Epiphone SL - tuner swap 

How not to change tuners.

When you go on eBay and see a second hand guitar saying it had "upgrades" done to it, think of this video as this is how these "upgrades" were done half of the time. Watching this was a ride on a rollercoaster of cringe.

Love you guys, but this was painful to watch

"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them." "For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime." ~ Bruce Lee

Every bedroom luthier is crying into their beers right now. Ouch -- poor little guy!

Umm..there's a HAND TOOL called a "reamer" that you're supposed to use for this application. It's a guitar, not a door jamb!

You shouldn't use a drill to widen the tuner holes. A $5 reamer will do the job cleanly.

Ryan, have you tried hammering the 3rd fret down just a tad bit? They might not have pressed it in fully and it may be causing your buzzing issues. Just an idea!

I had some success with this method: wrap some sandpaper around a drill bit, and as the hole gets bigger gradually increase the size of the bit. Makes for a cleaner hole (i.e. no chip out).

What size are the tuners that come stock on the SL? I can't find it listed on epiphone's website anywhere. (I assume that they are 8.5mm like vintage ones but this guitar is pretty lowend and not aure if they are something else.) More importantly I'm looking for a locking tuner with the same size peg so i dont need to drill out the hole.

There's actually lag in all tuners and that's why when you tune up a guitar you always tune up to the note you're trying to reach. To improve the original turners you had you remove the covers and check the gear screw and make sure it's snug. Then apply Vaseline to the gears so they rotate smooth and always tune up to the note.

Covering the holes with painters tape (back and front) and then drilling will help prevent chipping. Always drill from the back of the headstock (as you did). Drilling from the back significantly reduces potential chipping on the front the headstock.

What an awesome gesture from Darrell Talks Tone! he can be such a child some times but hes okay. kudos on the video! great voice over.

Hey dude watching your clips on this axe has made me want one think I will get the dark sunburst. The tuners are a must swap and for the pickups I think two Dimarzio fat strats would bring some life to it. Keep up the good work bro thanks

Nice documentation, a sharp drill bit always a good option.

This video was actually more educational than a video showing you the correct way to do it

And use a vernier caliper to measure what size drill you need ! Even though it is a lower line guitar , you should have pride in your work !

Hey Ryan, I'm going to order one of these in black next week. I already have a set of the higher end Epiphone tuners with the plastic handles lying around. I was wondering if you could recommend a bridge to replace the stock one as you've mentioned its a little bit soft and cheap. Thanks!

"How to relic your new $99 Epiphone SL"

Do you recommend any tuners that can just be purchased and swapped without any drilling?

Well I am in total agreement on changing out the cheap tuner on this guitar. My tuners were very sloppy when I received my SL but curious if you checked the next obvious thing first, the nut/bone? Applying pencil lead or nut lube into the slots can often work wonders. It was the 1st thing I tried with some improvment... however after removing 1 of the keys I saw the real problem, Just a crappy made key too much slop in it, so time for replacements and perhaps a nice Turq Graphite nut. By the way plenty of people enjoy modifying cheaper guitars, I've done dozens with great success in the past. I purchased this guitar because quite frankly I like the look, cross between a melody maker and a les Paul in my opinion. Curious though, can anyone confirm the other post on here from Matt? As follows: "For those of you with Epi SLs wanting a tuner swap without having to bore out the existing holes, get a set of Wilkinson Vintage EZ-LOK tuners. They're nicely made and only require drilling new pilot holes for the screws to mount them." - Now that sounds ideal! I found the neck pick up to sound pretty good However since I do have an a spare P90 I'll be changing out with that soon. Bridge pick up was too thin sounding so I'll be putting another spare pick up I have in it... a single coil sized humbucker. Mine has a good neck no buzz set down to D Standard Tuning.

Butt Head- You said base of the shaft. Huh, huh, huh. Beavis- Yea. Shaft. He he he. Base of my shaft. Huh huh.

I feel your pain - Squier used to put these tuners on their Bullet Strats and Strat Minis, and they are truly horrible. They've since smartened up and installed really nice die-cast tuners on the latest versions. When I did my tuner swap on my Strat Mini, I used a tapered hand reamer (purchased off eBay) and patience, stopping and fitting the tuner to ensure fit and snugness as I went along. It now sports a set of Fender/Ping tuners and is strung with 11-48 strings for tuning stability - stays in tune once strings are broken in and sounds great.

This guy should have his own series of books: How to do Mods BY dummies.

The boss that surrounds the base of the tuner shaft taper from .391 to .375. That's why the 3/8 bit didn't work. 7/16 would've been ideal, but 1/2 works too.

Musicians Friend told me it would be another month on getting mine. So I got them to price match their sister company GC and got the Epiphone SP1 P-90 for only $119. For only $20 more I got a lot more guitar!

All it needed was a bigger hammer. Great demo, thx.

I just bought an Epihone Les Paul Special II which has the same cheap tuners .I searched replacement tuners Epihone Les Paul Special and found the perfect set of Klusons on StewMac that have the same off set holes and they dropped straight in easy as pie .They're great and in conjunction with a new roller bridge [couldnt get the intonation right on the original] it's a great guitar for not a lot of money.

Oh come on, the very least you could have done was to get some tuners that had a fighting chance of covering up the screw mounting holes..free tuners or not, that is is disgraceful. If that came into my shop for a tuner upgrade, even on a cheap guitar I'd have made some effort to track down a half-decent replacement set of pegs for the job, and used the Grovers for something else. This made me cringe...you don't need to be pro do do a good job, but you've shown how any can't-be-bothered individual can do it the wrong way.

I had the same problem. Doesn’t anybody make tuners that fit without drilling holes?

The size is 10mm. Use a tapered wood reamer gently top and bottom to correct hole size. 10mm drill bit through the hole after you reamed it to straighten the taper and it works perfect every time, no chipping.

I did same thing first with my Epiphone Les Paul Vintage Edition . 5 perfect and one just slightly cocked . But still so much better .

I'm still really interested in the video you proposed about seeing what the Squier Bullet Mustang would look like with the finish sanded off to try to recreate the walnut finish. Is this still potentially happening?

Yikes -- what a butcher job. I hate to see this. Cheap guitar or not, it's always best to take your time and do this work properly so you don't damage or destroy your instrument. For those of you with Epi SLs wanting a tuner swap without having to bore out the existing holes, get a set of Wilkinson Vintage EZ-LOK tuners. They're nicely made and only require drilling new pilot holes for the screws to mount them.

Great video 🤘

This is a fun channel, but get the correct drill bit or a peghead reamer. Just because it’s a discount guitar doesn’t mean it deserves discount work. Really looking forward to the “how to level your frets with a cheese grater” episode when that comes out.

Don't do it like that :) For anyone wanting to invest a bit of money to be able to do a clean job, look for "Rear Peghole Reamer" on Stewmac. For the rest of us, get a hand reamer on ebay or aliexpress and use it combined with a round file. You'll get much better results.

like eric says check the frets for lifting or not fitted fully in the first place. ive had one i could get my nail under the fret. just took some tapping back in with a soft face hammer and job done.

Please someone tell me? Is it worth the mini grovers..

Does this guitar fit strat style replacement pickups? Like a jb jr?

Tape the holes so you don't chip out the edges. Also lightly champher the edge. When popping all the tuner ferrules go from the back side push them out with a pencil so as not to mark up the chrome. Tips.

I like your channel's moniker. Based on that alone, I would have subscribed. But it was actually helpful to watch you swap out the tuners, so - new subscriber here. I have an LP VE that desperately needs tuners. I will try slapping some vaseline on the worm-gear, first. If that doesn't make them acceptable (the problem is that they are sticky), I will swap them out for some aftermarket machine heads that I can source here in SE Asia, and that will bolt up without mods. By the looks of things, in hindsight you probably should have used the first bit, which might have had a better edge, as the "pilot." The first hole didn't splinter as much as the successive holes. Maybe you were taking too much out at once, by diving in with the second bit. It's not exactly the most stable of woods, so no matter what you did, it wasn't going to result in a picture-perfect finish. But hey, the end result? You're running grovers. That's always a net gain. Cheers.

Great video

the small tuners are 8mm. the large are 10mm.

Tuners with push-fit ferrules: smaller hole (usually 8-9mm). Tuners with locking top nut and washer: larger hole (10mm). Surely you already knew that? Jeez. if you must enlarge the hole buy a proper tapered reamer and do it slowly by hand. Sorry but I stopped watching at 2.08 when the drill bit appeared...My advice to any SL owners: forget the Grovers and add a set of Klusons, vintage style with white buttons. That's what I did, no need for major surgery on the headstock (just pilot holes for the small screws) and looks way more cool.

Could you use like vintage style tuners like a 3 on a plate style mabe with white buttons?

What tool was used to remove the post at 4:27?

I know it's a relatively old video, but can anyone tell me how to take the tuner piece that is connected to the head of the guitar? (I'm talking about the metal rings that are around the holes of the tuners.

the hole sizein SAE was wirtten on the package along wth the decimale size the MM size is 10 MM this is why you need a PROPER REAMER

Good lord man! I know it’s only a $100 guitar but, you could at least but some effort into doing it right! 🙄

*tapered hand reamer

The tuning machines on this guitar are really crappy. They are about a 10:1 ratio, and slip a lot with tuning tension. I replaced mine with some nice Kluson types, in keeping with the Les Paul themed guitar. Also, the frets on my particular instrument were like a roller coaster--each one seemed to be a different height. On the plus side, the neck is very nice, the pickups sound good, and the guitar is pretty light. It is actually a pretty good modding platform, if you have the time and talent.

Drill bit, never ever! Tappered reamer is the way to do it.

I have the locking version of those tuners on my main acoustic. They're awesome, and pretty dang cheap! Glad I didn't have to ream holes for them, though ;)

He don't give no damn.

Have you heard the old woodworkers’ adage: measure twice cut once. It’s not that hard to find information about the tuner shaft diameter before finding the right drill bit for it. Terribly sorry, but I am unsubbing.

The standard size was listed on the back on the package of tuners. I just couldn't quite read it.

A very good wise choice to do .them tuners are crap . Your replacement ones are miles better

A set of white button klusons like on an old LP jr would look great on the SL. You wouldnt need to open up the holes either.

Boy oh Boy, your going through hell with that little Epi, I bought one the other day 4 the hell of it mine's FINE, I mean other then lowering the strings a 1/2 in, lol,lol,lol, mine Tunes, i think pick ups are fine, as a matter of fact it sounds pretty good, the neck is as straight as an arrow, I mean for $100 guitar damn I couldn't believe it, that's the buy of the year, I LOVE MINE

What do I have to do for one of those stickers??

That SL was firewood to begin with! You should ream those tuner holes and never drill them.

How can I get a sticker?

“Which suuuckkkkkss” LOL

I’m embarrassed for you. Way to take a 100$ guitar and turn it into a 50$ guitar! WTF?

Whelp, there goes that warranty.... ...but it could have made the guitar infinitely more giggable.

ugh, church. my condolences . . .

I'd buy that for a dollar!

YOLO!!!!!

I find myself cringing as you wiggle the drill trying to enlarge the hole,not good practice fella, enjoying your videos, though I wont be seeking your advice on repairing guitars....just sayin

1/2" = 12.7mm 25/64" = 9.9mm Lowe's sell a 25/64" bit for $6.37. And you probably could have used it on other guitars too.

I don't see what everyone is so bent out of shape about. It's HIS guitar the man can do what he wants with it. Yeah he could've done something different, but he used what he had on hand and worked out fine. If the cosmetic things bother him down the road, he can touch it up. No biggie.

Ye my shaft is to big to drill thru the hole I need a bigger hole or get a smaller shaft

Get this back to store so they can deal with happy frets man!

My GOD!!!!

Ouch! "To be perfectly honest I don't give no damn." No a single fuck given.

Just put kluson style button 8mm tuners on. No reaming, stays in tune and looks like the Melody Maker that these SLs are basically a copy of. Cheap as chips on feebay.

Ever heard of a reamer? Useful if you don't have the right drill bit.

4:40 gives it character imo

you probably needed a metric set of bits

Tuners are probably worth more than the guitar!!

Please tell me Ryan when drilling holes in the neck , of any guitar , have you ever drilled right through the fret-board ? i think we're all guilty...well i certainly am :)

Is this spoof

10MM

Wow. Also... the packaging states the drill bit size: 25/64. It's right where you were looking and complaining about the .391. Too funny.

It's a 10mm hole I'm sorry this is a terrible example of guitar work. I can't take any more I'm unsubbing.

any tuners out there which don't require to DRILL on my guitar? It's the Epi Vintage Edition, so same configuration as these. I mean, it scares the shit out of me to actually drill anything here.

Use a hand reamer to do the tuner holes.

You really should consider taking this hack job video down. I wouldn't care if you got this guitar for free, let alone $100, this just made me angry.

This stopped me from going for modern tuners on an lp special. I'd prefer to just grab better vintage tuners over drilling out a client's guitar.

Have mj rebuild pickups so they sound more straty/tele like

I need to put new tuners on my squire Stratocaster I just put a Seymour Duncan SH4 in it so I’m broke as heck haha

.375 is 3/8”. Half inch way too big.

Common man - why would you post this? Horrendous job.

I thin you made A mess

Someone donate a plek machine ^_^

These are the same shitty tuners on my Les Paul Special II. Yeah. They are a pain to tune correctly.

You should change your name from 60 cycle hum to guitar hack

Graph tech nut so strings dont bind

the hole is taperd