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Will the covered kluson tuners fit under the long National covers?
_________________
Duesenberg Fairytale
1949 Supro Supreme
1950 National New Yorker
2008 Highland Baritone Weissenborn
2020 Highland New Yorker.
2020 Highland Mohan Veena
2021 Highland Weissencone |
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J.P. Davis
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2022 8:06 am
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These appear to be identical.
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2022 8:20 am
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| J.P. Davis wrote: |
These appear to be identical.
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And a new Princeton Reverb appears identical to one from 1968. Which would you rather have?
The best of the Asian Kluson Deluxe replicas are the Japanese Gotohs. The rest are Chinese.
If you reject the notion of restoring your originals -- which entails removing them from the instrument, soaking overnight or longer in naptha, flushing repeatedly until the old, hardened gunk softens and runs out, re-lubing, and installing new plastic buttons -- and insist on installing new tuners, Gotoh SD-90s are superior to the rest (and arguably are better than the originals). |
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Jim Dulfer
From:
Southeastern USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2022 12:29 pm
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| Since I've never had one of these models, I'm somewhat curious exactly what's under those chrome covers? Is it 4 single KD tuners or a specialty single plank with 4 tuners? Any chance you could post a pic with the plate removed? |
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J.P. Davis
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2022 1:33 pm National Grand Console Tuner Replacements
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Once again, thanks for all the advice. Although I dreaded the job of putting on new tuner buttons (did it once before on an old 6-string Supro) that was the route I wound up going after the tuners I ordered didn't fit. (At this point you are all welcome to say, "I told you so, stupid.") I cleaned the old
tuners with lighter fluid and lubed with Tri Lube, heated the shafts over a candle after drilling out the holes a bit and pressed them on with a vice. A couple of them "crazed" but none of them cracked. Didn't use any glue because the fit was so tight. They work! Also, the closeness between strings made it hard for me to play, coming from the traditional spacing of six string models, but since the Grand Console bridge isn't slotted, but merely roughed up, I widened the spacing as much as I could. Helped me a lot. Here are some pics.
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J.P. Davis
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 25 Jan 2022 2:19 pm National Grand Console Tuner Replacements
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Meant to add that I set the necks up as a 7-string C6 and a six string open G Dobro tuning to suit my limited abilities.
This guitar was in rough shape cosmetically when I got it. Fifty years of dirt, grease and neglect which I cleaned up using rubbing compound and elbow grease. Added a coat of wax and it shines! The legs had at one time been painted gray to cover up the rust pitting, so a sanded them down with a hand-held sheet sander and fine grit till they shined again with only discoloration where the rust was. |
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