Archer250
New member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2019
- Messages
- 3
I few days back, I ordered a set of Grover tuners from a store to replace the Gibson Deluxes I have on my Trad. Research told me it would be a drop-in replacement. I've ordered the same set of tuners from the same store to replace Gotoh Klusons on my friend's guitar before (the Gotohs and Deluxes have the same plate dimensions and can use the same screw holes). That particular set felt exactly as the OEM Grover tuners on an MIA guitar my other friend (who is a luthier) worked on.
The seller claimed that these Grovers were ordered in bulk from a wholesaler in Korea. They do not come with retail packaging.
When the tuners arrived, I found out that they do NOT match the old bottom screw hole. You can still use the old hole, but the screw would go in at an angle. These tuners are good, they feel solid, and they don't seem fake (although I have emailed Grover for them to ascertain that), but they do not fit. The mounting leg is slightly elongated, visually very definitely longer than that of other Grovers, and so is the screw hole.
The seller was very cooperative and offered a refund, which I unfortunately had to turn down because I had already "aged" the tuners before trying to install them. Interestingly as I have said above, I've ordered Grovers from this store before, and they fit the old holes.
Now as stated above, I have emailed Grotro Music and I'm awaiting their response on whether this specific set I bough was a fake or not (the set I had ordered a while ago for my friend's guitar were likely NOT fakes)
There are three possibilities here: either the wholesaler was selling very convincing but inconsistent fakes, that some fakes got into the seller's inventory, or the stuff being installed OEM and sold to wholesalers in Asia are of looser tolerances than those being imported into retail stores in the US, meaning the "rejects" that otherwise wouldn't make it to music stores can be found in bulk packages.
The seller claimed that these Grovers were ordered in bulk from a wholesaler in Korea. They do not come with retail packaging.
When the tuners arrived, I found out that they do NOT match the old bottom screw hole. You can still use the old hole, but the screw would go in at an angle. These tuners are good, they feel solid, and they don't seem fake (although I have emailed Grover for them to ascertain that), but they do not fit. The mounting leg is slightly elongated, visually very definitely longer than that of other Grovers, and so is the screw hole.
The seller was very cooperative and offered a refund, which I unfortunately had to turn down because I had already "aged" the tuners before trying to install them. Interestingly as I have said above, I've ordered Grovers from this store before, and they fit the old holes.
Now as stated above, I have emailed Grotro Music and I'm awaiting their response on whether this specific set I bough was a fake or not (the set I had ordered a while ago for my friend's guitar were likely NOT fakes)
There are three possibilities here: either the wholesaler was selling very convincing but inconsistent fakes, that some fakes got into the seller's inventory, or the stuff being installed OEM and sold to wholesalers in Asia are of looser tolerances than those being imported into retail stores in the US, meaning the "rejects" that otherwise wouldn't make it to music stores can be found in bulk packages.