re: Tuning key upgrade. Someone throw out the FretShack signal!

In regard to stringing tuner posts, "horrendous" is when people feel the need to tie their strings to their posts like it's a nylon-strung classical. They are truly slippage prone. Electrics, however, it's overkill unless your repertoire includes five-step bends and spasmic overwarbled vibrato technique, do what I did in the video and you should be just fine.

If you apply all the tips I listed to restringing and the actual physical use of the tuners, you may actually eliminate or at least reduce your tuning problems. The lion's share of guys I see who swear they need locking tuners, swear they need synthetic nuts, swear they need graphite saddles, whatever, actually get the quick lesson I provided here. Not saying your OEM keys aren't in need of upgrade, just saying take it in steps and make sure you have a legit problem first.

LSUAW's advice on the soundboard separation is kinda correct. But let a tech look at it before you break out any glue - and I don't think I've ever used cyanoacrylate glues on spruce or cedar soundboards. I use a thinned/watered carpenter's glue.

On the Johnny Cash guitar I repaired, a Danny Ferrington buld from the late 1970s, I fixed a catastrophic structural repair (torn soundboard, rib and brace separations) replaced the broken bridge with a new identical one, and some other age-related TLC. I reached out to Danny during the repair and he hand-made the new bridge just like his old one, to preserve the guitar's look, build and value ... and to add to its history and story.

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LSUAW's advice on the soundboard separation is kinda correct. But let a tech look at it before you break out any glue - and I don't think I've ever used cyanoacrylate glues on spruce or cedar soundboards. I use a thinned/watered carpenter's glu

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I stole that from a YouTube video of the luthier who repairs Trigger. But now thinking back. He was using a little scissor jack inside the guitar to cause slight separation. Just enough to wick glue into it. Which is above my “looothier” skills. Hydrating only costs you time if done slowly.

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So was my tuning job in the pics horrendous?

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Nah, was respomding to Fretshack's video.

It's just so common to see string wire wrapped upon wrap and it's always seemed IMO a hindrance when tuning.

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Danny Ferrington, re-read the post. He's semi-retired now. Absolutely great guy, salt of the earth and tons of great stories about the musicians he worked with over the years.

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Yeah, I kind of skipped over most of that post, because it started out about tuners and I don't much have a problem with those. Then I just scrolled down to the photos.

I had seen that Logo several times before, but didn't know who it belonged to. Thanx for the info.

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His little figure S-thing is cool but the lack of 2 wraps makes me nervous. If you do it like in the video, you should end up with two to three wraps on each post. I call the S-thing the "Lightning Bolt," because it's inverted right angles in relation to the tuner post. Like the esses in this logo.

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Fact is, I rarely change strings myself, anymore, I just drop them off at my friend's shop mostly, and he does a really good clean up and polish, and addresses any issues that guitar might be having. I was looking at some of them more closely just now, and it appears that he does pretty much the same thing as you. I know that I don't have a single guitar, that has a problem with string slippage or tuning problems. That's talking about the 8 or so that I play semi-regularly, some of the ones that I rarely take out of the case.. I will probably be dealing with those, after I retire in a couple of years and those are the types of problems that I expect to have. Kind of looking forward to it honestly.