Tuning Machines – for Mandolins

There are several brand-name manufacturers that make tuners for Mandolins. See this discussion thread at Mandolin Cafe for some thoughts on the relative merits of each. For brevity, however, I have complied a list:

• Alessi (the “Platinum Standard” — the Ferrari, because of the quality, the hand-building, and the $$$$price)
• Rubners (the Audi)
• Waverly ( “Gold Standard” of mass produced – the Camaro) (Owned by StewMac)
• Schaller (Gold-plated standard — the quality difference is huge and obvious once you look below the surface. They are good but never excellent. The Honda Accord/Toyota Camry.)
• Gotoh (Gold-plated standard — the quality difference is huge and obvious once you look below the surface. They are good but never excellent. The Honda Accord/Toyota Camry.)
• Grover (Gold-plated standard — the quality difference is huge and obvious once you look below the surface. They are good but never excellent. The Honda Accord/Toyota Camry.)
• (Stew-Mac) Golden Age (?? not highly regarded…, especially considering the price)

I bought my fist set for my first Mando build from LMI, as they were a good deal at the time (on sale), but discovered as I started to get to the install process that there are a number of things that can make a set incompatible with others. Again, for brevity, I have compiled a table that lists the various parameters that affect compatibility. And for reference, my first set were actually Grover 304s. At a glance, the things that really matter (in order of criticality) are peg spacing, bushing size, and screw spacing.

Tuner Maintenance While we’re here, I came across this little nugget about tuner maintenance: https://www.lutherie.net/tuner.maintenance.html