{"id":220,"date":"2011-11-15T15:30:42","date_gmt":"2011-11-15T15:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/?p=220"},"modified":"2020-12-16T01:24:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T06:24:30","slug":"installing-bass-tuners-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/gear\/hardware\/tuner\/installing-bass-tuners-guide.html","title":{"rendered":"Installing Bass Tuners Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Tuners: What Kind to Buy &amp; How to Install Them (with Pictures)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: gray;\">Written by Evan, Best Bass Gear&#8217;s Prewire &amp; Tech Support (Electronics and Hardware)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMAG0127.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-222 alignright\" title=\"Hipshot Clover Tuner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMAG0127-300x179.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" \/><\/a>Here in the shop we receive a lot of questions on tuners including how upgrading from stock tuners makes a difference and then subsequently, how to change them. Although they are a minor improvement, upgrading your current bass tuners is a great way to increase tuning stability and a quick way to change the aesthetic of your bass. If you decide to use\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/hipshot-ultralight-tuners.htm\">Hipshot&#8217;s Ultralight tuners<\/a>, you can also shed some weight at your headstock which decreases neck dive.<\/p>\n<p>Before you change your tuner, you first have to find which replacement will work for your bass.<\/p>\n<p>Fender basses use tuners which normally can be replaced by a\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/hipshot-tuners.htm\">Hipshot Vintage Tuner model<\/a>, although some models are designed for an Ultralight tuner model. I recommend looking at the back of your headstock and comparing the shape of your tuner to the Vintage tuner shapes on our website or by looking at this\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/articles\/hipshot-tuner-comparison.pdf\">diagram<\/a>. If you cannot figure out which style to use, call me up or email me to ensure you&#8217;re not ordering the wrong part.<\/p>\n<table width=\"90%\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#CCC\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<blockquote><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMAG0124.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-223 aligncenter\" title=\"Hipshot Ultralights on Fender Bass\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMAG0124-300x179.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Fender style basses with vintage tuners can also be upgraded with Ultralight tuners, but Ultralight tuners are much smaller in design and will not cover all of the screwholes from the previous tuner.\u00a0<em>Get a\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/hipshot-tuners.htm\">Hipshot Vintage Tuner<\/a>\u00a0to keep her looking sharp.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not using a Fender bass, many other basses use a smaller type of tuner which can be replaced by a\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/gotoh-sealed-tuners.htm\">Gotoh<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/hipshot-ultralight-tuners.htm\">Hipshot Ultralight tuner<\/a>. When your bass has 5 or more strings I recommend using the Hipshot Ultralights to save on weight. It&#8217;s simple math: 5 Ultralights weigh the same amount as 4 Gotoh tuners.<\/p>\n<p>Hipshot Vintage tuners have 1\/2&#8243; posts, Hipshot Ultralight tuners come in both 1\/2&#8243; and 3\/8&#8243; sizes, and Gotoh tuners have 3\/8&#8243; posts. To determine what size is right for your bass, follow one of these two easy steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li>Remove a tuner and measure the hole that was drilled in the headstock<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>a 3\/8&#8243; tuner will have a hole that is 9\/16&#8243; in diameter<\/li>\n<li>a 1\/2&#8243; tuner will have a hole that is 11\/16&#8243; in diameter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li>Measure the nut that secures the tuner to the headstock. We are looking for the distance from one side of the nut to the other parallel side<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>a 3\/8&#8243; tuner will measure roughly 9\/16&#8243; across<\/li>\n<li>a 1\/2&#8243; tuner will measure roughty 3\/4&#8243; across<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<blockquote>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">more information on measuring your tuner&#8217;s<br \/>\nspecific dimensions can be found <a title=\"1\/2 inch or 3\/8 inch tuner?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/hardware\/tuner\/a-38-or-12-tuner.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMAG0122.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-227\" style=\"margin: 5px;\" title=\"Remove Old Tuners\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMAG0122-300x179.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" \/><\/a>1\/2&#8243; is for the larger size found on many vintage instruments, Fenders, and Fender clones. The 3\/8&#8243; size is common for modern instruments with smaller tuners. Hipshot Ultralights and Gotoh tuners come in both bass side and treble side. When looking at the front of the headstock the left side is called the bass side and the right side is called the treble side. Right hand Fender 4 strings need 4 bass side tuners, while the left hand basses need treble side tuners. Depending on your bass, you may need both bass and treble side tuners.<\/p>\n<p>Once you have purchased the right replacement tuners installation is quite easy. First, remove all strings on your instrument. You can then unscrew the tuner from the back of the headstock. Some tuners use 4 screws, while some modern tuners use a single screw. Modern tuners usually have a screw on bushing which you will need to unscrew with a socket or open end wrench (typically 9\/16&#8243;, 3\/4&#8243; or 15mm). Vintage basses and Fenders will have a pressed in bushing where the tuner will slide out freely but then you must pull out the bushing or push from the back side to remove it.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-229\" style=\"margin: 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMAG0123-300x179.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve decided to install\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/hipshot-tuners.htm\">Hipshot Vintage tuners<\/a>, you&#8217;ll have to lightly tap the new bushing into place either by using a rubber mallet or protect the bushing with scrap wood before tapping it in. After that, all you have to do is slide the tuner in from the back and screw in all four of the mounting points.<\/p>\n<p>For\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/hipshot-ultralight-tuners.htm\">Hipshot Ultralights<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/gotoh-sealed-tuners.htm\">Gotoh tuners<\/a>, you&#8217;ll have to drop the bushing into the tuner hole and then slide the tuner in from the back. Then, using a socket or wrench, turn the bushing to make it only finger tight. 1\/2&#8243; ultralights need a 3\/4&#8243; wrench, 3\/8&#8243; ultralights need a 9\/16&#8243; wrench, and Gotohs need a 15mm wrench. You can then screw in the one mounting point on the back and then tighten the tuner bushing fully, remaining cautious to not be overly tight.<\/p>\n<p>From here, you simply need to continue replacing all others tuners, restring your bass, and play.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; Evan\u00a0<span style=\"color: gray;\"><br \/>\nBestBassGear.com&#8217;s Prewires &amp; Tech Support (Electronics and Hardware)<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:sales@bestbassgear.com\">sales@bestbassgear.com<\/a><br \/>\n877.839.3531<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tuners: What Kind to Buy &amp; How to Install Them (with Pictures) Written by Evan, Best Bass Gear&#8217;s Prewire &amp; Tech Support (Electronics and Hardware) Here in the shop we receive a lot of questions on tuners including how upgrading from stock tuners makes a difference and then subsequently, how to change them. Although they &#8230; <a title=\"Installing Bass Tuners Guide\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/gear\/hardware\/tuner\/installing-bass-tuners-guide.html\" aria-label=\"More on Installing Bass Tuners Guide\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,13,7,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13462,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions\/13462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}