Strat : Machine Heads - #strat #mods #tunning #machineheads #diy #headstock
When it comes to lower budget guitar, this kind of mod can be essential. For tunning stability of course but it's also much easier to tune your guitar with more precise machine heads. In my opinion locking tuner are a great option. It gives you a even greater tunning stability and changing your strings become a lot easier.
6 new machine heads, a wrench, a new set of strings.
Cost : From 50 to 90€, depending on the type of machine heads. Don't buy too cheap, the goal here is to increase the overall quality of your tunning. Cheap machine heads will give you no upgrade …
It's a matter of taste and budget but there's few things to have in mind before you choose machine heads. First check the size of holes in your headstock. If you want to stay easy in your mods and don't have to pull out your driller, your news tuners have to fit the size of existing holes. In my case, the tuner had to be in line (for strat headstock style). Stratocaster headstock are drilled with 2 extra little holes so it's a great asset to buy tuners which have 2 extra tangs (dedicated for Strat replacement). Why ? cause the tuners will stay in place thanks to the tangs while you tighten the nuts.
For my mod I've chosen the Shaller F-series, locking tuner
When you unbox the machine heads, you can see different digits on them, like I II III IIII. In my case the stock tuners of my MIM strat have also digits but no IIII. This thing had no meaning for me so I checked the FAQ on http://www.schaller-electronic.com/. Sometimes you can read on forums that these digits give you the order … But Shaller is very precise about that : “These markings have no significance at all for you or for the function of the Schaller machine head. For us they designate the individual machine molds so that we are better able to isolate the cause of a problem in the event of a material defect. Of course, no product leaves the Schaller premises without having been checked and approved by our multi-stage quality control. »
Remove all your strings. Untighten all the nuts. Take care with your wrench, it's easy to make scratchs. Then push slightly on the top of each machine heads to remove them. Put your new tuners in place, (tangs into little holes) and tighten them. Restring your guitar and that's it.
Check out this tuto if needed http://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/1012/five-fender-strat-mods-anyone-can-make/58406#.V1swbcHSoJM.twitter
I've done 3 mods in one shot on my poor strat, and that's the second one ! I’ll let you hear the results when the third post will be done !
See you around and have fun moding !
