I'm looking to dress up an older Larrivee guitar a bit and take some weight off the headstock. Does anyone know which manufacturer/supplier has real wood (ebony) tuner buttons that are a direct replacement to fit on Larrivee tuners? I know older Larrivee's used both Ping and Schaller tuner bodies, not sure about the current builds. Problem I'm running into is most retailers and eBay sellers carry Grover replacements and either don't know if they are cross compatible or they're not interested in taking a few dimensions to verify. I don't want Larrivee's because they are fake wood or ebenoid, basically plastic. If you've done a mod like this and you have that information and maybe a pictures that would be great. Thanks!
Quote from: rockin_ron on May 13, 2026, 03:56:48 PMI'm looking to dress up an older Larrivee guitar a bit and take some weight off the headstock.
If you're still spitballing ideas, have you thought about replacing all six tuners with open-back tuners? I did this a while back on my OM, and it did make the neck lighter. If you're handy with such things, it's not that difficult of a procedure. I'm happy with how mine turned out.
Be aware that changing headstock mass can alter the sound, the wolf notes, etc. The stock tuners aren't particularly heavy and I don't see getting an appreciable gain as far as weight goes. I'd really only recommend it if you don't care for the look or the function of the stock tuners. I've done it on a couple Larrivees. Had to fill and re-drill a few holes. I believe there are some drop-in types though.
Only looking to change the buttons more for look and aesthetics. Eliminating the weight of chromed metal buttons is just a plus.
Quote from: rockin_ron on May 13, 2026, 05:03:10 PMOnly looking to change the buttons more for look and aesthetics. Eliminating the weight of chromed metal buttons is just a plus.
Ah, thanks for clarifying. When I looked into it a while back, there wasn't an easy replacement. But, that could have just been the particular versions of Larrivee tuners I was trying to swap buttons on. Hopefully someone here will have better news.
Quote from: rockin_ron on May 13, 2026, 05:03:10 PMOnly looking to change the buttons more for look and aesthetics. Eliminating the weight of chromed metal buttons is just a plus.
https://www.larrivee.com/shop/black-aluminum-buttons
As Mike suggested, I bought a couple sets oof the black aluminum buttons and I really like them
Quote from: mike in lytle on May 13, 2026, 06:08:37 PMhttps://www.larrivee.com/shop/black-aluminum-buttons
Good alternative.
:thumb
I was lucky enough to get some from a local luthier. Slightly older Gotoh with custom buttons on my C-09W.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/02bk3aeQyrQOqOe_izC3eNRdw
Even going gold buttons looks like quite a good upgrade, and you can stay with Larrivee tuners too.
Quote from: Michael Howard on Today at 04:39:07 AMI was lucky enough to get some from a local luthier. Slightly older Gotoh with custom buttons on my C-09W.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/02bk3aeQyrQOqOe_izC3eNRdw
Even going gold buttons looks like quite a good upgrade, and you can stay with Larrivee tuners too.
Looks nice with the wood buttons. That is look I'm going for, the wood nicely accents the guitar. Problem is finding them and ensuring they'll fit on the stock tuner posts. Grover 1020E Ebony buttons suppose to fit on Larrivee based on ChatGPT. The problem is nobody seems to carry them anymore or they are all out of stock.