Doing Things Wrong

Lotmusic Guitar Tuners 3x3

First, I am bound to state that I received this product at no cost for review. Having gotten that out of the way …

I have used a lot of cheap tuners in my cheap projects, and these are the best cheap tuners I've ever had my hands on. Most inexpensive guitar tuners tighten-up and feel alright once they are installed and under tension. Good tuners are tight and smooth when they are not installed. Just holding these in my hands and working the knobs, there is no slop in either direction, and almost no play in the shaft, not in any of them. They feel much more expensive than the price they are. In addition, the chrome is thick and smooth and flawless. The back covers are slightly domed rather than flat - a nice touch. These seem more like $50 tuners than $15 - I am really surprised and pleased. Given how sturdy they are and the nice big knobs, I may save these for some sort of bass VI project. That's it - I don't need to write a longer review.


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This is a fret slot cleaning tool that I made from my old favorite steel packing strap in about 5 minutes. Once again, the inspiration is the StewMac catalog, where their tool is much nicer, and about $15. I ground the strap to a hooked point on the bench grinder and made the handle from popsicle sticks and tape. My tool is double-ended, very similar to my binding scrapers. The material is nearly the right thickness, a few passes on a file and it was perfect. The edges are all square, so the tip is a tiny chisel.