Official Luthiers Forum!

Anyone have a good way? They have no straight lines to line up. Right now it's just a case of wiggling them around til they look about right, figuring that if I can't tell if they're wrong or not, no one else can either. Not a big fan of stuff like that. I prefer measurable and repeatable.

Any tips?

I turn the buttons perpendicular to the plane of the headstock. A small, straight stick about 1/4" square is laid across the top of the 2 opposite side gear housings (across the 1st and 6th string for example) and the two opposite buttons. The middle of the buttons and the top of the housings will form a plane when referenced to the straight stick. If you have 4 points of contact with the stick it will all be correct. Obviously this will only work with symmetrical tuner layout.

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Stay with the happy people.
--Reynolds Large

I start by running a piece of tape, end to end, just inside the posts of the tuners, set my middle machine where i want it, (I've angled them up or down as well as straight ) and then drill my screw hole. Measure the distance in and draw a line down your tape. Assuming your post holes are in line, equidistant from your headstock edge all you do is turn the remaining tuners until the screw hole has your line in the center. Granted , I've only put the gotohs on 4 guitars so far....they are my tuner of choice now though, I have had no problems.
The " wiggle till they look right" adds that element of risk tho.

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Blue Ring Acoustics
blueringacoustics.ca

Oh hoh! I shall try!

What TRein said.