tuners for evh signature fixed-bridge

[peaveywolfgang]

hello, can anybody tell me if the schaller locking m6 will fit without modification in place of the original evh schaller mini tuners, including the screw placement?

thing is one string (G) is sounding weird and that's because there seems to be not enough down angle from the nut to the tuner even with 5 or more turns of that string, and i understand that these locking schallers are shorter and bring the string closer to the headstock surface. so what i want to do is to put tuners like the axis sport has

has anyone done that

 

[DrKev]

The locking tuners have their little attachment screw in a different position (45º offset from the corner), so you may want to have a luthier properly plug the old ones and drill the new ones. If you don't want to do that, you'll have to stay with old tuners.

But the original tuners should work fine and it would be hard to believe that this is an issue that afflicted all hardtail EVHs, right? I'd have a luthier/tech look at the nut slots, I suspect the G-string slot may be worn and/or need some re-working.

 

[peaveywolfgang]

thanx for replying. you're right, but thing is that if i push the string a little after the nut the string sounds fine, so the problem clearly is the string angle, which needs to be biger, bringing the string closer to the headstock surface. i have had a similar problem with another very similar guitar and after many tries and a lot of money spent to different "luthiers" to make another nut, the problem was not solved. unfortunately where i live (country that is) even such a simple operation like changing a nut is not that easy to solve. if i lived in the states or somewhere in the western europe, changing the nut would be my first option, but since i don't and after getting sick of all the fails i experienced with so many so called luthiers, i think i'd like to solve this by changing keys.

 

[DrKev]

Maybe. Pressing the string down may simply stop the vibration because your finger is pressing on the string. It may not tell you anything more useful than that. And it's not only the angle from the nut to the tuning post but also the angle and shape of the slot itself through the nut.

And I've had a similar issue with my D-string, which is already at a lower angle than the G-string is. It was definitely the nut slot (my own install, my nut slot-tweaking skills have improved since then). But it was not an issue that really came through the amplified sound and I could mute it with a hair scrunchie so I learned to live with it, annoying though it certainly was. Eventually I got better at doing nut slots and fixed it.

There are top guitar techs that I trust with way more experience of these things than I have who assure me that some strings even with a perfectly cut nut can still have a sympathetic vibrations behind the nut. Rare, but it happens. It is more common of Fender-style non-angled headstocks with a long length of shallow-angled string behind the nut and no string tree. Some suggest Telecasters are more prone to this than other guitars. But it can be damped.Some people wedge a guitar pick or rubber grommet between the strings, or a hair scrunchie behind the nut, or add a small lead fishing weight to the offending length of string. Not cosmetically ideal but usually effective. Before Steve Morse came to Music Man he often had a piece of foam wedged behind the nut of his frankentele for this reason.

Incidentally, archtop instruments with a trapeze-style tailpieces (guitars, mandolins) can have a similar issue behind the bridge. Very unnerving sound sometimes but easy to fix (though some people think it adds complexity to the sound). My mandolin came with a strip of felt on the underside of the tailpiece cover for this very reason. Some instruments come with rubber grommet between the strings, almost a design feature!

Anyways, just be aware that I cannot guarantee that adding the locking tuners will solve your issue and I have reason to suspect it won't. Though you will have the advantages of faster string changes and perhaps even slightly better tuning stability which may make it worth while trying anyway.

You could also invest in nut files and buy some nut blanks and learn how to do it yourself. Even pre-slotted nuts need some work to get the string height and break angle right.