Tuning pegs too small?

MidnightBlue · July 22nd, 2008, 10:40 PM

Hi all,

I just got done wiring up my partscaster, installed the tuners, which btw are Gotoh Magnum lock 6 in line tuners. I put a string in, tuned it and it wont come off the frets? So what's the problem here? I checked my bridge, I heightened the high-E saddle to its max and still, action is waayyyy too low. These tuners are ultra small for some reason. For example, the top of the tuning peg is actually below the nut of the guitar! This is a strat neck I bought brand new off ebay.

I'd really appreciate some feedback here. Is it the neck(truss rod), or the tuning pegs?

Thanks alot for any help!

JKjr · July 22nd, 2008, 11:12 PM

What's your nut look like? Maybe I should rephrase that. Is your nut cut too deep? Oh, never mind.

Strat-Talk · July 22nd, 2008, 11:55 PM

The tuning pegs are that short? That's not good. Is the neck properly adjusted?

MidnightBlue · July 23rd, 2008, 12:58 AM

Yep, the tuning pegs are that short. Although I don't think that they are the culprit. As far as I can tell, the neck is straight, and fits well in the neck pocket of the body. I'll probably take it to the shop tmr but I wish I don't have to :(

MidnightBlue · July 23rd, 2008, 02:56 AM

Nevermind, nothing a good old shimming couldn't fix. lol

too-many-strats · July 23rd, 2008, 10:00 AM

A few simple steps to take:

1) First make sure they (the tuners) are installed correctly (bottomed out in the hole, screwed down tight, tuner nuts tightened down, etc)

2) Make sure the neck fits in the neck pocket (no spaces between the neck & guitar) & is screwed down TIGHT.

3) If you see gaps between them, try cutting shims from a piece of 1/16 or 1/32 veneer to fit in the neck pocket to adjust the angle of the guitar neck 2 the body. You can place them at the heel of the neck or further up.

Check on all that tehn get back 2 us.

jmasin · July 23rd, 2008, 11:21 AM

Edit> just realized you posted that a shim fixed it.

Cheers.

aznrambo481 · July 23rd, 2008, 12:27 PM

I don't think small tuning pegs would be the problem here. I know the guitar was fixed, but I still wanted to point out that if the strings fit into the nut slots, tuning peg size doesn't matter at all. It's either the nut, action, or neck fit. Yay figuring it out! My squier needed the same treatment, but for a different reason. The saddles would buzz without a sufficient break angle... which would have required high action with the neck angle at the time. A shim allowed me to have high saddles and keep fine action. I'm glad a shim worked for you!

Doug Ferguson · July 26th, 2008, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MidnightBlue

Nevermind, nothing a good old shimming couldn't fix. lol

Shims are a tech's best friends! I've got a couple of guitars with very poorly crowned frets. One was set up by a tech at Sweetwater and he noted the high action (and blown pickup from the factory), so gave it some relief. When I got it, the action was still too high to compensate for several badly dressed and crowned frets. In went a shim. Problem sovled! Ditto the other guitar with a similar problem. I should probably get around to leveling those frets and recrowning them, but hey, shimming the neck's is pretty much getting me where I need to be.