Hi all,
A while back there was a discussion of planetary (geared) tuners on
the list. I went ahead and ordered a set of seven of them to refit by
Balázs Nagy HG with, and they came in mid-January. Various things kept
me from installing them until yesterday, but I finally got around to
it, and my initial impressions are very good. Retrofitting the
instrument was fairly simple once I borrowed a cello peg reamer from
list member Vlad to make the holes bigger. The fellow who sells them
recommends using a stepped drill process to install them, which has
the advantage of making for a tighter compression fit (the shoulder of
the step in the hole is compressed and threads cut into it when you
install the peg), but since the pegs are glued in after final fitting,
I found the advantage of easier control with the reamer a big help,
even if the fitting wasn't as tight. (Note that because they are glued
in to the instrument, you need to make *absolutely* sure of your
fitting before you install them or you'll be in for unpleasant results.)
They have a nice feel and, unless you pay careful attention, they
really do look just like wooden pegs. Once in place they can actually
be adjusted for how hard/easy it is to turn them by either pressing
down or pulling up on the heads as you turn them, and once they're set
for stiffness you can just twist them at that stiffness.
They have a 4:1 gear ratio and I had assumed that it would feel a lot
different from a friction peg in use, but in fact it doesn't feel that
different other than in having a more even response while turning (no
jumping or sudden moves and no tourne-a-gauche needed/useful). Brian
Burns (the seller) also has a 16:1 peg, which would give even finer
control over tuning, but would, in most cases, be overkill.
I did have to modify one peg a pit for my instrument. The string holes
were too small for one of my bass drones, so I took a metal drill bit
and redrilled the hole for that one peg. It was a fairly simply
process (the body is made of anodized aluminum) but the peg got quite
hot, so I would periodically cool it off on an ice block. Make sure
you check the pegs against your strings before you install so that you
have easy access to redrill any holes should you need to.
The price is a bit steep ($126 for the set of seven), but I think well
worth the convenience and accuracy and the freedom from sudden
slippage (I had a peg suddenly go pop and totally slacken in a
performance once, fortunately on a string I had off the wheel at the
moment!). If anyone has wanted the convenience of mechanical tuners
but been put off by the fact that most of them are really quite ugly
on anything but a banjo or guitar, these are not a bad way to go at
all. From what I understand, they have a good record for durability
and freedom from maintenance, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them
to makers or to individuals who don't mind using tools on their own
instrument (I don't) and want to retrofit themselves. As always, if
you are retrofitting an instrument, just think everything through and
double check before you do anything you are uncertain about and you
should be fine.
If anyone has questions about the pegs, please feel free to ask me, or
contact Brian (a very nice fellow) directly at:
Brian Burns
Craftsman Graphics
18000 George's Lane
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
phone: 866-214-9472
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I'll put some photos of the new pegs on Flickr later on today and post
a link to see them.
-Arle
