Doug Knecht - Posted - 01/17/2026:  21:50:00

I'm just curious how many people here use d tuners on their main banjo. A long time ago I had Keith tuners, but by the time I got a better banjo, I chose to not include them. I guess my left arm is too lazy to want to mess with them. 

rvrose - Posted - 01/17/2026:  22:39:37

I have them on my main banjo and backup. I use them for Ruben, Whiskey Before Breakfast, and Earls Breakdown.

Rick

tonygo - Posted - 01/17/2026:  23:03:35

quote:

---

Originally posted by Doug Knecht

I'm just curious how many people here use d tuners on their main banjo. A long time ago I had Keith tuners, but by the time I got a better banjo, I chose to not include them. I guess my left arm is too lazy to want to mess with them. 

---

I have them on two of my recently acquired banjos and have never used them before. I would like to know if anyone uses them in their clawhammer or ot finger picking stuff.  Is there anyone using them on the 2nd and 4th strings to go from say G to Standard C or Double C or Modal tunings? Is anyone doing something new and different with them?

HSmith - Posted - 01/17/2026:  23:47:17

I had a set of Keith 'D Tuners' on my main banjo (a custom built Masterclone) for about 20 years. When I bought my Stelling, I didn't transfer the tuners and found I didn't miss them. Another 20 years passed and I bought my Osborne Chief. Never occurred to me to fit Keith tuners. I think in our early banjo years, the novelty value of the tuners is high, but as we mature as players their importance seems to wane. Come to think of it, I can't remember when I last saw someone use them.

NNYJoe - Posted - 01/18/2026:  01:47:47

quote:

---

Originally posted by HSmith

 "the novelty value of the tuners is high,"

That's the truth!  

1935tb-11 - Posted - 01/18/2026:  01:55:29

always thought about getting a set but never have... got by 45 years without them ,,guess i can do without.

seanray - Posted - 01/18/2026:  02:23:19

I wouldn't leave home without 'em.

FenderFred - Posted - 01/18/2026:  03:31:47

Very rarely now, they are on my other banjo. I should play it more

Texasbanjo - Posted - 01/18/2026:  04:16:03

I have them on my Stelling, but seldom use them.

banjobob36 - Posted - 01/18/2026:  05:36:38

D tuners add to your repertoire. I have D tuners on my STELLING and Gibson. I play Rueben, Randy Lynn Rag, Home Sweet Home, Flint Hill Special, Nashville Blues, John Henry, Earls Breakdown.

lightgauge - Posted - 01/18/2026:  05:38:40

I have put them on every banjo I played for 50+ years. I don't use them as much as I used to, but still do Earl's Breakdown, Reuben , and Home Sweet Home on occasion. I think at one time, I had 10 sets. My first set went on a bottlecap banjo as a teenager. Tuners were worth more than the banjo.

Randy Escobedo - Posted - 01/18/2026:  06:22:49

I use them often. I was listening to Earl play Here Comes The Sun the other day. I like how he used the D-tuners on that tune.

Edited by - Randy Escobedo on 01/18/2026 06:25:07

corcoran - Posted - 01/18/2026:  06:39:19

I have Keith tuners on my 3 bluegrass banjos and use them on multiple tunes and breaks.

Ira Gitlin - Posted - 01/18/2026:  07:02:05

I have a full set of Keith tuners on my Ome, but seldom use them.



(The low D in the linked video started slipping toward the end of the tune.  )



youtu.be/2wfhmS8PMFM?t=165

trapdoor2 - Posted - 01/18/2026:  07:13:48

Have had a set on my Stelling since new (1985). Before that I had a Washburn B16 with Schallers...

pfalzgrass - Posted - 01/18/2026:  07:58:16

I have cam tuners on my main banjo. Nowadays I mainly use them to quickly tune the banjo to a G minor tuning, to play songs like „in hell I‘ll be in good company“ from the Dead South.

Edited by - pfalzgrass on 01/18/2026 07:58:45

Owen - Posted - 01/18/2026:  08:00:26

Banjobob36: "D tuners add to your repertoire."

Come again.... I didn't even know I had a repertoire.    

[So, to answer the OP, I don't have/use them ............. but, but, but, I do know what they are.]

Edited by - Owen on 01/18/2026 08:02:01

Culloden - Posted - 01/18/2026:  08:57:38

I have never owned a banjo for more than a few months that I didn't put D tuners on. I use them for the old classics like Flint Hill Special, but I also use them for Home Sweet Home and Down on the Swanee River (Old Folks at Home) in D tuning. I also play a version of When Johnny Comes Marching Home that I use them on.

Right now, I have a Vega with Hoppers tuners, two Bow Tie Gibsons with Kluson tuners and a Stony Mountain with Cheat-a-Keys. I am building a banjo now that I plan to put Keith tuners on. I also have two pairs of Schaller's that I am planning to use on future builds.

Here's a picture of one of my Bow Ties with Kluson tuners.

 

stanleytone - Posted - 01/18/2026:  09:50:53

Had them but wasnt into using them.
.

mrphysics55 - Posted - 01/18/2026:  10:33:29

Since I don’t use capos, I have used a pair of Schaller D-Tuners on the first and fourth strings to facilitate key changes between;

Double-D and A

and

Double-C and G

But currently I don’t own any.

Edited by - mrphysics55 on 01/18/2026 10:37:58

TimFoster - Posted - 01/18/2026:  11:01:06

I have them on my Stelling and ‘81 Gold Star JD (they were already installed when I acquired the banjos), but I’ve never attempted to use them at a jam or gig…



I’ve messed around with them practicing at home, maybe during a break at rehearsal — but I’m always scared of it not returning to perfect tuning etc… I guess i just never got to that level of comfort with it.



I love the old standards that make use of it though… At some point I want to learn one, maybe that will be the motivator which pushes it into regular usage (or at least gets me past being afraid to use em’).

Edited by - TimFoster on 01/18/2026 11:01:37

Jerry Hatrick - Posted - 01/18/2026:  11:32:03

I have them on each of my three ‘stage’ banjos, largely just in case someone requests “that fancy tune you played last time” and I find I’ve brought the wrong banjo with me. To be honest though, as others have said, they don’t get used very much these days, plus it’s annoying when they don’t quite return to pitch and you starting sounding a bit flat. We have enough jokes to endure about banjos being impossible to tune…

Old Hickory - Posted - 01/18/2026:  11:50:38

I have them on three banjos (one pair of Keiths, two Schaller) and hardly use them. I played Earl's Breakdown while noodling last month. Before that, can't remember when I used them.

Can't bring myself to take them off.

TimFoster - Posted - 01/18/2026:  12:01:12

Somebody had posted an original tune (I think) in the videos/media section over the past month or so that made use of Keith tuners… I forget who, but it was very well executed and watching it firmly planted that “oh yeah, I should try those things again” seed.



Granted. I still have yet to do so lol.

Edited by - TimFoster on 01/18/2026 12:06:59

chuckv97 - Posted - 01/18/2026:  12:01:51

I have them on my ODE Style C but I’ve only used them on Earl’s Breakdown a few times. Even Earl recorded Randy L R without them later on. Here’s Earl , sans tuners, sans Louise’s floor polisher part ;-)



youtu.be/T7UdgD9Aci8?si=FgHIkkVPIN0RjOh3

Edited by - chuckv97 on 01/18/2026 12:07:23

banjoez - Posted - 01/18/2026:  13:32:17

Had them on a couple of banjos through the years. Was a novelty at first but got tired of them after a while. Too much work and can be kinda overdone real quick.  Don't use them anymore, don't miss them. Learned to play some of the traditional tuner songs without them.

Edited by - banjoez on 01/18/2026 13:41:37

Culloden - Posted - 01/18/2026:  16:52:16

One of my favorite tunes to play with D tuners is Careless Love. I originally learned it from Buddy Rose, then worked out my own version.

I used to play from time to time with a pompous windbag who would jump in on a jam session already in progress, then try to turn it into his own personal show. One thing I learned about him was that he hated D tuners. One night he horned in on a jam session that was going very nicely so one of the regulars looked at me and said, " Play Careless Love." After the second break, the windbag was gone.

I think one of the reasons I still like the D tuners, especially the old cam style, is because you don't see people use them that much anymore.

Edited by - Culloden on 01/18/2026 16:53:50

steve davis - Posted - 01/18/2026:  17:28:22

I like throwing them into unexpected places from time to time and for locking my 2 and 3 in tune for a quick check on other strings.

Bronx banjo - Posted - 01/18/2026:  17:33:39

I’ve always used Keith tuners on my banjos. Scruggs is my main influence and I couldn’t play many of his tunes without them. It seems that modern players like Bela and Noam don’t use them so I guess they’ve fallen out of favor. Although Alison Brown uses them to perfection on Girl’s Breakdown.

cottontop - Posted - 01/18/2026:  18:23:42

My banjos have them and I use them occasionally.
Joe

RB-1 - Posted - 01/19/2026:  13:13:10

Decades ago I wrote some 4 tuner pieces, this is the only one (Half A Turn) that ever got recorded:

Here's the tab: 

VIDEO: Half A Turn (RK-75)
(click to view)

 

Alex Z - Posted - 01/19/2026:  13:51:08

Really nice.  Nice melody, that you can even hum along.

Tuners fit in with the melody smoothly.  Sounds like something Bill Keith would have played.

Thanks for posting.

TimFoster - Posted - 01/19/2026:  13:59:22

That’s the video I was thinking of RB-1 , couldn’t remember exactly when or who posted it! Yah, great playing and nice use of those Keith tuners!



Extra points scored for having FOUR of em’ too!  ;-)

Edited by - TimFoster on 01/19/2026 14:00:10

RB-1 - Posted - 01/19/2026:  15:17:36

Thank you for your kind words!

And look (listen) to what I found... 

banjohangout.org/myhang...;archived=

It's the trio Reckless Fingers, that I played with in the late eighties / early nineties:

I got carried away a bit while recording this and decided a bit of mandolin would be nice too, so dubbing that later. You decide... 

The banjo is my Iida 233 with added Sullivan rim, ring and tension hoop, the tuners are on my RB-1 since 1994. Many thought the Iida to be a RB-250, but it was a lot 'rougher' in many ways...

I was still hand writing my tabs:

Bluegrass Baby:

 

RB-1 - Posted - 01/20/2026:  00:45:24

Actually, this banjo is the one that topicstarter Doug did see  and play when we met at a concert in Den Haag where we were support act for Chris Jones & the  Night Drivers.

Both he and I were playing parts banjos at that time and it was so nice comparing instruments and talking banjo with such an expert.

arnie fleischer - Posted - 01/20/2026:  11:15:40

I’ve had Cheat-A-Keys on 3 banjos for more than 20 years. While I don’t often use them, I still like to have them, for tunes like Flint Hill Special, Earl’s Breakdown, Bending the Strings, Foggy Mountain Chimes, and Randy Lynn Rag. Many, many, many years ago I had 4 Keith pegs on my old Baldwin-Ode C, which I used to play Bear Tracks.

Here's a clip of me using the CAKs on Earl's Breakdown at my late friend Ben Freed's memorial in 2015 (and yes, I deliberately departed from Scruggs on the downhill part).

youtube.com/watch?v=7zeBqZY3lb...t_radio=1

RB-1 - Posted - 01/20/2026:  12:07:21

banjoken - Posted - 01/20/2026:  14:30:35

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ira Gitlin

I have a full set of Keith tuners on my Ome, but seldom use them.



(The low D in the linked video started slipping toward the end of the tune.  )



youtu.be/2wfhmS8PMFM?t=165

---

Nice tune, great playing!

My Keith tuners started to  slip as the got some age. I got new washers and they have been good since. Are the washers on your Ome the original plastic type washers? The washers were changed to leather a long time ago and they work great.

beaconbanjo.com/product/leathe...n-washer/

I have had a a full set on my banjo since the mid eighties. Don't use the stops as the grease needs to be replaced. One day I will get to it.

Ira Gitlin - Posted - 01/20/2026:  15:23:19

quote:

---

Originally posted by banjoken

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ira Gitlin

I have a full set of Keith tuners on my Ome, but seldom use them.



(The low D in the linked video started slipping toward the end of the tune.  )



youtu.be/2wfhmS8PMFM?t=165

---

Nice tune, great playing!

My Keith tuners started to  slip as the got some age. I got new washers and they have been good since. Are the washers on your Ome the original plastic type washers? The washers were changed to leather a long time ago and they work great.

beaconbanjo.com/product/leathe...n-washer/

I have had a a full set on my banjo since the mid eighties. Don't use the stops as the grease needs to be replaced. One day I will get to it.

---

Thanks for the good word! I have leather washers on the tuners.



BTW, the name of the tune is "Bradford" . IYKYK.

conic - Posted - 01/21/2026:  05:15:52

Great subject, Its hard to get Keith tuners in the UK, I did have some in my early days on an old recording king elite but sold it before I knew what they were for.

The last few months as I realised I don't really need them and I have learned how to string bend at the headstock like the Legend Raymond Fairchild  and I played it with home sweet home first time at a gig last night so its opened up a new world.  Next stop is Brunos Half a Turn

youtube.com/watch?v=cPV46ddpvY0

PKM - Posted - 01/21/2026:  16:41:31

I've had them on every banjo I had over the years, and eventually switched to Cheat-a-Keys since I perform a lot, and I found that they require less continual tweaking & adjusting. If it wasn't for needing to be very time conscious on stage, I would have kept the Keith tuners since the Cheat-a-Keys are less attractive, IMO. Most of the tunes I play that require them, have already been mentioned.
IMO, if you perform many of Earl's tunes, then D-tuners are far more than having "novelty value" !!
Given the effort Earl put into designing, making, & refining them over the years,... its fair to say that his music not only required them, but they were the impetus behind many particular songs he composed. Depending upon the compositions you enjoy playing, they either matter or not.

banjoken - Posted - 01/23/2026:  13:20:47

quote:

---

Originally posted by PKM

Given the effort Earl put into designing, making, & refining them over the years,... 

---

Bill designed and had the Keith tuners manufactured. 

beaconbanjo.com/the-story-part-1/

Edited by - banjoken on 01/23/2026 13:23:30

mikehalloran - Posted - 01/27/2026:  19:51:06

I have a nice used pair that I acquired with a banjo but never got into using them. I may sell them in the Classifieds.

STUD figmo Al - Posted - 01/31/2026:  15:12:24

quote:

---

Originally posted by cottontop

My banjos have them and I use them occasionally.

Joe

---

This is a ditto for me too... :0)

steve davis - Posted - 01/31/2026:  16:28:12

I bought my Keith's in '75 and have switched them onto 8 banjos since then.
I use them as the mood strikes me.

Don Borchelt - Posted - 02/02/2026:  08:34:36

quote:

---

Originally posted by Doug Knecht

I'm just curious how many people here use d tuners on their main banjo. A long time ago I had Keith tuners, but by the time I got a better banjo, I chose to not include them. I guess my left arm is too lazy to want to mess with them. 

---

I actually took them off a number of banjos that I bought over the years, and replaced them with regular gears.  It was my experience that the Keith/Shrubb tuners, when they got a little worn, would slip a little bit after you used them, so that you had to readjust the base pitch after each bend.  The only banjo I still have with Scruggs tuners is my ODE Model 42, which came with the earlier style Scruggs chokers.



I used to play Earl's Breakdown the way Earl originally played it, bending the 2nd string down and back up using the regular tuning peg.  That used to confuse the heck out of other banjo pickers when I was in a bluegrass jam session.  When i worked up Don Reno's version of Home Sweet Home in open D tuning, I realized he was bending the 2nd and 3rd string up at one point later in the recording, and when I searched around a little bit, learned that had been a thing among old time 3 finger pickers.  They didn't twist the peg, they pinched the strings from above.  I started doing that, which really blew a lot of minds.  I made a very short video demonstrating it for my banjo students when i was still teaching, which you can find at the link below:



Home Sweet Home String Bends

banjoy - Posted - 02/03/2026:  05:48:13

I guess like a lot of other folks here when I began my banjo trip I had to have 'em. But over time I found I rarely used them at all, and only then, it seemed only 4 or 5 tunes required them. I found I could play those same tunes with slides and no one seemed to object or notice, including other banjo pickers. No one has ever told me "That's not how Earl did it" when I pick those tunes. From my perspective, it seemed a large investment for little return so I sold them decades ago and have never missed them.

Someone above stated Bela Fleck doesn't use them but Fleck believes the added mass improves the sound of his banjo and there is one tune (can't recall the name as I type this) from his recent Bluegrass tour that was nothing but these tuners. It's one of my least favorite Fleck tunes ever and having heard it one or two times is enough for me. I get it.

BanjoBowers - Posted - 02/07/2026:  06:25:07

I have either Keith, Schaller, or cam-style D-tuners on most of my banjos.
I use them when there needs to be, (at least to my ear), a bend in the note coming out of a 5 chord.
I get more questions on the cam- type due to the extra pegs on the peg head.
Alot of folks think it's a 7-string banjo!
After I heard Allen Shelton play "Home Sweet Home", I knew I had to have them on my banjo.
As a preference, I like the cams a bit better due to the "set'em forget'em".

steve davis - Posted - 02/07/2026:  11:02:23

I also like raising the 2nd string by pressing it down to the peghead.A .012" string doesn't like it as much as an .011"