Hipshot experiment

[toomanyslurpees]

Ok, so I figure it's safe to say there are folks on here as OCD as me on this forum so maybe some of you have found the same thing I have. I have Hip shot bass extenders on all my basses I gig with, I don't do any heavy music or anything, sometimes I just like being able to through that low D in there. the BT-1 has always bugged me a little bit being that even though it's advertised as being for musicman & G&L basses the key is taller than musicman tuners and it doesn't have the tappered post. I found a G&L string post in a bin of junk and paid a dime for it thinking I've struck gold and can replace my hipshot's string post which of course didn't work because of the difference in the bottom of the post. Then I thought about the machine shop at work and took both bits and asked if they could make one more like the other.... and here's the result:

Hipshot piece on the left, G&L bit on the right

Stock hipshot post, doesn't look too bad on this bass, but the older one has a slightly thinner headstock which made the single taller post look more obvious

the 85 with the modified post installed. The thought crossed my mind that a hangup for most of us would be the plating on the post, because the machining takes it all off, but since all these tuners are so tarnished the lack of shine on the E tuner makes it look more at home, if I was sold on doing this to my 01 stingray I wonder if I'ld have to find out where to get it re-plated...

This view shows that my buddy in the machine shop didn't match the height on the G&L bit I gave him so this post is still taller than the others, but it seems to make the String pull at just the right angle, so maybe it was good.

So the final vertict? was it worth it? It didn't really effect functionality at all, just made that tuner look a little more like it belongs and it cost me a 6pack of beer, guess I couldn't go too wrong. Still doesn't address the fact that the one tuning key is taller but ohwell.

Anybody else wish hipshot's musicman style bass extender was more musicman tuner looking?

 

[shakinbacon]

Ok, so I figure it's safe to say there are folks on here as OCD as me on this forum

That, my friend, is the quote of the month

 

[Bloodfist]

My question is, if you play for a crowd of 100 people, how many of those people are going to ask why your E string post is longer than the others? My guess is none. OCD, yes you have it

 

[danny-79]

Yeah i had the same problem as you with the post being straight and not tapered like the standard tuners, i have tried swapping the posts over but they don't fit, i hear that you can order a tapered post from Hipshopt but as of yet i have had no luck.

The problem that i had found was that i could not get enough downward pressure on the post, as it is the bass is now waring its original tuner.
But the altered post you have looks like just the job, nice one.

 

[mmbassplayer]

I swapped the post from my original MM tuner on my 30th and it has worked fine with no issues for over a year now. Now if i could only figure out something to do with the longer tuning key. JOSH

 

[danny-79]

I swapped the post from my original MM tuner on my 30th and it has worked fine with no issues for over a year now. Now if i could only figure out something to do with the longer tuning key. JOSH

I have tried swapping the post over, it fits and screws together but is to short, so when fully tightened there is no movement in it.
I have considered drilling out the Hipshot to allow for the shorter post to pass through it to allow movement but then it would not sit flush with the headstock?.
Machining the longer post to taper it seems to be the best solution that i have seen so far.

 

[toomanyslurpees]

Yeh, mmbassplayer, how did you do it? I thought about putting modified washers in there but was worried that less of the base of the tuning post being engaged in the hole of the gear could lead to an epic failure at a bad time (not that there's a good one)

 

[mmbassplayer]

I used the screw from Hipshot with the washer with no lengh issues. I do know i bought this detuner from a store that had it as new old stock model that had been in the store inventory for many years. I am not sure if there have been any changes to the BT1 since then. Here are a few pictures.

JOSH

 

[danny-79]

Not the best of pictures here but there is defiantly a difference, the screw and washer sit on top of the cog rather than being counter sunk into it.
I have tried every possible combination of swapping parts around to try to get the original post to marry up to the hipshot tuner but the only way i can see it fitting is to widen the hole on the second plate of the down-tuner to allow movement...

 

[oli@bass]

That's definitely different looking that a stock BT-1 backside.


Anyway. You can get replacement pegs with rounded tops directly from Hipshot at very low cost! They are not a perfect match but close enough to look the same from 2 meter distance.

 

[rhythmCity944]

I have an old BT-1 tuner from hipshot that looks like a MM factory tuner except that it can do the d-tuning. The peg post did not come tapered but I dismantaled the taper post on the factory MM tuner and put that post on the hipshot. The post fit perfectly with no modification. The hipshot does say "Fender" on the back plate instead of "hipshot" though. This hipshot looks right on the MM bass unlike the newer models that make the tuning peg taller, etc... I bought this hipshot 8 years ago on ebay and I guess I just got lucky with the find. I didn't even realize until a couple years ago that hipshot changed the design of the BT-1 model. Really bummed me out. I wish I could find another just like this old one but I have yet to have any luck. I still have original packaging for this extender key and it's a blast from the past.

View attachment 7964

 

[lowliferumble]

The gear is the only difference I see here. I think it is mounted upside down on MMplayers. Geez , imagine that! If that is all it would take..........

 

[rhythmCity944]

the gear is on my hipshot is exactly the same as the stock MM tuner, the peg tuner length between the spiral gear and the bottom of the peg tuner is shorter exactly like the stock MM tuner. the new BT-1 hipshot has a longer length which makes the tuner stick taller from the front than the rest of the tuning pegs. the lever on my older hipshot tucks away behind the headstock while the lever on my newer hipshot can be see from the front of my MM bass. I own both the new model and older model of BT-1 hipshot extender keys and there are many differences.