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Post new topic Grover tuners on a Carter
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Author Topic:  Grover tuners on a Carter
Frank Parish

 

From:
Nashville,Tn. USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 2:33 am    
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Does anybody have Grover tuners on their Carter guitar? I seen a guy here a while back that had some for sale and wanted to buy them but I didn't know if I could get them on or not.
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Bill Miller

 

From:
Gaspe, Quebec, Canada
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 3:10 am    
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I have never seen Grovers on a Carter and I am fairly certain they were never original equipment. Just curious about why you'd want to get rid of the Sperzels? My Carter has Sperzels and so have a couple of my six string guitars. I've found them to be top of the line tuners...at least as good as Grovers. That's just me of course.
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Richard Sinkler


From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 7:47 am    
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I have hated every set of Grovers I have had on guitars. The Sperzels are my my favorites. The absolute worst, though,is Kluson.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting.
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Dick Wood


From:
Springtown Texas, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 11:57 am    
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I have to agree with Richard on this one. If I had it to do over on my Williams I would go with Sperzels.
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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.
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David Mason


From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 2:26 pm    
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Grover was one of the earlier American musical manufacturers to sell their name & reputation for the increased profit from using cheaper Asian labor, and especially cheaper materials. It's difficult to pinpoint a date - gee, wonder why - but it was in the 1970's sometime. They spent some time shopping them around to different factories, as is typical. But there were certain batches that were so terrible their reputation took a big hit, so they have been forced to re-install a certain level of quality control. But when you see $400 Epiphones & ESP's with "genuine GROVER TUNERS!" as though it's a big deal... it ain't. And, there may or may not be different levels of quality available to builders at the same time, "secrets" are secret for a reason. And it's a nightmare for restorers, because there were lots of variations in even the early U.S.-made Grovers, so trying to find one or a few Grovers "right" for your $25,000 D'Angelico or $40,000 Martin... umm. Good luck there! Hanging on walls of pawnshops, there are $75 old beater guitars with Grovers worth hundreds of dollars - each - if you know what you're doing (I don't).

http://www.doctorvintage.com/tuners/grover_diffs.html
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Jerry Overstreet


From:
Louisville Ky
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 2:33 pm    
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Old thread with some input from John Fabian re: Grover PS210 machines. FWIW, I've had 4 guitars with Grovers...they are my favorites. One old Zum with Sperzels that are rough and stiff....later models might be better, I'm not sure. My second choice to the Grovers would be Schallers, FWIW.
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=135791&highlight=grover
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John Billings


From:
Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 6:58 pm    
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I bought a '67 Bud at a thrift shop. It had Schaller tuners. I replaced them with Grovers from Coop. No better.
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Lee Baucum


From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
Post  Posted 27 Sep 2012 7:09 pm    
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My early 80's Emmons push/pull came with Sperzels. I never did like them. They weren't smooth turning at all.

The Grovers on my 1997 Mullen have worked flawlessly from day one.
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Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

There are only two options as I see it.
Either I'm right, or there is a sinister conspiracy to conceal the fact that I'm right.


Williams Keyless S-10, BMI S-10, Evans FET-500LV, Fender Steel King, 2 Roland Cube 80XL's,
Sarno FreeLoader, Goodrich Passive Volume Pedals, Vintage ACE Pack-A-Seat
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David Nugent

 

From:
Gum Spring, Va.
Post  Posted 28 Sep 2012 3:07 am    
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Frank...The style of the Grover tuners needs to be determined to know if they will fit properly. The style designated for steel guitar have pins integrated into the housing so the Carter would need to have holes drilled in the keyhead to accomodate these pins (the pins on Sperzel tuners are thicker and also will not line up with the holes intended for Grovers, voice of experience). The six string styles have offset brackets for wood screws,(early Sho-Buds used this style)...Note: NEVER overtighten the bushings when installing Grover tuners, it is extremely easy to strip the threads rendering the tuner virtually useless.
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