Gotoh Locking Vintage Oval Knob Tuners

The tuners are very solid and good to use, but I confirm that the screws are too weak: I drilled a good hole before than I force just a little bit on the latest two turns and the screw broke into the hole!
Fortunately I manage to drill a little hole near the old one and replace all the screws for better ones, but believe me, don'y use the SCREWS coming with the tuners, they are too risky !!

From a distance, these look just like the vintage tuners. These were used on a new build and they fit, installed, and performed as advertised. I don't know why so many reviewers had so much trouble with the screws. You have to drill a proper hole and lube the threads. You have to screw it in incrementally. That is two turns in one turn out etc, until it bottoms out. If you bulldoze it in you're going to break the screw no matter how good it is.

Don't blame the screws, it's a poor workman that blames his tools. The only concern I have is the top cap,the actual string post,can be lost.I don't know if replacements are available so be careful when changing strings.

These help keep my strat in tune when dive bombing, although this particular style of locking tuner takes longer to change strings.

Everything is ok with the screws. Today I tried with hard maple. no problem. You just need to drill large enough hole.

I've used Gotoh locking tuners on may guitars in the past, but this is the first time I've used the ones from StewMac. All I can say about them is, buy the originals if you don't mind paying a bit extra.

First thing, everything the other reviewers say about the screws is correct. The supplied ones look ok, but are really not up to the job (and with so many negative comments. I drilled the correct pilot holes and the second one I tried to use sheared off flush with the hole. This meant using needle nose pliers to try and remove the broken thread causing damage to the hole. BUY REPLACEMENT SCREWS.

Next up is the quality of the actual tuner. These must be made under some kind of manufacturing license with less QC than the originals. The plating just looks cheap and too glossy - more chrome than nickel. Also, the holes drilled through the post are too small and it's very difficult to insert the string end.

I would not recommend these for fitting to anything other than a very cheap instrument.

very good tuner! and i did not experience problem with the screws.

I read the reviews prior to making the purchase and followed the advice offered regarding the screws... so reused the existing screws. These tuners installed perfectly on my artist series Telecaster. No problems or issues. That really improved tune-ability and stability of being in tune. I really did not realize how much difference they could make. I only replaced the existing tuner because I just hated the slotted peg design. One thing I noticed about the Gotoh tuners is that some of them were stiffer to turn. I am a bit puzzled by this.

I don't get what everyone is complaining about. The only way you twist screws apart is

(a) you have the wrong screwdriver, and /or
(b) your holes are not drilled deeply or large enough.

I put these on my Fender 59 Reissue Thin Skin Stratocaster that I got from Wildwood Guitars. The screws fit perfectly, and did NOT strip or break. The Ferrels were a bit skinnier than the originals, so I wrapped one layer of scotch tape around the ferrels, and they then fit perfectly.

In fact, the complaint the guy made about the tuner shafts leaning? He probably used his original ferrels! You have to use the ones supplied with the Gotohs. You can whammy HARD with these, and you stay in tune. I couldn't be more pleased. Thanks Stew-Mac for a great price on a great product.

I second the other reviewers who said: DON'T USE THE PROVIDED SCREWS!!! I thought, "I'm more careful than most..." One screw snapped in half while screwing in. I had to bore out the hole. The tuners are pretty good. Each one feels slightly different than the next. They've got the look though.

When I ordered these I made a mental note to watch out for the screws. Of course once they got here I forgot all about that and tried to install them. Three broken screws later I'm back with a bad report.

I'm not superman, and wasn't trying to make them especially tight. The holes in my Maple strat neck (MIM, 50th anniversary) were drilled by Fender so there should have fit.

When the first two broke I thought I'd stripped the wood; it wasn't until the 3rd once broke that I pulled them all out and realized they had broken off below the surface.

These screws are about as strong as cheese. In such an expensive set of tuners there's just no excuse to pack junk like this. Since they apparently pack them in-house it would be easy for this seller to ship some better screws. I won't be buying here again.