I caught this article over at Guitar World about the Jenz replacement tuners for Fender Bass guitars.
Sometimes a product comes along that totally makes sense, and the Jenz Precision Bass Machine Heads is one of them.
Any product that is direct drop-in is good, and the Jenz tuners is one of them because they mount the exact same way standard Fender issue tuners do, meaning no drilling or filling required.
In addition, the Jenz tuners can in fact eliminate the string guide (a.k.a. string tree) because of the lower downward angle of the string when using them, and the tuner provides tighter turns for less string clutter.
The Jenz tuners are a solid upgrade all-around – but there’s only one drawback that for some is rather important, that being they look a bit plain on top.
This is an image courtesy of that article (all credit goes to GW for it):
As you can immediately see, the tops of the posts are decidedly different looking because they’re closed and not open.
Some of you may have no issue with this, but for others, the immediate thought may be, “Eww!”
If you can get past the closed-top look, Jenz tuners appear to be a good upgrade – especially for those of you out there with Mexican-made Fender P’s and J’s.
Check out more about Jenz tuners here, and please let us know what you think of them (even if you don’t own a set). Opinions are very welcome here.
They look great, but do they live up to their claims regarding eliminated dead spots?
I’ve checked them out online & will be making a purchase in the near future. Most expensive set is $90 for a set of five in brass. Also come in aluminum. I’m sticking with brass unless I can be convinced otherwise. The string end passes through the horizontal hole near the top & a spiral groove on the post directs the wound string downward to the lowest point when tuned. The same effect can be accomplished with a std. machine with some care & patience when winding. My Am. Std. Jazz has a funky machine head on the A string & I’ve noticed some frets that sound slightly out of tune at the 7-9 fret on the B string. At $90 I’ll give them a shot & report back.
Sticking with my originals. The Jenz are just too ugly.
Lame. Set your instrument up correctly, have the nut addressed by a competent tech, wind the strings down on the post and get as many wraps as possible. The money for this “upgrade” could be saved and spent on a nice set of pickups. The guy is not re-inventing the wheel. String tree is still used in the top image so saying that it corrects or alleviates needing a string tree is moot. The tension on D-G in my opinion need a string tree or they would pop out of the nut eventually. A three string tree retainer is ideal as the windings on the post for the A-string are some of the hardest to work with past 4 winds around the post. You don’t get a backing plate or any else of the hardware. I’d take the almost C-note for a purchase and put it elsewhere.
Mine just arrived. I could tell an immediate difference in sustain without having the bass plugged in. They are heavy and real well made. Can’t wait to put them into action tonight.
As far as looks go, a bass is a tool used to create sound, looks are improved with functionality. The more functional the tool is, the better it looks. And just because the picture at the top has a tree doesn’t mean it needs one! I wind my strings downward on my own J, so I already know that technique works. If these help make doing that a little easier, all the better. The main thing is finding out if they are as truly functional as the maker claims. If so, they’ll be a nice enhancment for those that don’t want to invest in new pickups, they just want what they have, only a little better. So we’ll have to wait until the reports come in from users about any tonal improvements, as well as if they make your bass a bit finer of an instrument by helping with dead spots as claimed. Lame? Hardly, not if they truly make the bass just that much better. Combine something like these with a bit better bridge and a great setup and the instrument goes from good to refined.
I have these in the aluminum model. I think the G string still needs a tree in my opinion. it vibrates like crazy behind the nut. I still have a dead spot on G 7th fret (fretless), it might have to do with lighter weight aluminum ones. I have since ordered the brass posts and will swap them out to see if that makes a difference. I too have made good down pressure on standard straight barrel | | tuners on my other basses as others say here. It’s the damn new fender ones that have the hour glass shape ) ( and the sting settles to the middle of the tuner that suck for the A string. Terrible design for the A. I’ve seen that little add on thing on some of the expensive Fenders, but they don’t sell it as a part. The hipshot 3 string tree is key i say. It providdes the A, D and G with nice down angle Hipshot also makes tapered barrel tuners \ / that force the string down when winding, and they are really great tuners, but more expensive. The really cool thing about these tuners is you can do the bottom up winding and not have to pre-cut your string like you can do with typical style guitar tuners. Start with your string taught and wind it up and up until you reach the hole and stick it through then crimp it by bending opposite of the wind, then cut. Really fast way to change strings for 6 and basses with these tuners. I’ve actually been proud to show off my plain top tuners. I guess they could round the top a bit like grovers etc. But that might make ’em cost more :-)…..I will report back later if my dead spot goes away after adding more mass of the brass posts. It only takes a few ounces some say. I currently have a FatFinger on it that is helping somewhat…..Cheers.
Hipshot & Gotoh should incorporate the threaded post to their designs…