Reverse Gear Slot Head Tuners for Maurer Restoration

[Eric Steven Johansen]

I'm in process on this really nice Maurer Concert model from the thirties that came to me with changed tuners that rotated the wrong way. I need the reverse gear type with post spacings of 1 3/8" and post diameter of 1/4". Does anyone out there have or know of someone who might have either originals or replacements for these? The guitar is really nice and deserves the best I can find. I'm including some photos of the restoration for your perusal.

[Tim Mace]

I want it...
Waverley may have or know who.Did you try StewMac or LMII?

[Eric Steven Johansen]

Stew Mac and LMI are non reverse type gears so they won't work unfortunately.

[Stuart Horsman]

They may be a bit pricey, but they don't get much better than John Gilbert's tuners-and I'm sure he could match the existing. www.specialtytuners.com. Stuart

[Eric Steven Johansen]

Gilberts are nice but are also non reverse type gears as well as being large shaft for classical guitars.

[William F.Eden]

Am I missing something here or what ????? Were are the pictures of the tuners I can't tell what you are looking for with out seeing the tuners.I am sorry but the Guitar pic. don't help me . Bill.""""""""""""

[Ned Knepp]

Well, I was afraid that I would look more stupid than usual but now I'll confess that I don't know what "reverse gears" are. I've seen machine heads that I thought were mounted Upside down, on the wrong side of the head. Is this what we are talking about?

Ned

[Eric Steven Johansen]

OK for those who are not aware of the difference I am uploading a few shots. The tuners installed on the headstock are Reverse Gear while the ones in my hand are standard, like the replacements made by Waverly. With reverse gear tuners the button shaft is below the gear, closest to the body.

[Jay Gordon]

I'm sorry to sound repetitive, but you say you got the guitar "with reverse tuners installed" I will humbly suggest that if you swap sides your "reverse" tuners would suddenly be orientated the correct was where the button shaft is "conventionally" situated ie. above the gear, not below. As per the picture, if the tuners were actually installed as you've suggested then you would have to rotate the button/shaft for the three lowest strings counter-clockwise, and the upper (higher pitched) three strings counter clockwise as well. Not the convention for three a side tuners has been for sometime (forever?). If you allow for the possibility that the tuners were re-installed sometime before you got the guitar by someone who knew no better, then in fact you would be correcting someone else's mistake. I very much doubt that the guitar was sold new with 'reverse gear' tuners as you describe. I've seen many Maurer's...,none had 'reverse gears' or tuning shafts below the gears. Something to think about....

[Eric Steven Johansen]

The tuners that were on the guitar when I got it were standard style rotated from bass to treble and treble to bass with the gears below and so the buttons had to be turned reverse of standard. The original tuners were long gone when I got the guitar but because of the screw hole locations (original) I can tell that the gears were below as I have said previously. I've been thinking of removing one of the nice reverse gear sets I have on an old Bauer that would work but then I would be looking later for replacements for it.

[William F.Eden]

If I were looking for a vintage set of tuners I would try our friend Stringer if anyone would have them he would or know anything about them.P.S if you don't know Stringer just look in some of the past threads .If you don't have any luck finding him there I could maybe find you his e-mail address. Good luck .Bill."""" oh Just a thought could you not just turn a standard set up to the top instead of down like some of the Dobros are?

[Eric Steven Johansen]

Not on a guitar as nice as this one! Would love to hear from Stringer.........

[Frank Ford]

Right you are!

While it is more or less obvious that you can swap tuners right-for-left to change their worm shaft orientation, you end up with tuners that require turning the buttons backwards.

For those who don't know the situation at hand, somewhere around 1925, the industry changed from RIGHT hand worm turners to LEFT hand thread worms. As a result, the older tuners have the worm gears oriented BELOW the cogs, where modern ones have the worms ABOVE the cogs. Modern tuners allow the string tension to force the tuner assembly to fit more tightly, with the string tension forcing the parts together.

GIbert tuners may be dandy and functional, they are just about the least appropriate for vintage restoration, where visual aesthetic is the main point. Waverly tuners by Stewart MacDonald have the right look, but, of course, are of modern left-hand worm design.

So, salvage is the only real option at this time. . .