Woodinblack Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 So my shuker has Shaller tuners on it - I think the lightweight ones, they certainly have plastic.., whatever the end bits that you turn are called. May 2021, I was tightening a string and the A tuner handle just broke, fell apart completely. Very irritating. Contacted Jon Shuker to mention it and he sent me a new one, which was nice. Put new strings on it yesterday, doing up the strings and the D string tuner also fell apart! wtf? People always go on about getting cheap basses and saying that you have to change the tuners. I have changed tuners in the past but I have never had to change tuners on a cheap bass, the sum total of playing the guitar since 1979 is 2 tuners, both these shalllers. Regardless of the outcome of this, I think I might just get some new tuners anyway! Anyone else had problems with this? Heres the original: And heres yesterdays 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 Is the screw at the leaf end loose? Because of the washers (and especially the plastic/teflon/whatever one), the screw cannot be overly tight. You can put nail lacquer (or some thread locking compound) to the thread. This probably solves the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 18, 2022 Author Share Posted July 18, 2022 The screw wasn't loose, it was the same as all the others. The issue can only be solved now by replacing the head unfortunately as they are broken (or the finger bit but they don't do that separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineweasel Posted July 19, 2022 Share Posted July 19, 2022 I would be writing to Schaller to see what they had to say. I can’t believe their lightweight tuners are all this feeble - maybe they had a duff batch? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 19, 2022 Share Posted July 19, 2022 (edited) Been there. I ordered a lightweight set from Thomann last year and one of them split about 6 months later when it wasn't even in use. One day I picked up the bass and the head was lying alongside the bass. Thomann replaced the set without any trouble. Definitely get on to Schaller. This is a design fault, not a bad batch or a customer problem. You can see in my and your pics that the shaft the head is screwed onto has recessed out of the body of the tuner. It looks like, when the string is under tension, the shaft is pulling out of the main shell. This puts stress on the head at the point where the head is thinnest, resulting in it splitting. Edited July 19, 2022 by Doctor J 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 19, 2022 Author Share Posted July 19, 2022 Yep, that is exactly where mine went, and is exactly that type of tuner. I thought there must be something there, two lose one tuner would be unfortunate, to lose two is obviously a design fault! I guess its time for some gohtos or some hipshots (although the hipshots have quite a bit of gear the other side of the tuning post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 19, 2022 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Wow! That’s really poor. Replace all of them with Hipshots perhaps? I’ve certainly never had a day’s issue with them (or the Wilkinson clones TBH). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 19, 2022 Author Share Posted July 19, 2022 I contacted Schaller, I await their reply, although TBH, I don't really trust them much now, so I think I might have to replace them with a quality brand, like you say, wilkinson or something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 This is why I don't trust ANY tuners with plastic buttons - I don't care how much weight they save! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 17 hours ago, Woodinblack said: I contacted Schaller, I await their reply, although TBH, I don't really trust them much now, so I think I might have to replace them with a quality brand, like you say, wilkinson or something! Schaller /are/ a quality brand, they've just maybe put out a duff product - happens to the best of 'em and doesn't mean every product they make is garbage. Also, the only time I ever needed their help with something of theirs, they came through like champs - providing me with 4 of the 1 thing I asked for (a capstan and screw for an M4S - screw had been broken and was stuck inside the capstan), a bunch of plectra and a sticker, all for free - even though I was restoring a beat up second hand instrument and they didn't owe me anything and would have been quite within their rights to charge me for it - or even make me buy a whole M4S tuner - or tell me to get lost and buy a whole set of them somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 32 minutes ago, neepheid said: Schaller /are/ a quality brand, they've just maybe put out a duff product - happens to the best of 'em and doesn't mean every product they make is garbage. Indeed not, but if there is a product with a known fault maybe it is worth updating their design? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 2 minutes ago, Woodinblack said: Indeed not, but if there is a product with a known fault maybe it is worth updating their design? Absolutely - I hope they take your feedback on board. I hope you have as good an experience with them as I did, even if you've lost faith in the product. I stand by what I said - I would never trust a bass tuner with a plastic button. So fair enough if you decide to look elsewhere for this size of bass tuner but I would be wary of the Gotoh Res-o-lite GB350 tuners also - plastic button. If you want to continue to save some weight then I'd go with the Hipshot Ultralites - the USA ones are a little lighter than the "licensed" ones and are reversible but are significantly more expensive. Or try some Gotoh GB707 if you don't like the exposed gear look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 I do have some of the Gotohs, the ones that came with the Ibanez 1605, which I replaced with hipshots to reduce weight (as that has a very light body). But they are probably a bit gold for that bass. I like the look of the ultralights but they have a big section above the tuner which might not fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 20, 2022 Share Posted July 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Woodinblack said: I like the look of the ultralights but they have a big section above the tuner which might not fit. According to the tech drawings from each manufacturer the total length of the base plates are as follows: Schaller M4 90 - 29.1mm Hipshot Ultralite - 33.8mm 4.7mm to find above each of your existing tuners, but bear in mind that there is a curve in the top of the Hipshots instead of the straight across tops of the Schallers - that's the maximum excursion and it'll be less at the edges. Over to you and your favourite measuring device... On the plus side, the mounting hole is in a very similar position on both tuners - 11.6mm for the Schaller vs. 11.2mm for the Hipshot (centre of tuner post to centre of mounting hole). I think that's within error and the mounting screw will go in without the need to fill/redrill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 I raised an email issue with Schaller Customer Services a couple of years back over a weekend...and the CEO replied in less than an hour! He clearly keeps his eye on incoming stuff. The issue was sorted promptly. I'll try and find his name and email address in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 It's : Dr. Lars Bünning, whom I believe is the owner and I reckon cares very much about his business. I'll pm you his email tomorrow if I can find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 22 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: It's : Dr. Lars Bünning, whom I believe is the owner and I reckon cares very much about his business. Thanks, yes, I emailed them and had a reply from him quite quickly. I just filled out the form on their shop page so I wasn't really expecting such a prompt and high up reply! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 5 hours ago, Woodinblack said: Thanks, yes, I emailed them and had a reply from him quite quickly. I just filled out the form on their shop page so I wasn't really expecting such a prompt and high up reply! Great. I would be surprised if he doesn't get you sorted. And he needs to be aware of this problem - it's a popular range and there clearly is a quality problem. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 They should know, anyway, from returned units from retailers. My replacement set came from Schaller via Thomann, who contacted Schaller prior to processing the warranty replacement. The request for pics came from Schaller themselves. It's a shame, Schaller parts are usually as good as anything out there but they did not get this design right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 25, 2022 Author Share Posted July 25, 2022 On 23/07/2022 at 00:42, Andyjr1515 said: It's : Dr. Lars Bünning, whom I believe is the owner and I reckon cares very much about his business. This morning I got a bag from Shaller with 6 replacement tuner head parts, so I have a few spares when they break! Also some plectrums. Unfortunately the first one actually damaged its tthread (Although that was replaced by Jon Shuker, so no prob) but I have the parts of the current one, so should be able to put that back on 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 Is that a 6 month supply? 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted July 25, 2022 Author Share Posted July 25, 2022 Its over a year since the last one broke, so I am hoping it might last a bit longer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 Great to hear that Schaller are still taking customer care seriously - even when you're not technically speaking their customer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 2 hours ago, neepheid said: Great to hear that Schaller are still taking customer care seriously - even when you're not technically speaking their customer. Indeed. Now to get this particular product's quality to match their after sales service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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