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Location: Ashby, MA | Does anyone know if any of the aftermarket types fit Ping machine heads? I'd like to update the gold ones on my CS257 to amber pearloid, or maybe ebony, but I've yet to find any that say they "fit Ping tuners."
I suppose I can buy a whole new set of tuners, but there's nothing wrong with them ...
Regards,
-BW
bruce@ashbysolutions.com |
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Location: NJ | call the service department they have several types that will fit the ping machines |
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Location: Warren,Pa. | I really like the amber pearloid buttons I
ve seen on guitars, but I have a feeling they're Gotohs. I don't think you'll find them to fit Pings. If you find otherwise, let me know.
John <>{ |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | You mean like these ???
Yeah, they are Gotoh.
Dave |
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Location: Warren,Pa. | Those are very pretty. I was thinking more like what you see on some Takamines. |
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Location: Scotland | I have a few sets of the Amber Takamine-type buttons. They come with a generic oval opening and after a few minutes work with a needle file can be made to fit most tuner shafts. |
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Posts: 7
Location: Ashby, MA | Ping makes a set (P2751) that has gold machines and amber perloid buttons, so I know the buttons MUST exist.
I'm going to try to call Ovation and talk to the service department. If they have anything good to say, I'll let you know.
-BW |
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Location: Ashby, MA | OK, here's what I found:
From Kaman Music: "Bruce, Here is a link to Allparts.com, the buttons for Grover machine heads will fit:
http://www.allparts.com/categories.php?cat_id=537&cat_name=BUSHINGS... "
Allparts only seems to have white perloid buttons, for $35.00. Guitar Parts Resource has the same (?) buttons for $29.79 (on their site, $32.79 on eBay).
I also found ebony buttons for anywhere from $22.00 (probably not real wood) to $37.00 (listed as real wood).
I found a set of Ping P2751 tuners with amber perloid buttons on eBay for $39.95. Since a) I really wanted amber, and b) they were only a few $$ more than white perloid buttons alone, it was a no-brainer! :) I'll either keep the tuners as spares, or pop my gold buttons on them and sell them. |
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Location: Ashby, MA | BTW, I *know* I can't spell "pearloid." It seems to be some sort of mental block with me. Screws up my Google searches, too. :( |
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Location: closely held secret | BW... there's a little icon right above your post... yeah, the one that looks like a little paper and pencil...
I call this the 'evidence eraser". |
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October 2006
Posts: 7
Location: Ashby, MA | Update on the Pearloid Tuner Saga (tm):
Apparently, I put 2 and 2 together and got 5 ... :(
Kaman owns Ping, manufacturer of sealed tuning machines. My CS257 was made in Korea. HOWEVER, the CS257 DOES NOT have Ping machines. It probably has Korean Grovers.
The keyhole on the tuning machine buttons of both machines is a "double-D" style (round hole with flats on two opposite sides); however the diameter of the Ping mounting hole is 50-60% bigger than the machines (Grover?) on my CS257, and will NOT fit.
So, now I'm off to get a set of Grover replacements, as recommended by Ovation Support. Live and learn.
If anyone is interested in a set of gold Pings with amber pearloid buttons for a project they are working on, hit me offline (bruce@ashbysolutions.com). They seem like nice machines; I was just looking for an easy upgrade, rather than replacing the ones on the guitar. |
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Location: ranson,wva | if the mounting holes on the machines are the same id just swap out the whole machine..jason |
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Location: Ashby, MA | Yeah, that's Option #2, but right now It's more work than I really want to get into. Changing the buttons is probably 10 min. work, tops. Changing the machines is a lot more work, and requires space in my lab that I can't spare at the moment. I ordered a set of pearloid buttons for Grovers, and we'll see which ones look better (IMHO, of course). |
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Location: Ashby, MA | Epilogue --
OK, my Grover replacement pearloid tuner knobs arrived, I popped the top on one of the CS257's machine heads (getting good at it!). Only, the Grover knobs don't fit either. :mad: So, the guy at Ovation Support was wrong, too.
The Grover knobs have the same shape hole as all the others (double-D), but a third diameter: larger than the stock tuners, but smaller than the Pings. At this point, I was planning on re-stringing the guitar, and decided to evaluate the look/feel of the Pings.
After removing one of the current machines, I found that it's not a Ping or Korean Grover head -- it's a Jin Ho. (A pretty good Schaller copy, looks-wise.) The good news is that the mounting and screw holes for Ping and Jin Ho match perfectly, so mounting the Pings was an easy task.
There is a subtle but noticeable difference between the two types: the Ping machines are more like a "close mount" machine, with the knob sitting about 3/32" - 1/8" closer to the wood than the Jin Ho product. It's a case of both the neck of the machine being taller, and the Ping buttons not having the Grover/Schaller "bump" just below the knob proper. I've included a picture at the halfway point, which shows this pretty well.
At first I didn't care for the "close shaved" look, but it's growing on me. If I decide to change it, the Ping machines have a very long shaft, and a spacer could easily be added. (Finding a spacer that looks right might be a chore, though.) The supplied mounting screws, however, aren't long enough to reach at that point, requiring replacements.
All in all, I like the amber pearloid look, much better than the gold or white pearloid buttons. Judge for yourself:
Regards,
-BW |
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Posts: 349
Location: Snellville, GA | Those look good on that peg head. |
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Changing the tuner (machine head) knobs
