Straight (banjo) tuning gears

[rjgoos]

One reason the Koyabu Board has such an unusual headstock design is because Mr. Koyabu (a banjo player) apparently used straight tuning gears for the lighter gauge strings:

http://koyabuboard.com/jpeg/kbsp0111.jpg

http://www.stewmac.com/catalog/images_1lg/5014_1lg.jpg

Not a bad idea, and would allow for new designs for head stocks!!

[arsacane]

Speaking of straight tuners (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Steinberger_Gearless_Tuners.html) ...
I think they look very cool and having a 40:1 ratio is amazing! Have anyone tried them? I wonder if they will handle bit bass strings.

Cheers, Daniel.

[Tom Drinkwater]

Single pin mount keeps tuner from rotating, no mounting screws needed.
Requires 10mm (13/32")-diameter pegholes.

Minimum headstock thickness: 1/2" (12.67mm)
Maximum headstock thickness: 43/64" (16.89mm)
Maximum string guage: 0.060" (1.52mm)

that's a pretty good sized string but not really big enough for a bass. I bet one could drill out a banjo tuner easily enough. I only had to remove like 1/64" on the tuners on my laptar to accomodate the bass strings. I have seen someone use banjo tuners on a lap steel before and it seemed to work fine. I think I will order some today from Stew Mac when I place my truss rod order and try it. They are pretty cheap.

[loneguitarist]

I really love the koyabu boards - I think they're really beautiful instruments, and I really like that headstock design.