Schaller Keystone SR Lock. 3L/3R NI

I wanted to upgrade stock tuners on some of my Gibson guitars. These Schallers at first seemed a perfect choice. But then came a big disappointment.

Having read mostly positive reviews, I bought two sets at once. They came in packed in very nice boxes, reminding of a new iPhone. But that's where good things end... Here are the problems that followed:

1. The tuners simply don't fit the headstocks of my Gibson guitars (SG, ES, LP): the supplied shims make the position of the string hole too low to the extent that is it partially blocked by the screw nut that holds the tuner. Well, this can be to some extent overcome by using Gibson's stock shims instead of the ones that are supplied with the Schaller tuners. Yet the sting holes remain too low (which is ridiculous given Gibson headstocks are all angled and do not require directing strings downward as Fenders do). As a result, I could barely put the bass E string into the hole in the tuner (it was a 0.46 gauge). So, if you use thicker strings, for sure the low E string would not come through.

2. The 1st E string could not be clamped in position properly and kept creeping out of the lock (as I was turning the tuner to tune up the string, the tone remained the same or even dropped as the string was slipping out of the lock).

3. Upon installation, all strings did not stay in tune even after a couple of re-adjustments. Compared to Fender locking tuners, the difference in the tuning stability is huge.

4. One of the tuners was outright defective (too loose).

Thus, I'm sending back both sets, which to my regret Thomann will have to handle somehow with Schaller.

And, quite obviously, I cannot recommend this product because, in my opinion, it is a total fiasco. Alas.

Overall, I now consider Schaller products as poor quality and not Gibson-friendly, as the whole situation reminds me of Schaller strap locks whose installation on a Gibson guitar is similarly a big problem, especially with the screw in the lower part of the guitar, let alone other well known issues with these locks.

That's not what we, guitar lovers, expect from the stereotypically superb German engineering. Period.

These are installed on my Gibson SG special, having tried various other brands I wanted something traditional looking but with the locking feature.
My SG is very well balanced, so no neck dive at all. These machine heads, although locking, don't really weight more than the stock ones so it maintains its balance. I had previous tried Grover locking rotomatics and these did upset the balance.
These do maintain the traditional look of the SG, which I really like. I thought the black screws for the locking mechanism may detract from this, but they really don't.
These also have a light action and the guitar always stays in tune.
These are also direct replacements and fit absolutely perfectly. I'm very happy with them indeed.