ronwalker49 - Posted - 01/12/2016:  16:04:45

I am planning to replace the tuners on a Kentucky KM254 and I am trying to decide between Golden Age / Grovers from Stew mac...What do you guys think

TI_USER - Posted - 01/12/2016:  19:44:19

I personally think you're better off with the Grover's.  I had a set of the Golden Age and they were always a bit stiff to tune and I have read many others who have had the same problem. I almost never hear anything bad about the Grover tuners.

Another excellent tuner to consider is Rubner.  They have been getting a ton of good press on the Cafe and some have said they are some of the nicest tuners made.  They have some very nice ones that are in the $150 range, but they also have some sets that are more plain looking but are still very smooth.  here's a link to one of the less expensive sets.

rubnertuners.com/hauser-style-...l-imitate

Here's a link to the page that has all of the mandolin tuners.

rubnertuners.com/mandolin-machines/

My personal favorite is the brass set with the rosewood buttons.

Edited by - TI_USER on 01/12/2016 19:47:22

ronwalker49 - Posted - 01/13/2016:  00:38:44

Thanks Larry,

  I have another Mandolin (70 ish Alvarez artist) that I recently put a set of Golden Age tuners on and although they look nice I was unimpressed with their function...I guess I was expecting them to work "a lot" better than the ones I replaced...I have never had a set of Grover s but I think I might like the 18:1 gear ratio..

ronwalker49 - Posted - 01/17/2016:  06:16:29

Can anyone tell me what brand of tuners come on a Kentucky KM 254 A model Mandolin?

TI_USER - Posted - 01/18/2016:  15:46:40

I'm pretty sure the Kentucky's use Gotoh.

ronwalker49 - Posted - 01/21/2016:  02:54:44

Thanks to everyone for your help...I ordered Grover 309's and a set of black buttons yesterday...

ronwalker49 - Posted - 01/21/2016:  02:59:02

Thanks to everyone for your help...I ordered a set of Grover 309's, and a set of black buttons yesterday...

Craigonian - Posted - 02/01/2016:  15:57:02

Hi, Ron. How did the replacement go? Did the tuners pretty much replace easily or did you have to adjust the holes to make them fit? I'm thinking of doing exactly this, but I've not done it before so I'm curious about what kind of a process I'm in for. Thanks!

Edited by - Craigonian on 02/01/2016 15:57:48

ronwalker49 - Posted - 02/02/2016:  00:59:11

They have not come yet...

I just ordered them yesterday because they were out of stock...I'm not expecting any problems with them..

I just changed the tuners on my 70's Alvarez Artist to a set of Golden Age tuners from Stew Mac and would have probably put a set of them on my Kentucky KM254 as well if they would have had removable buttons, however the A model tuners by Golden age do not, and I wanted black buttons...Another thing about the Golden age tuners I didn't like was I had to use my old bushings, or re drill the head stock

If I don't forget I will post about it after I am finished with it..

ronwalker49 - Posted - 02/05/2016:  08:08:23

Well the Grover s came last evening and I installed them this morning...There were no issues and I really like them...They are very smooth and my mandolin is much easier to tune now..The 309's are a great tuner and I will be buying them every time I need tuners for a mandolin...