Locking Tuners: Pros and Cons

Does your guitar have trouble staying in tune? Are you frustrated by how long it takes to change a set of strings?

Maybe it’s time to consider investing in a set of locking tuners.

Instead of wrapping strings around the tuning post, locking tuners use a bearing to pinch the string and hold it in place. This provides a few advantages, like better tuning stability, faster string changes, and the ability to easily loosen strings for maintenance and setups.

Players managed just fine without them for centuries. Now that they’re one of the most common upgrades guitarists make. Many mid-priced and premium guitars even come with locking tuners from the factory.

If they’re so great, why doesn’t every guitar come with locking tuners? While there are a lot of advantages, there are also some drawbacks to consider.

Pros

Here are the top three benefits to having locking tuners on your guitar:

1. Improved Tuning Stability

Assuming your guitar doesn’t have a flimsy neck that makes the whole instrument shift around, there are two main causes of tuning problems:

Too much friction or not enough.

Either your strings are getting stuck somewhere, usually the nut or the saddles, or they’re slipping around at the tuning post or the tailpiece (if your guitar has a tailpiece).

Let’s say you just retuned your guitar with an electronic tuner. The wraps around each tuning post might look tight. But let’s be honest—you’d never know if a few winds moved up or down the post a little.

After playing for a few minutes—pressing on the frets, sliding up and down the fingerboard, doing some blues bends—you notice one or more strings are out of tune. What the heck happened?

Assuming your nut and saddles are properly set up, the tuning keys are the most likely source of the tuning problems.

These issues are most prominent on guitars with vibrato systems. Vibrato loosens and tightens the strings enough to allow them to slip around on the tuning posts.

You could use fewer winds, but that could allow the string to slip off the post entirely. Or you could try the popular method of “knotting” the string to prevent slippage. But that makes string changes more complicated.

Locking tuners remove any doubt that your tuning keys are to blame.

2. Faster String Changes

If you play with a heavy hand and are prone to breaking strings, locking tuners can be a lifesaver.

Some locking tuners (like those made by Schaller and Sperzel) can operate without any special tools. Just loosen the thumbwheel, remove your old string, put the new string in, tighten up the thumbwheel, and tune the string to pitch. You can snip off the excess string length if you have time, or let it flop around until after the gig.

Locking Kluson-style tuners such as those made by Kluson (Korea) and Gotoh (Japan) require a flathead screwdriver to tighten the locking mechanism. These tuners can still save time, as you no longer have to cut each string to length before inserting them into the tuning post.

3. Easier Maintenance and Setups

Loosening strings most of the way or removing them completely can make it harder, if not impossible, to put them back. Locking tuners keep the strings in place even when you fully detune the guitar.

This is a huge advantage for guitars with floating bridges, truss rod access at the heel of the neck, or screws that are hard to reach with the strings on. Just loosen the strings as much as needed, perform whatever maintenance is required, and tune the guitar back to pitch.

No worrying about whether the strings will slip after being retuned. Don’t make a habit of this, though. Guitar strings don’t like being removed too many times.

Cons

Of course, there are a few drawbacks to locking tuners. You should consider the following if you are thinking about installing them on your guitar:

1. Added Weight

Locking tuners will most likely weigh more than your stock tuning keys.

If your guitar is already well balanced, more weight at the headstock could cause neck dive. A guitar that’s already top-heavy and prone to neck dive, will get worse.

Schaller and Sperzel locking tuners use a big thumbwheel to lock and unlock the strings. Multiply that by six tuners and you add a noticeable amount of weight. You can shave some weight off the Schallers by replacing the steel tuning buttons with plastic ones. This may or may not be enough to re-balance the guitar.

2. May Need to Modify Your Guitar

Aftermarket tuners won’t always fit on your guitar. The post diameter, the bushings, and the mounting holes vary across different brands and styles of tuners. The best way to avoid this problem is to replace your existing tuners with the same brand that came on your guitar. If you’re not sure what you have, measure EVERYTHING and compare specs before making a purchase. No one wants to spend $100 or more on a set of tuning keys only to find they won’t fit.

Even a “perfect” set of locking tuners can require some modification even if your measurements are exact. For example, the bushings for a set of Gotoh vintage-style locking tuners have slightly narrower holes than the bushings for the non-locking version. This can require swapping out the bushings if you don’t want to see big gaps around the tuning pegs.

That said, it’s not uncommon to drill wider holes for the new bushings or drew new holes for the mounting screws. It all depends on how badly you want a particular style of locking tuning keys and if you’re willing to permanently modify your guitar.

3. Can Alter Your Guitar’s Appearance

If you’re trying to keep your guitar looking vintage correct, you’ll have to make some compromises if you upgrade your tuners.

Several manufacturers, namely Gotoh and Kluson, make locking tuners that look almost identical to vintage-style Gibson and Fender tuning keys. At least they look identical from a distance.

Popular brands like Schaller have their own distinct look, with large buttons and beautifully machined lock wheels. Most Fender guitars that come with locking tuners use Schaller. Grover tuners, which have long been a popular replacement for Gibson guitars, also have a distinct look.

That said, most players don’t swap tuners for cosmetic reasons. But it’s definitely something to consider if you really want a set of Schallers on a vintage Fender.

Conclusion

Locking tuners can offer a lot of practical benefits, as well as convenience for just about any electric guitar. Who doesn’t want better tuning stability, faster string changes, and the ability to easily loosen the strings for maintenance?

For a guitar that didn’t come with locking tuners from the factory, those benefits can involve some unpleasant tradeoffs. It requires a major commitment before you (or a qualified guitar tech) start drilling or widening holes in your headstock. Holes can be patched, but they can never be un-drilled. Before you start drilling, have a good idea of WHY you want locking tuners, and make sure you like how they look on your guitar.