ID'ing older Larrivee tuners

[JohnM2001]

I ran across a post on RMMGA from 1999 about how to ID what type of tuners on your Larrivee, apparently they used Schallers and Gotohs before switching to Pings sometime in 1999.

Since all three of these tuner brands - Schaller, Gotoh and Ping - can look
distressingly similar, one easy way to tell what they are is by taking the
tension off the string, getting the proper screwdriver and removing the tuner
button.


The tuner button shaft on the Schallers is in the shape of a flattened ovoid -
two sides are flat, and the other ends are rounded.  Gotoh shafts are round,
and slightly smaller than the Schaller shafts.  So if you put some Schaller
aftermarket buttons on a Gotoh tuner, they'll rattle around and not work
properly unless you wrap the shaft first with some teflon tape.  So if you have
some buttons from a known Schaller set and they are too loose on the tuner when
you try to tighten them down, you've got Gotohs.


Here's what's kind of interesting about the Pings - they've got a really unique
shaft, either hexagonical or octagonal, I don't remember which.  Very
distinctive, like no other tuner shaft I've seen.  And what's cool about it is
that the Schaller aftermarket tuner buttons, even though they aren't designed
for that shaft, will fit on it perfectly.  You just have to sort of wiggle the
tuner button around on the shaft until you find it lining up, and then they go
on nice and tight, with no teflon tape required.

I don't have a set of Pings here, can someone look at their tuner shaft, what shape are the shafts on your Ping tuners?  Note: if you are going to take off your tuner button, always take the string tension off first, or the parts will go flying, possibly never to be found. :UND>

I was trying to determine what type of tuners are on my Larrivees.  Tuners on my D-02 from 1999 or so have round shafts, black in color, so I suspect Gotoh.  My C-09 from 1998 apparently has Schallers, as the posts match the description above as a flattened ovoid.  BTW, both of these tuner sets feel good, and seem much smoother than the later Pings I've owned. 

[Daysailer]

Just an added note about compatible tuner buttons.
After a long search for ivoriod tuner buttons, (to match the fretboard biniding)
I found some after market tuners (fleabay) in germany that are for Grover Rotomatics.
Nice snug fit on my '04 Pings.

[jwu53]

I've wondered why the tuners on my '96 LS-05 seem noticeably better than the tuners on my 2006 L-03R -- maybe they are Schallers? I'll check.