Kluson single line tuners.....

[Aug]

yeah, in the UK, they'll definitelly be £200 or more....I *might* part with mine for the right price (because then I can us the money for the other '61 I'm restoring)...but I dunno...I'll have a think.....

would promises of exotic beers and gaylove sway you to sell them to me instead?

depends...how many exotic beers are we talking about?

I suddenly feel shy and giddy...

[fullerplast]

Those repros with the KLUSON lettering are not very good. W-D bought the Kluson name a few years ago and are having it stamped on generic PING tuners made in Taiwan. They pretty much suck. They will slip and grind as soon as the grease washes out, which isn't long.

Originals have patent numbers underneath, something like PAT NO above the shaft and D-39400 (or something like that) underneath.

Two quick ways to tell without seeing the Pat #s is the shaft. On an original, the shaft sticks out of the side of the tuner case slightly (on the bottom, as installed). On the repros, the shaft is flush and you can see a nylon washer around it. Also, the DELUXE lettering wraps around the side of the case on the repros.

The best bet for repros by far are the Fender/Gotohs, but you don't get the lettering...

Real Klusons after '64 will fit, but they are double lines as opposed to the original single lines.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

So these are originals right? Sadly some of the serial no. is obscured.

[zhivago]

they look real to me

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Hope so. I just bought them. Thanks for the offer of yours by the way. I'm "In The Zone" with ebay at the mo & didn't wanna lose out again.

[zhivago]

Hope so. I just bought them. Thanks for the offer of yours by the way. I'm "In The Zone" with ebay at the mo & didn't wanna lose out again.

not a problem

[Gill]

Those look just like the single line Klusons that were on my '63 JM.

They look legit...

Gill

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Is there a good way of treating the rust on these kind of old-school tuners?

I'm adding a new thread for this question. Making it broader.

[Pumpkin]

Those repros with the KLUSON lettering are not very good. W-D bought the Kluson name a few years ago and are having it stamped on generic PING tuners made in Taiwan. They pretty much suck. They will slip and grind as soon as the grease washes out, which isn't long.

The best bet for repros by far are the Fender/Gotohs, but you don't get the lettering...

Well I'm happy,buy pure chance,that i ordered the Gotoh kluson type tuners,WD shipping is ridiculous and thats what  made the decision for me to go with GPR.
I did think that if Kluson was still a company as they once were,then they wouldnt need WD to sell for them as an exclusive dealer and would have a sales area on their site,but no.....its a scam it seems.
WD FTL.

[glimmertwin]

Just for documentation purposes for the archive...here was what I discovered when I sold my 61 on ebay a few months ago...

The tuners read Kluson Deluxe with a stamped hole in between the 'o' and the 'n'. The 'e' is visible on the top of the tuner rather than on the edge like on repros...The underside of the tuner reads 'D-169400' on the top and 'PATENT NO' on the bottom. Hope that helps - let me know if you have any more questions.

I'm glad Fullerplast pointed out the difference between Klusons now and Klusons of old.  I haven't had troubles with the new Klusons (just yet) but my point is visually they are pretty different from the outside. 

[mcjt]

I wanted a good kluson for my 61 rebuild, and didn't want to put "Ping"s on it. so i was disappointed to read in this forum that 'kluson' branded tuners were in fact rebranded "Ping"s!

and yet, dated 2006, Tonepros comes along....

http://www.toneproskluson.com/

anyone know about this?

todd

[fullerplast]

I think that happened fairly recently. Apparently W-D didn't do too well with the Klusons (probably because they used Ping)... it looks like they sold the name, or licensed it out. The last time I looked, Tonepros were only offering the 3x3 Gibson-style. I see they have 6 in-line now. It looks like they're double lines, I wonder if they will have single lines eventually...

Hopefully the tonepros will be better, I would think so. It would be so cool to have a decent repro with the KLUSON name on it!

[mcjt]

i think there is still an affiliaton between W-D and Tonepros.

http://www.toneproskluson.com/models.html

They have a double line kluson deluxe but has a hex nut bushing that you must tighten into the headstock. So, they are "Kluson"-stamped double line, but don't look very vintage from the front. However, I imagine a much better operating tuner-----

todd

[fullerplast]

Ah.... I guess WD has sourced Tonepros for an upgraded "performance" version of the Kluson.  I see they have both on their site, the old crappy repros and the tonepros:

(see page two of the link)

http://www.wdmusic.com/kluson_tuners_13523_ctg_1.htm

Thanks Todd!  If you find out more, let us know...

[mcjt]

yeah, i did...
they're expensive! around $90USD.
maybe i'll do kluson-style gotohs or grover ($35+) and forget the Kluson stamp on the back altogether....