1967 D40e Replacement Tuner Help...

Good Morning Guild Fans.

So, as many of you know, I am the proud owner of a 67' D40e, but I have realized that the stock tuners on the guitar are horrible. As in, I have to fight with them to get the tuners to move.

Is there a replacement set that I can find that would fit the guitar, in the same holes, that folks might recommend?

I do not want to drill any new holes into the headstock, so I am looking for a replacement set that will fit, and be a higher grade of tuners.

Thanks,
~syf

Pics will help.

And, btw, have you tried cleaning and lubricating them?

I have not yet tried that.... They are the closed, Japanese tuners (or so I am told) but I have not yet attempted a cleaning/lube, other than some graphite powder that did not turn out so well for my desk at work.

Tips for cleaning and hints would be great. I'll start there.

~syf

Do they look like these?



(Sorry, I don't have a back view on my website right now)

I don't know of a drop in replacement, but I see singles and sets of these showing up on eBay a couple times a year. I have seen them off guitar, and didn't see any way to open them up (that wouldn't potentially destroy them). Once off the guitar, you might be able to wick some really fluid lubricant in along the shaft, and then run them a while with a power winder, to see if they loosen up.

GardMan said:

Do they look like these?

Click to expand...

Hello Dave,

Probably not; those tuners were not around during 1967.

From the description I would think that the tuners on syf's D-40E look like this:



So far I have not found a 'drop in' replacement for these tuners, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Yes, the photo that Hans put up are the tuners in question.

I am not sure how to get to the inner workings, and when I first got the guitar, I did try to force some powdered-graphite into the spot where the tuner spindle itself comes out of the closed portion, but managed only to make a real mess of my office. That stuff is brutal.

I do not think oil (like 3 in 1) would be a good idea, in case it were to get gunked up inside there, and I would really have a problem.

I will explore the idea a bit, and see what I can do.
~syf

Yeah, sealed tuners are almost impossible to clean. Too bad you didn't have the open tuners.

However, it's not that big a deal to fill in screw holes (toothpicks are your friend), color to conceal, and put on the tuners you want. Just make sure you get the correct bushings for the holes.

I wouldn't bother trying to make those Japanese tuners work better. Even brand new they weren't great tuners -- it'd just be an exercise in frustration.

I'd install Grover 18:1 tuning ratios tuners and fill the old holes as AH recommends.