I have noticed on the JEM Premiums(At least the ones I have seen online) have tuners that say "Ibanez". I have looked at Prestige and Higher end JEM's that have tuners that say, "Gotoh".

I am wondering, are these tuners that say "Ibanez" close to the quality of Gotoh? Or, should I replace them with Gotoh tuners for better tuning stability on my Premium JEM, which I have not recieved yet?

I bought some Gotoh tuners for my much cheaper Ibanez RG 4EX 1 and it did make a big difference from the ones that said "Ibanez". Do they use the same cheap Ibanez ones on the Premium Jems as they do the RG 4EX 1's?

Thanks for the input.

They are not as good as Japanese tuners but they're behind a locking nut and will have zero impact on tuning stability.

Do you not lock the nut pads down? IMO tuners are borderline irrelevant with double locking trem systems unless you're only doing half the locking. Not sure if the premium tuners differ from the standard Indo's.

Yes, I do use a locking nut, however, I disagree that it has zero impact. I do use the tremolo like a maniac, so it seems like there is just a slight amount of slipage (especialy over a little time) back and forth on the locking nut, which the Gotoh tuners fix by not allowing any play at all. But I have never had a high end Premium or Prestige JEM.

Anyways, that was not my question. I am wondering, are these tuners that say "Ibanez" close to the quality of Gotoh, or are they the same ones that were on my RG 4EX 1? Like I said, I did notice a tuning stability difference on my old RG 4 EX 1.

Thanks!

Tuners or tension behind the nut have zero impact on the nut and it's ability to stay in place. It's either tight and won't move or it has some play and does move. Nothing behind it matters no matter how violent you are with the bridge.

But the answer is still the same. They're not as good as Japanese Gotohs.

Thanks rich, so the "Ibanez" tuners on the Prestige JEM's are not as as good as Gotoh tuners. We got that out of the way.

The other question was, are they the same Ibanez tuners that are on the $450 guitars? Or higher quality?


Thanks!

By the way, I meant the string slipping a tiny bit in the locking nut, not the nut itself moving.

Thanks for the input guys.

They're different part numbers. If that means they're better or not I do not know.

If the string is moving under the pad you have a nut problem.

Thanks Rich, I appreciate the input. Maybe someone else will know.

Nothing should slip at the locking nut as stated by others, but regardless I won't debate the merits of tuners on double-lockers. If you want better tuners you want better tuners. I must admit to having a pet peeve against anything but very-high-quality tuners (i.e. anything Ibanez ships not Gotoh or lockers by Planet Waves used).

Gotoh (branded tuners that Ibanez use) have good specs, build & quality control. Win, win, win. OTOH the "Ibanez" Chinese made tuners can widely vary so comparing them is probably futile imho.

You didn't specify which JEM is due but you should definitely wait until it arrives and use your own feel as judgement. The JEM P tuners are very smooth and very consistent on tension, while I have had issues with some of the MIJ Gotoh tuners being too tight where some actually squeak and I've had to replace them. [It's not particularly common but I replaced 5 singles in the JEM30's alone]. So while the MB500's are generally higher quality the P tuners have been more consistently, fine. And if we're talking the BFP or WDP then the nut and trem are both 2nd grade hardware [very functionally stable but let's not kid ourselves] so upgrading the tuners to a higher grade than the hardware that really matters is a bit of a head scratcher.

Hey Rich, thanks for the response. You are correct that there is no reason to upgrade your tuners to a higher level then the other hardware, especialy on a locking nut system.

The hardware on the lower quality guitar is a lo pro edge with the locking studs and the nut that bolts in from the back of the headstock, so the hardware is about as good as you can get.

Once I recieve the new guitar (with the original Edge) I will give an update on the quality of the Ibanez tuners on the JEM prestige VS the Gotoh tuners I have on another lower quality guitar, as well as the tuning stability.

Thanks for the input everyone.

OK, it's a seafoam, it's an original Edge but it's an LN nut, 2nd grade.

Hey Rich, thanks for the reply. However, I am not sure what you meant by "it's an original Edge but it's an LN nut, 2nd grade."

What does "LN nut 2nd grade" mean?

Thanks!

A Japanese nut is a TL [Top Lock], a Korean [it's origins] nut is an LN [Locking Nut], is definitely of softer material than a TL.