The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #149220   Message #3472628
Posted By: PHJim
28-Jan-13 - 04:54 PM
Thread Name: Tech: Gibson guitar tuners
Subject: RE: Tech: Gibson guitar tuners
Martins and Gibsons from the 50s and 60s often had Klusons. The Gibsons often had plastic knobs which seemed to deteriorate after a few decades. These were not too difficult or expensive to replace. The Martins usually had metal knobs. I have a 1950 Gibson with the original Klusons and I have never replaced the knobs. My brother's '58 Gibson has had all of the knobs replaced as have many others I've seen. My '62 D-21 had Klusons which I replaced with Gotohs, but I kept the original Klusons at the recommendation of my luthier.
I believe that Martin switched over to Grovers some time in the sixties. Stew-Mac or Elderly can supply you with repo Klusons if you want to stay original.