Hardware for Acoustic

This is our basic, no-frills open-gear tuner, available in left and right orientations. ("Open gear" means that the gears are not enclosed, as they are in some of the other tuning machines we sell.) It's as affordable as you could ever wish for, yet functional and dependable. It comes with mounting screws but no bushing, since this model doesn't use bushings. This tuner is made as a guitar tuner, but it can be used on any number of different instruments. Other retailers sell tuning machines in sets of six for guitar, but we sell them individually so you can purchase however many you need for your project. For general information on tuning machines, click here.

Quantity discounts are available for this product:

1-29: $1.80 each
30-49: $1.50 each
50-99: $1.30 each
100 + : $1.15 each

These discounts apply to each orientation (L or R) independently -- e.g., ordering 30 or more of either the L or R orientation will get you the discount, but ordering 15 of each won't. After you click "Add to Cart," the discount for the quantity you indicated will be reflected in the shopping cart window on the right.

Post height: 1-1/16", with string holes at 1/2" and 7/8" (you can use either hole when you string up the instrument). Suitable for a headstock between 3/8" and 5/8" thick.
Bracket length along upper and lower edge: 1". Overall bracket length 1-1/8". Bracket Height: 5/8".
Diameter required for post hole: 1/4" (6.5mm)
Gearing ratio 1:14.
Comes with two mounting screws. Bushing & washer not required.

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To order some of each orientation, select one orientation, indicate quantity and add to cart, then repeat for the other orientation.

A beautiful, high-quality, chrome-finish enclosed-gear tuning machine, available in left and right orientations, at an excellent price. Comes with the necessary bushing, chrome washer, and mounting screw. It's made as a guitar tuner, but can be used on any number of different instruments.
Other retailers sell tuning machines in sets of six for guitar, four for bass, etcetera, but we sell them individually so you can purchase however many you need for your project. For general information on tuning machines, click here.

Quantity discounts are available for this product:

1-29: $2.95 each
30-49: $2.55 each
50-99: $2.25 each
100 + : $1.95 each

These discounts apply to each orientation (L or R) independently -- e.g., ordering 30 or more of either the L or R orientation will get you the discount, but ordering 15 of each won't. After you click "Add to Cart," the discount for the quantity you indicated will be reflected in the shopping cart window on the right.

Post height: 1 1/2", with string hole at 7/8". Suitable for a headstock between 1/2" and 5/8" thick.
Gear housing: 1/2" wide, 5/8" high, 7/16" thick.
Diameter required for post hole: 3/8" (9.5mm)
Gearing ratio 1:14.
Comes with bushing, washer & mounting screw.

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To order some of each orientation, select one orientation, indicate quantity and add to cart, then repeat for the other orientation.

An attractive, high-quality, chrome-finish, enclosed-gear, large-size tuning machine at an excellent price. Made as a tuner for electric bass; suitable for a wide variety of large
instruments. Available in left and right orientations.

Other retailers sell tuning machines in sets of six for guitar, four for bass, etcetera, but we sell them individually so you can purchase however many you need for your project. For general information on tuning machines, click here.

Quantity discounts are available for this product:

1-19: $4.50 each
20-39: $4.25 each
40-59: $4.00 each
60 + : $3.80 each

These discounts apply to each orientation (L or R) independently -- e.g., ordering 20 or more of either the L or R orientation will get you the discount, but ordering 15 of each won't. After you click "Add to Cart," the discount for the quantity you indicated will be reflected in the shopping cart window on the right. For very large orders, you may want ot call or email before ordering to make sure we have enough on hand.

Post height: 1 1/4" with string slot at the top. Suitable for a headstock between 5/8" and 3/4" thick.
Required size for post hole: 9/16" (14mm).
Gear housing: 1-1/8" wide including the mounting screw hole bracket; 11/16" high, 7/16" thick.
Gearing ratio 1:18.
Includes bushing, washer and mounting screw

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To order some of each orientation, select one orientation,
indicate quantity and add to cart, then repeat for the other orientation.

A high-quality chrome friction tuner with plastic button (“button” is the term commonly for the knob or handle that you turn). Made for ukulele; suitable for all sorts of small instruments. Comes with bushing, collar, and nylon washers pre-positioned on the post. This tuner has no gears. You insert the post through a hole in the headstock and tighten down the top-screw to the degree that prevents the peg from slipping while still allowing it to turn smoothly. It’s an elegantly simple and effective system, very compact, and very easy to mount, although it doesn’t allow the degree of tuning precision that a worm gear does. These tuners don’t have a right or left orientation; they’ll work in any position.

Other retailers sell tuning machines in sets of six for guitar, four for bass, etcetera, but we sell them individually so you can purchase however many you need for your project. For general information on tuning machines, click here.

Quantity discounts are available for this product:

1-29: $1.80 each
30-49: $1.55 each
50-99: $1.35 each
100 + : $1.20 each

After you click "Add to Cart," the discount for the quantity you indicated will be reflected in the shopping cart window on the right. For large orders, it's a good idea to contact us by phone or email before placing your order to make sure we have enough on hand.

Post height: Variable, depending on how you tighten down the screw.
Diameter qequired for post hole: 9/32" (7mm)
Suitable for headstocks between 3/8" and 5/8" thick.
There is no housing or bracket, but tuners should be spaced an inch or more apart to leave room for turning.
Includes all necessary bushings & washers; mounting screws not required.

These functional, attractive and affordably priced classical guitar tuning machines come as a set of two brackets, three tuners on each bracket, just as you expect to see on classical guitars. Mounting screws are included. The brackets have a nickel finish; the buttons (turning knobs) are a pearly plastic.

The posts are just under a centimeter thick and 3cm long, spaced 3.5cm apart.
Each bracket is 12cm (4 3/4") long and 1.8cm (11/16") high.
Gearing ratio: 1:14.

Quantity discounts are available for this product:

1-9 sets: $8.95 per set
10-24 sets: $8.00 per set
25-39 sets: $7.00 per set
40 + sets: $6.00 per set

After you click "Add to Cart," the discounted price for the quantity you indicated will be reflected in the shopping cart window on the right.

Not just for zithers! Use these tuning pins for almost any string instrument smaller than a piano. That includes all sorts of zithers, lyres and harps, not to mention whatever other oddball designs you may come up with.

These pins are sized so that they hold tight in a 3/16" hole. They are 1-1/2" long, black in color. For fuller information on zither pins and how to use them, click here.

Use of a tuning wrench with these pins is strongly recommended and not expensive -- you can buy one here for $5.95.

Quantity discounts are available for this product:

1-99 pins: $.28 each
100-499 pins: $.25 each
500-999 pins: $.22 each
1000-1999 pins: $.20 each
2000 + pins: $.18 each

After you click "Add to Cart," the discount for the quantity you indicated will be reflected in the shopping cart window on the right.

This is the tuning wrench to use with the zither pins we sell. You can try turning your zither pins with pliers or an adjustable wrench, but you’ll quickly find that doing so is exasperatingly awkward. Worse, it will mar and ultimately strip the tuning pin. Our zither pin tuning wrench is dependably easy to use and quite affordable. Fits all zither pins of standard size.

Quantity discounts are available for this product:

1-19 wrenches: $5.95 each
20-39 wrenches: $5.60 each
40-59 wrenches: $5.30 each
60 + wrenches: $5.00 each

After you click "Add to Cart," the discount for the quantity you indicated will be reflected in the shopping cart window on the right.

Our fret wire is what is commonly called hard nickel-silver wire. This is the standard material most often used in fretted instruments. (The actual composition is primarily of copper and nickel, with small amounts of other metals. Softer wires are sometimes used, but they tend to wear faster.)

Fret wire is installed by driving the lower part of the wire (the tang) into slots cut in the fingerboard. It’s important that these slots be just the right width to hold the wire securely. With that in mind, the fret-slotting saw we carry for the purpose is a good investment.

For more information on fret wire and how to install it, click here.

To give you a sense of how much you’ll need: a typical guitar requires 4-6 feet of wire, depending on who you ask. Our larger sizes of wire come in large coils. The small-size wire comes in straight 2-foot lengths (with an additional 1-foot lengh as needed if you order an odd number of feet). In either case, you snip off short lengths to make individual frets.

We have fret wire in large, medium and small sizes:

Fret wire, large (Crown width .114". Crown height: .051")
This fret wire would typically be used in anything bigger than a guitar (and it is sometimes used in large guitars as well). The wire comes in large coils of whatever length you order.

Fret wire, medium (crown width: .080", crown height: .043")
This would typically be used in instruments comparable to or slightly smaller than a guitar or banjo. This wire comes in large coils of whatever length you order.

Fret wire, small (crown width .053", crown height: .037")
Suitable for small instruments such as mandolin or ukulele. This wire comes in straight 2-foot lengths.

EMI item #171

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Fret wire prices are per foot. Under "quantity" below, indicate how many feet you want.

To install frets, you tap the lower part of the fret wire (called the tang) into a slot cut in the fingerboard. It's important that the saw you use cuts a slot, or kerf, just the right width to hold the fret wire securely, not allowing it to pop out again. Our fret wire – and this is fairly standard – calls for a slot of .023". That's considerably thinner than, say, a typical hack saw blade. Some coping saw blades are pretty close, but they're not designed to make the kind of dependably straight kerf that a good back saw does. The fret saws we carry are designed for just this purpose, with top-quality, long-lasting, precision-made blades, and they dependably do an excellent job. The blades on these saws are oriented to cut on the pull stroke, which makes for more sure cutting motion. The price is comparable to or less than you'd typically pay for a high-quality back saw at the hardware store (but the kerf from the hardware store saw would in all likelihood be the wrong width).

EMI item #174

This dense, durable, extremely resilient black sponge rubber (properly called open cell SBR sponge rubber) is suitable for many purposes in instrument making. We sell it in sheets or strips 1/2" thick. It’s the best material to use as pads under marimba bars and other free bars. As padding and damping material, providing noise-free mounting and minimizing unwanted transmission of vibrations, it can’t be beat. You won’t find this material at your neighborhood foam shop, nor is it the same stuff that’s used in weather stripping. It’s substantially denser, more durable, and springier than commonly available foam rubbers, and its ability to recover and retain its shape and springiness after repeated or prolonged squashing is far superior. At $9.50 a square foot it may seem pricey – but then again maybe not so much so: a square foot cut into half-inch strips yields 24 linear feet of padding strips; enough to make a good-sized marimba or two. That turns out to be pretty close to the price you’d pay for the same dimensions of weather stripping at the hardware store.

We’ll send it to you in the form of 4" by 36" strips (= 1 square foot each) unless you request otherwise. You can cut this material with good, sharp scissors, a sharp utility knife and straightedge, or a band saw.

EMI item #180

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Price is per square foot. Under "quantity," indicate the number of square feet you want.