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Hi guys, Thanks for your kind comments. Rgds - Clive

Hi all, just joined the forum today my name Ryan im 46 originally from Glasgow but live in Dunfermline. Have played on and off over the years since the 90's. I was big into Oasis in the 90's and thats what inspired me to pick the guitar up. During covid i spent an abosulte fortune "trying on" various guitar brands and models and just not gelling with them even though some were really decent. I had an Epiphone ES 339 pro and an Epiphone Les Paul studio that i loved and regretted letting go. Maybe will get another LP or an another hollowbody. Looking a few on Thomman recently and quite impressed with their selection and pricing. Hope to get to know some folk here, seems a cracking palce so far. But anyways here are my current babies Vintage V160VSB and Ibanez AX120

Thankyou Bro, certainly lots to read and join in with

Hi Ryan, welcome to the forum!

Are the strings new, or fresh..? Have you changed them..? If they are old (depends on usage, but over a year old I'd call 'old'...), they may be due for a change. When changing strings, my tip is to be careful when winding onto the tuners to get the first wind near the bottom of the hole, then make sure that the next few winds start from the bottom of the post, crossing over the first wind. This helps block the winds in place. Once wound onto the tuner post (three or four turns is quite enough...), I tune the guitar up to pitch, lay the guitar on the bench (or table, or on the bed...), then take each string in turn and gently lift the guitar up by this one string. It's perfectly safe; the string won't break, but it will bed down at each end fully. I then tune up to pitch. Always tune 'up', never 'down' to the note. If the note is too sharp, tune down to flat and bring it back up. I use any tuner (headstock, PC-hosted DAW, whatever, but cross-check with fifth-fret and octave harmonics from string to string. I start with the 'A' string, and check it again once all the others are done. It helps that I use Elixir strings, which hold their tuning much, much longer than others I have tried (for years I used Fender Bullets; Elixir now get my vote on all my guitars...). I have never had a tuner (machine head...) issue, ever, on any guitar, vintage, old or new; maybe I've just been lucky. I'm not maniac, either, about tuning to 1% precision; fretted temperament inaccuracy is greater than that, anyway. I sound out my chords, and if they sound OK, the tuning is OK. The tuner is a guide, but it's one's ear that has the final decision, not the needle. Yes, a decent set-up is always the starting point, and a competent guitar tech can do the job, but it would be very useful to learn the basics oneself (how to adjust intonation, String saddle height, check for neck bow, when (and when not...) to adjust a truss rod etc...). I doubt that the moderate temperatures we experience in these climes would affect tuning, or the guitar set-up, to any noticeable degree, but a set-up is always a good starting point. Better value than a set of tuners, anyway, as a first move. Hope this helps. Douglas

Ibanez tuners are made by Gotoh. To change, it would be best if the replacement tuners used the same screw configuration as the originals. The precision of tuning depends to a great extent on the 'ratio' (number of turns it takes to increase string tension...). The 'flagship' Gotoh tuner that would probably be a straight swap for your originals would be the Gotoh SGL510, which has the same screw positioning and barrel diameter. These tuners are used on some of the higher-end Ibanez guitars such as the George Benson models. There are a few cosmetic variations of these tuners, concerning the 'look' of the tuner buttons; that's a matter of personal preference. Thomann stock these tuners; the price for a set is £60 currently; they have a gear ratio of 18:1. There is no real reason why your present tuners don't give stable tuning. Fine tuning is also a function of other factors, such as the nut material and quality, the way the strings have been wound on and pre-tensioned, the correct tuning procedure (always tune upwards; if you're too sharp, tune flat and come up to pitch from there, never the opposite...) and more. Ibanez make excellent guitars, in all of their price ranges; you may find that swapping tuners does not, in itself, solve your issues. Just sayin'. Is this a new guitar..? How much experience with electric guitars in general do you have..? Hope this helps; meanwhile... Have a great day Douglas

Welcome to the forum. My normal recommendation for replacement hardware is Hipshot, but a set of those would be almost half the value of your Ibanez. I would probably go with Wilkinson tuners for your AX120 as they’re good quality and reasonably priced.