Kaish/Guyker locking tuners

[Larry Mal]

Hey everyone, as a guy who has spent a lot of money on locking tuners over the years I was pretty interested in seeing these inexpensive locking tuners that cost less than $30 as opposed to the $100 that the Gotoh and Kluson tuners cost.

Anyone use them?

I'll be sure to update as to the quality of them.

[Gordon]

Yes, they're fine. I recommend unscrewing and rescrewing the thumbscrew before installing them, make sure they go all the way (otherwise they won't clamp the string properly). Sometimes, those cheaper tuners have a lower tolerance in the machining, or maybe the plating is not even, but that's all. They function as well as the more expensive ones

[bodhi]

I have used some of the sets of 6L Fender style tuners. The point about lower tolerance is true, but I've found each set mostly functional. Some weird issues on occasion, though. One set had one or two of the tuner bushings themselves with the hole not being uniform width, so it narrowed down to where you couldn't push the tuner through the bushing all the way... Can't remember if I just used some other bushings or tried drilling through. I'd also agree that the thumbscrew threads might not be as precise as f.e. Hipshot or Fender parts, but these have been mostly fine in my own experience.

The most common issue I find with these (and some other non-locking tuners on occasion) is that the base of the tuner that forms the line on the back of the headstock might be somewhat larger than the ones you are replacing. Meaning the fit on a headstock with existing holes does not line up properly. You can usually work around this with a bit of filing on the edges. Might be something with vintage vs. modern or imperial vs metric or similar. If this is not addressed with 6-in-line tuners, they might not fit at all, and even if you can make them fit, the tuner post itself might be a bit off from the intended right angle in regards to the base. If this is off, the tuner might not rotate smoothly, and that makes it feel stuck or flimsy.

So if I'd be selling the particular project these would go to, I'd probably buy two sets at once to be sure. The first neck that I put one of the Guyker 6L sets on worked perfectly (Squier CV strat), whereas I've had some issues later on with other necks. Learned all the above along the way, so they work just fine, but might need some finagling when installing. Any that are individually installed might not have the same issues, but some considerations with screw holes even there.

[Larry Mal]

I got them on, they are fine. I didn't use the bushings or the screws that came with the tuners I just kept the bushings that were already in my Epiphone Riviera and re-used the screws.

These Kaish tuners are noticeably cheaper than other ones I've used, for instance there is some play with the thumb wheel if you rock it back and forth. That's not going to matter once they are holding the string in place, though.

Without strings in, various tuners are stiffer or looser than others. Again, this won't be noticed once they are actually tuning strings.

If I have any thoughts once I get it strung up I'll add to this. I thought I had strings but I don't, so I'll get some Monday or something. So far, though, these are fine budget tuners and a nice alternative to have out there.