Harley Benton Parts Locking Tuners 6L Chrome

I'm a bit embarrassed to say I bought these in error....... I was in air head mode this particular day, and believed I was ordering 3x3 for my Harley Benton CST24T. And even more dumb behaviour from me. when they arrived I started to set to work on the guitar and just before I was about to remove the first tuner......... Yep, I noticed my mistake. Sooo........... I have had these for quite some months, just sitting in my spares case. I didn't have an S type guitar in my collection at this time, but have since purchased a HB ST90 Swamp Ash (very nice, by the way). I have now installed these locking tuners on the the ST90. The original 'vintage' style tuners on the ST fitted a hole of 8mm diameter, so I had to ream them out to 10mm for the re-fit. This was not a problem, for me, as I have the equipment to do this (pillar drill, reaming tools etc) But if you haven't, please bare this in mind when ordering. Also bare in mind the neck will need removing from the body to do this work safely and correctly. I filled the old screw holes as, obviously the new ones didn't line up. And now I have a very, very smart and precise set of locking tuners. 19:1 ratio is spot on and gives excellent tuning. They feel very smooth and........ well... Expensive. Much more responsive and precise than the stock tuners on my Ibanez, Epiphone and other Harley bentons. There are no dead spots were your turning the tuner yet the string is unresponsive. Excellent set of tuners and the locking pins hold very well even on a plain unwound 00.9. A quick tip if you are going to undertake the work above and retro fit on 8mm holes: If you do not have proper reaming bit's, DON'T use a 10mm wood bit in your drill press. You will not be able to keep center as you remove the excess wood and will likely get a rip through on the cut. Maple is quite soft. Instead use a 9.92mm or 10mm drill bit for metal and drill, slowly to start with, from the headstock face through to the back, with everything lined up and clamped.

OK, I've only just really installed these as replacemenst for the stock tuners on the HB TE70RW which were awful. So many dead spots, slipped tunings, it was a pain in the ....

I ordered a set and had my doubts that they'd fit as it doesn't go true that all accessories fit all guitars. These did. I changed the tuners whilst adding the Goldo chrome string tress and dropping the strings from a generic 10 to the Ernie Ball 9's. It was all veey easy. I spent my time fettling a little and they're holding out so far. I've stretched the strings to death to try and avoid tuning issues and so far, about 30 minutes of playing, there's been some tiny movement but nothing I wouldnt expect with new strings.

Questions.....
Are they easy to swap out?............Yes they were
Are they better quality?.................Yes they are
Are they good value?.....................Yes, happy so far
Would I recommend them?.............Yes, happy too.

Now, with these things, time will ultimately tell. If I have any issues or updates, I will addd them to this review.

I put these onto a Squier Bullet Mustang on the same day I bought the guitar, and even though I'll never be able to compare, I feel like I dodged a million unnecessary headaches having to deal with the garbage Squier tuners.

I'm not giving these 5 stars only because I have Fender locking tuners as well as I know that there is a level of quality above this. These are still very very good. Harley Benton is doing God's work by making these available at this price.