Hi All,
I'm a long time lurker and new poster. There is so much good information and knowledge on this board. Thanks to everyone for posting your trials and tribulations as it helps everyone in the long run.
I have an ESP/LTD B-205FM bass that weighs quite a bit. Looking at ways to lighten it up a bit, I decided to replace the stock tuners with Gotoh GB350 Res-o-lites in black. The rest of the hardware on the bass is 'smoked chrome' or cosmo black or black nickel so the Gotoh tuners don't exactly match.
I ordered Gotoh GB350-5-B hoping they would be a drop in replacement. After disassembling a single tuner, it was evident that enlarging of the neck tuner holes is required. The sleeve from the Gotoh tuners would not fit in the stock tuner hole. I had to order a larger tapered reamer because the one I had was for guitar tuners. You will need a tapered reamer that goes to 16mm for this job. I purchased a 5-16mm tapered reamer from Amazon for about $12 and waited for it to arrive.
Once I had the 16mm tapered reamer it was quick and easy work to slightly enlarge each tuner hole to fit the new Gotoh sleeve. Since the Gotoh tuner sleeve inserts and aligns from the top, most of the material removal was on the painted side of the headstock. I had to remove a slight bit of material from the bottom of the tuner hole but not much; 3 turns of the reamer on the bottom was sufficient.
All in all, it was a successful and fun install. It's amazing how adding lighter tuners affects the character of the bass. The weight difference between the stock and Gotoh tuners was substantial. Anyone out there with an ESP/LTD B-205FM (2018 build date) with the urge to upgrade their tuners rejoice.
Thanks for reading and keep rocking!
I'm a long time lurker and new poster. There is so much good information and knowledge on this board. Thanks to everyone for posting your trials and tribulations as it helps everyone in the long run.
I have an ESP/LTD B-205FM bass that weighs quite a bit. Looking at ways to lighten it up a bit, I decided to replace the stock tuners with Gotoh GB350 Res-o-lites in black. The rest of the hardware on the bass is 'smoked chrome' or cosmo black or black nickel so the Gotoh tuners don't exactly match.
I ordered Gotoh GB350-5-B hoping they would be a drop in replacement. After disassembling a single tuner, it was evident that enlarging of the neck tuner holes is required. The sleeve from the Gotoh tuners would not fit in the stock tuner hole. I had to order a larger tapered reamer because the one I had was for guitar tuners. You will need a tapered reamer that goes to 16mm for this job. I purchased a 5-16mm tapered reamer from Amazon for about $12 and waited for it to arrive.
Once I had the 16mm tapered reamer it was quick and easy work to slightly enlarge each tuner hole to fit the new Gotoh sleeve. Since the Gotoh tuner sleeve inserts and aligns from the top, most of the material removal was on the painted side of the headstock. I had to remove a slight bit of material from the bottom of the tuner hole but not much; 3 turns of the reamer on the bottom was sufficient.
All in all, it was a successful and fun install. It's amazing how adding lighter tuners affects the character of the bass. The weight difference between the stock and Gotoh tuners was substantial. Anyone out there with an ESP/LTD B-205FM (2018 build date) with the urge to upgrade their tuners rejoice.
Thanks for reading and keep rocking!
