You bend a note, hit the last chord, and the guitar has already drifted flat. If retuning between songs is wearing on you, the small machines on your headstock are a sensible place to look.
These tuners get recommended a lot. Still, plenty of players aren’t sure what they actually do or which cause of tuning drift they fix.
This guide explains how the mechanism works and how to restring with it. We also cover whether the swap is worth it, how these tuners differ from standard ones, and which brands earn their reputation.
It’s worth understanding why your guitar goes out of tune before you decide new tuners are the answer.
How Do Locking Tuners Work?
A locking tuning peg uses a clamping mechanism that pins the string to the post hole. Different manufacturers do this in different ways.
The most common design uses a thumbwheel on the back of the headstock. When you tighten the thumbwheel, a pin inside the post rises and clamps the string into place.
Loosening the thumbwheel releases it. Other brands use a thumbscrew on top of the post instead, but the idea is the same.
Because the string is held by the clamp rather than by wraps around the post, you skip the multiple string wraps that cause most slippage. That’s the core advantage, and it’s what makes the post far more stable than a conventional tuner.
How to Restring a Guitar With Locking Tuners
The concept behind a locking peg during a restring is simple, and it doesn’t matter whether they’re on an acoustic or an electric. Slip the new string in from the bridge side and pull it through the length of the neck.
Rotate the tuner so the post hole sits parallel to the string, insert the string, and pull it until it’s taut. Then engage the clamp, either by tightening the thumbwheel on the back or the screw on top of the post.
With the string locked, you bring it up to pitch as usual. Don’t wind the string around the post.
That’s the whole point: half a turn sets the tension and the clamp does the holding. Once it’s in tune, trim the excess.
The result is a much faster string change with far less of the settling-in drift you get from a freshly wound conventional tuner.
Are Locking Tuners Worth It?
Whether locking tuners are worth it has a real debate behind it. Players used to traditional tuners sometimes find a locking peg adds little value, while others swear by them.
The key thing to understand is that they aren’t designed to keep a guitar in tune on their own. They’re designed to prevent string slippage at the post, and at that job they excel.
Your guitar can still drift if it has a poorly cut nut or bridge, cheap strings, or a tremolo in heavy use.
For preventing strings from slipping, locking tuners on an electric guitar, or even a travel guitar, are genuinely effective. The clamp grips the string so it can’t creep, even when you pluck hard.
Unless you expect a guitar to hold tune for years with zero adjustment, you’ll probably find a locking peg worth it.
What they do best is save time. Insert the string, pull it straight, lock it, and a half-wind brings it to pitch before you move to the next string.
There’s no overlapping winding to manage, and string changes become a breeze with fewer tuning headaches afterward.
The main critique is the extra weight. Headstocks fitted with locking tuners are slightly heavier than standard ones, but the difference rarely affects playability outside a few extremes.
Some players even feel the added mass helps the guitar sound a touch fuller.
Differences Between Locking and Non-Locking Tuners
If you’ve owned a guitar for more than ten years, chances are it has non-locking tuners, because locking designs only became common more recently. A non-locking tuner is a simple mechanism: a post, a knob, and a bushing at the headstock, with a hole in the post for the string.
You feed the string through, then turn the knob to wind it up to tension.
A locking tuner replaces the wraps with a clamp that secures the string to the post. A common mistake is to wind the string around a locking post anyway, but they aren’t meant to work that way.
On some brands the clamp is hidden inside the post for a cleaner look. Locking tuners are easier to use, but that convenience comes at a higher price, a little more weight, and more internal parts, which means slightly more that can eventually wear or fail.
You can find locking tuners for both Gibson-style 3+3 headstocks and inline Stratocaster-style headstocks, so most guitars are covered.
Do Locking Tuners Keep a Guitar in Tune Better?
Most questions about locking tuners come down to whether they keep a guitar in tune better. The honest answer: they only help if the tuners themselves were the source of the problem.
As covered above, strings drift for many reasons, including a badly cut nut or bridge, heavy tremolo use, and worn strings. Before swapping tuners, confirm that the drift is actually coming from your existing tuners.
If you change the tuners but the real fault lies elsewhere, the problem will simply continue. The one thing locking tuners reliably improve is stability that was being lost to slippage and excess winding at the post.
Eliminate that and you remove a real, common cause of tuning trouble, but it isn’t a cure-all.
Do You Need String Trees With Locking Tuners?
String trees are small enough that many players never notice them. Unless you own a Fender, you may not even know what they’re.
A string tree is a little widget on top of a flat headstock that guides the high strings down to the tuners, setting the proper break angle so the strings stay seated in the nut when tuned. They go by several names, including string guides and retainers.
Whether you’ve string trees is a design feature, not a debate. They show up on inline, flat-headstock guitars, most famously Fenders.
Many other models tilt the headstock back from the neck to create the break angle naturally, so they don’t need trees. Installing locking tuners doesn’t change this.
As long as the distance from the tuners to the nut stays the same, your guitar needs string trees if it needed them before, and doesn’t if it didn’t.
Can You Change Tunings With Locking Tuners?
Since locking tuners are just regular tuners with a clamp, and since they remove the winding that adds slack, you can absolutely change tunings with them. There’s some confusion on guitar forums about the best way to do it.
Fender’s advice, for example, is to tune up past the target note and then come down to pitch.
The reasoning is that overtightening seats the string against the post and reduces the chance of slippage. That works, but stretching the strings achieves the same thing.
Tuning down then back up is another approach. The catch with detuning is that it reintroduces the slack and slope that locking tuners are meant to eliminate.
The simplest method is usually to tune straight up to the desired pitch and stretch the strings well, rather than overshooting and dropping back.
The Best Locking Tuner Brands
If you’ve confirmed your tuners are what’s causing your guitar to drift, replacing them with locking tuners can solve the problem for good. The next step is finding the right set for your instrument, and several brands have earned strong reputations.
Here are the names worth knowing.
Schaller
Schaller is a well-known maker of guitar hardware, so it’s no surprise its locking tuners rank among the best. Each one uses a knurled nut that you tighten by hand to lock the string, and they hold tune dependably under tough conditions.
String changes are easy since there’s no winding around the post. Schaller tuners typically run an 18:1 gear ratio for fine, smooth adjustment, with well-made nuts and a clean chrome finish.
Hipshot
Hipshot tuners are high-end components that deliver as promised, and players love them for how easy they’re to install. They’re designed to drop onto most guitars without a technician, carry a sleek look, and also use an 18:1 ratio.
Reviews consistently praise their tuning stability for the price. If anything, they feel over-engineered in a good way.
Grover
Grover is a household name among guitarists for stringed-instrument hardware, and its tuners are well engineered in look, fit, and feel. Several Grover locking sets are built for 3+3 configurations with three tuners per side, so inline Fender and Tele players will want to check fitment carefully.
They install easily, usually need only a single wrap before the thumbscrew locks the string, and come in finishes like black, chrome, and gold.
Sperzel
Sperzel has real history here: the company introduced locking tuners back in 1983. It puts heavy emphasis on custom-made sets, so you can often pick the color and finish.
Sperzel tuners are excellent at holding tune and are reasonably priced for the quality. Most are built for six-in-line headstocks, which leaves Gibson and PRS players looking elsewhere.
Kluson
Kluson tuners are among the most common tuning keys, used on guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, and other stringed instruments, and they’ve appeared on instruments played by the likes of Chuck Berry, Neil Young, and David Gilmour. Their vintage-style design pairs a classic look with modern locking versions for players who want period-correct aesthetics without sacrificing stability.
Gotoh
Gotoh tuners are known for precise, high-quality construction, which matters because a tuning machine’s accuracy has a real effect on how well an instrument holds pitch. Gotoh’s vintage designs include discreet “screwless” magnum-lock mechanisms prized for reliability and durability.
Many vintage-spec Gotoh sets drop in with no drilling, though larger tuner holes may need adapter bushings to fit correctly.
Whichever brand you choose, look for a set made for your headstock layout (inline versus 3+3) and your post-hole diameter. Most quality sets install with no drilling: seat the tuner in the headstock hole, fit the collar over it, and tighten.
If you also want to nail your pitch, pair new tuners with a good guitar tuner or a tuner pedal, and remember that knowing your string names makes restrings faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are locking tuners hard to install?
For most guitars, no. The common case is a direct drop-in: seat the tuner in the existing headstock hole, place the collar or bushing over it, and tighten the screw.
Many sets need no drilling at all.
The exceptions are guitars whose post holes are a different diameter than the new tuners, or sets that require a small mounting screw in a new spot. In those cases a little extra fitting is needed, but it’s still a straightforward job for most players.
Do locking tuners add noticeable weight to the headstock?
They do add a small amount of weight compared with standard tuners, since they’ve more internal parts. In practice the difference is minor and rarely affects how a guitar balances or plays.
A few players are sensitive to neck dive on certain instruments and may notice it, while others feel the added mass slightly improves sustain. For the vast majority, the weight isn’t a real concern.
Will locking tuners fit any guitar?
Most guitars can take locking tuners, but you’ve to match the set to your headstock. Inline sets are made for six-in-a-row headstocks like Stratocasters and Telecasters, while 3+3 sets suit Gibson- and PRS-style headstocks.
Check the post-hole diameter and screw-hole layout before buying. Some brands offer multiple configurations and adapter bushings precisely so they fit a wider range of acoustic and electric guitars, including models like the Epiphone and Gibson Les Paul.
Do locking tuners improve tone?
Locking tuners are primarily about tuning stability and faster string changes, not tone. Any tonal change is subtle at most.
Some players feel the slightly heavier, more solid hardware adds a touch of sustain, but this is minor and subjective.
If your main goal is a better-sounding guitar rather than steadier tuning, your money usually goes further elsewhere, such as strings, setup, or pickups. Locking tuners are a stability and convenience upgrade first.
Final Thoughts
Locking tuners are a genuinely useful piece of hardware that a lot of players still misunderstand, which is why so many myths surround them. They aren’t a magic fix that keeps any guitar perfectly in tune.
What they do is remove one real, common cause of drift, the slippage and slack created by winding a string around a conventional post, and they make string changes dramatically faster.
If you’ve worked through the usual suspects and confirmed the tuners are the weak link, a quality locking set is one of the most satisfying upgrades you can make. Match the set to your headstock, install it cleanly, and you get faster restrings and steadier tuning for years.
And if your tuning trouble turns out to be coming from somewhere else entirely, new tuners alone won’t solve it. Diagnose the real cause first, then decide whether locking tuners are the right tool, so you end up with a guitar that holds pitch and is a pleasure to restring.
