swap out knobs on acoustic guitar's tuners

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packratlouie

Member
I have a Larrivee D-03 that comes with stainless steel tuners and ebony knobs. The problem is that they have a dead spot, even if I thighten the screw in the knob. They turn around the screw for a small distance, then start to turn the tuner. It does this on all of them. It's annoying.

I want to switch these to their original stainless steel tuner, but don't know where I'd find them. I need any stainless steel tuner, or choose from a selection that will fit the guitar.

Anyone have any suggestions where I can find some tuners for a Larrivee D-03?
 
Well, first of all they are almost certainly chrome plated, not stainless, but that is a secondary issue.

There is usually a bit of slack in gears, and the cheaper the gear, the worse it is. The only gears which don't have at least SOME of that is Gotoh 510's, at least at this point. But changing the buttons on the gears will probably not make much difference.


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"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
If you like the guitar except for the machines (tuners) then why not change them? A set of Grovers don't cost that much and will make a world of difference.
 
Well, it's not the gear that has any play in it.

The knob on the head revolves around the screw which is holiding it in place.

The knob is ebony, and it seems like a defect. All the other larrivees I've played that have the full metal tuners, don't have any play whatsoever.

I checked out those grover tuners, they look pretty spiffy. If I can't get a metal set out of Larrivee I'll look into something like those grovers. Thanks.
 
other than the lousy tuner knobs how do you like your D03?

i was playing one or two of them in the music store and was thinking maybe that is the next guitar i should buy... err for my umm girlfriend... yeah thats right oh wait.... i don't have a girlfriend.... hmm i WANT A D03!
 
packratlouie said:
Well, it's not the gear that has any play in it.

The knob on the head revolves around the screw which is holiding it in place.

The knob is ebony, and it seems like a defect. All the other larrivees I've played that have the full metal tuners, don't have any play whatsoever.

I checked out those grover tuners, they look pretty spiffy. If I can't get a metal set out of Larrivee I'll look into something like those grovers. Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can almost certainly just get a set of Schaller gear buttons. I am about 99.9% certain they will fit. Those manufacturers who don't use actual Schallers use Schaller copies, and they use the same buttons.


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"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Try coating the shaft with tape- like teflon plumbing seal tape, put the knobs back and see if they tighten up. The other thing might be to inject a little epoxy or superglue gel in there - again, only after having wrapped the shaft with teflon tape. Might make a difference.
 
Awesome suggestions guys. I'm going to see if I can get a set out of Larrivee on monday, if not, I'll try what you've suggested.

I must say, the D-03 is my favorite of all of the Larrivees I've played. I must admit, the high end is very cracking and bright, but there is a very well balanced mid and low end. Unreal action and intonation, just perfect. I'll be getting the action adjusted just a hair lower. It's fine right now, but I'd like it just a bit lower.

Favourite guitar I've played in a while.
 
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