Harley Benton Parts JBass Tuners Set Chrome

The tuners in my Stagg bass had poorly machined worm screws that ate up the gears because the screw is steel and the gear is softer brass. The new tuners have precisely machined screws, I checked with a loupe. The gears are better, too, at first sight they look the same as Stagg but with the loupe the teeth in the gears are better cut with a smoother finish, the Stagg gears had machining marks.

The machines came in cardboard box with two other items but the tuners' package was torn and they moved around inside the box, making a noise that worried me a bit when I received it. Nothing was damaged because the two other things were not fragile, and the chrome on the tuners is so hard they won't scratch easily.

However a double plastic bag shouldn't be torn, if delicate things had been present in that box they could have been damaged.

While the tuners were removed I reshaped the headstock, so it's a bit smaller; and the Harley Benton parts are also a little smaller by chance, so they're a better match for the resculpted headstock. It's also a detail you see only with a loupe but the mounting screws have a shape that allows an improved centering in the frame's holes. In case you haven't drilled perfectly the Stagg screws don't allow a margin because the top of their threaded shaft is conical.

But the screws delivered with the Harley tuners are straight so they self-adjust if the frame holes are not perfectly centered. It's a small thing but it makes the assembly easier. I had to plug the Stagg tuners' holes and drill new ones so this is not a luxury, when you drill sixteen holes there's a chance one or two will be a tad off-center.

The tuners are lubricated with a good, thick viscous oïl but only between the worm and the gear, other moving parts needed extra oïl. Once installed they are firm and fluid and have no play at all. You must always tune up for stability but the tuners are accurate enough that you could tune down.

Setting the intonation was not a problem thanks to that accuracy. After a couple weeks I checked the gears with my loupe, and they show no denting, no scratching, no wearing down of the chrome skin, nothing, just the shiny oiled surface.

Since those who reviewed these several years ago never edited their reviews to complain I trust they will last for very long.

I bought these tuners for a P/J build I've been working for, I chose them as I was looking for something cheap and easy to replace.

I was genuinely surprised by the performance of these tuners. They keep my bass in tune just as good as some of the tuners on my more expensive guitars do.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how sturdy they feel. I have bought very cheap tuners off of eBay before that felt cheap and flimsy, these tuners feel just as sturdy as something off of a Fender/Squire bass.

I would have liked some more documentation on what size of hole I would need in the headstock to facilitate these tuners as they were too big for the original holes in my bass headstock, but a little trial and error sorted this out.

Overall these are good quality bass tuners for the price, I think they are perfect for project builds or replacements on cheaper guitars. I'd like some specifications to help with hole drilling but at the end of the day these are great for the price.

What a surprise! These tuning machines are real work horses. The action is smooth and the whole thing feels mega solid just as a Schaller would do. I do use a quite heavy string gauge and these beauties never let me down, it doesn't go out of tune, it's amazing! I was expecting something light and cheap, but what I've got was way more than that, it is truly a great option and probably the best within this price bracket. Superb!