Tunner buttons in black for Gotoh 510, wood or plastic ?

[Redwood Tree]

 I need some help , I want to buy set of Black Ebony buttons for my Gotoh 510s,

 Does Taylors come with plastic or real Ebony?  I want to buy a set.  where can I find a high quality set?
 Which are better looking , I think the real wood will be nicer.
 Thanks

[Dogcreek]

Hi Tom,

I know this place has some. Maybe what you are looking for

http://www.lmii.com/

specifically here:  http://www.lmii.com/products/mostly-not-wood/tuning-machines/tuning-machine-parts-misc/replacement-buttons/gotoh-replacement-wood-buttons-and-screws

Jeff

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

The black buttons on Taylors equipped with Gotoh 510's are plastic.

[michaelw]

The black buttons on Taylors equipped with Gotoh 510's are plastic.

which is surprising, to me, considering the breakage problems there were
with the ebonoid buttons used on some of the 04-06 800/900s series -
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/814CEL7.htm

i guess good ol' plastic is more durable, as long as it's right kind & spelled correctly -
plastique would not make for a very good choice of material for tuner buttons,
even though it may cause the guitar to open up rather quickly, it'd be in a bad way

[Blueshwk]

Back in the day we called the Ivoriod buttons "Plas-toid" and much of the pearl inlay was "Mother of Plastic".
Plastic is pretty remarkable stuff.
I have zero experience with real ebony buttons but would be curious as to how durable they would be.
Do they hold up well?

[michaelw]

Back in the day we called the Ivoriod buttons "Plas-toid" and much of the pearl inlay was "Mother of Plastic".
Plastic is pretty remarkable stuff.
I have zero experience with real ebony buttons but would be curious as to how durable they would be.
Do they hold up well?

i've heard of MOP being referred to as "mother of toilet seat", but i thought that mother of pearl was abalone
shell that was sanded down to where just about all the brilliant colors was gone, leaving a pale, shimmery white -
out of well over several dozen guitars, i've had one instance i can remember of a genuine ebony
button breaking & it was the older angular shape grover GRO1020e, which have metal inserts &
that was because i inadvertently horked down on the tuner shaft screw a little bit too much

other than that, no problems, 6 ebony buttons weigh about the same as one of the metal ones & no fingerprints

[stepchildusmc]

i bought some ebony buttons on Ebay. they are identical to the ones that i paid twice that for.
i lemon-oiled them when i first got them( they were thirsty little buggers! after that, i think my natural body oils should keep them for the rest of their lives.

$

[Blueshwk]

I never considered the weight factor but that makes sense.....I think I would like the feel of the wooded ones, might need to give em a try.

[ksquared]

I might want to try a set of ebony buttons on one of my guitars too.

[michaelw]

I never considered the weight factor but that makes sense.....I think I would like the feel of the wooded ones, might need to give em a try.

on a 12 string, especially with the heavier headstock, it makes a world of difference, imho -
i had a 02 454ceLTD imbuia & i swapped the chrome grovers minis for a set of gold ones &
ebony buttons, gold hardware & ab dot pins ... it was pretty "stylin' & profilin' " back then

i never got around to retrofitting the lr baggs iMix onboard to replace the fishman prefix + though

to me, ebony buttons & chrome tuners look "in place" on some guitars, like a parkwood, because
those are about the only ones i've seen that combo, but ebony (EN01/7) & nickel ... yeah, buddy

[zeebow]

sometimes i feel like the only person here likes the gold gotoh buttons. I don't get the point, am I missing something?

[Redwood Tree]

 Thanks all. I'll look into the wood ones , I't a weight factor thing, The metal ones weight a ton up top their. and Black and gold look so classy. I also think they can effect the sound of the guitar in a good way.

[Jersey tuning]

Back in the day we called the Ivoriod buttons "Plas-toid" and much of the pearl inlay was "Mother of Plastic".
Plastic is pretty remarkable stuff.
I have zero experience with real ebony buttons but would be curious as to how durable they would be.
Do they hold up well?

My 1930 Martin has ebony buttons--83+ years and going strong.

[michaelw]

sometimes i feel like the only person here likes the gold gotoh buttons. I don't get the point, am I missing something?

not a thing
it's just personal preference, nothing more, nothing less -
ebony buttons were offered on the PS models from 96/7(?) til mid 03, 99 XXV-DR & GA
& then on the 900s from 01 mid 03, while gold tuners & buttons go back to 75 or earlier

the little custom touches may  make one's guitar a bit more "special" & it's up to the owner's
discretion, but these look pretty cool. imho, although they may  not be everyone's cup o' tea

it's all good

[zeebow]

thx . one benefit I see to wood or plastic buttons is that it won't tarnish like the gold ones do.

I always use a towel to handle my gold tuner buttons for this reason