At CBGitty.com, we’ve been selling cigar box guitar parts and kits for going on fifteen years. And in that decade and a half, we’ve shipped a LOT of tuners, also known as tuning pegs and machine heads.
By far, the most popular style is the good old white-buttoned open-gear style, which also happens to be the first type of tuner we ever sold. Back in the early days, we called them “economy tuners” because of their nice low price.
We have shipped uncounted thousands of sets of them all around the world, both in packs and as part of our popular instrument kits. They have been used by thousands of builders on tens of thousands of instruments. We also use them in-house on our own cigar box guitars (see the proof here)!
There are a few reasons they are so popular. One is the price – as far as tuners go, they are some of the least expensive, especially compared to the fancier “sealed-gear” variety. They are also very simple to install and use – just a hole to be drilled, a bushing inserted and a couple of screws.
With their open-gear design, pearloid buttons and decorative scrollwork mounting plate, they have a nice retro look that naturally fits with the inherently retro style of most cigar box guitars. In addition to the original chrome finish, they are also available in gold and black, to fit the style of different builds.
So if you haven’t ever used these awesome little workhorse tuners, give them a try on your next build. You won’t be disappointed!
