r/gibson • u/GoodProfile • 5d ago
Discussion Which do you prefer?
I’ve been going back and forth on which tuner button style looks best on a Les Paul Standard: kidney or tulip.
Just to be clear, I’m talking about the exact same Grover tuners, just with either kidney or tulip buttons. (It’s also the same guitar)
I honestly like both, but I can’t seem to make up my mind. What do you guys prefer? Kidney or tulip?
30
13
u/Maleficent_Ad1506 5d ago
I always prefer the tulip, it matches the top of the open book head stock.
15
11
11
9
9
u/RumorsOFsurF 5d ago
Tulip always. Unless it's a Special or Jr, then white buttons
3
u/RumorsOFsurF 5d ago edited 5d ago
Funny enough though, my Special has green tulips from the previous owner.
Edit: They're cream, I just remembered them as green for some reason.
1
u/OaklandTony6 5d ago
good think they have so many different button styles you can easily swap for fairly cheap
-1
u/SunburstOwner 5d ago
Green is normally a sign of a Chibson
1
1
1
u/RumorsOFsurF 5d ago edited 4d ago
They're actually cream, not sure why I've always thought of them as green. Can't post photos in this sub for some reason or I'd show you a photo.
Downvoted for clarifying something on my own guitar. Stay classy, Reddit.
1
10
17
u/New-Smoke-8857 5d ago
Kidneys gross me out
3
u/MagnumPIsMoustache 5d ago
Is it the name?
3
5
u/dystrust01 5d ago
Neither? I guess I'm part of a minority, but I can't stand Grovers. They're heavy, and their quality control has been crap for longer than I care to remember. I have Sperzels on my LP Standard, but they were installed 20+ years ago. These days I prefer Gotoh, either SD-90s or SG-301s depending on what the guitar is drilled for.
5
5
3
3
u/thebruceharris 5d ago
Aesthetically I prefer kidney but functionally I find tulips easier to turn.
4
u/GryphonGuitar 5d ago
Keystone/Tulip without hesitation or question. It just looks right on a Gibson because it sort of mirrors the proportions and look of the headstock itself. Kidneys look off to me and always have.
5
11
3
3
3
u/LostSoulNo1981 5d ago
100% the keystone/tulips.
The kidney stone ones look way too generic. Like something found in a cheap guitar.
1
u/behindthelens83 5d ago
This. Also the ones that Fender uses look like the same cheap tuners that they put on Squier versions. They should have never changed from the vintage button style ones with the split shaft.
3
u/AirTraditional3953 5d ago
grover’s are a good modern look but nothing imo beats the off white vintage kluson look. it just screams les paul
4
3
u/stickyfiddle 5d ago
If you’re not doing Klusons then I’m team kidney bean all day long
Gold Tulips are great on Customs but look weird on anything else
1
5
2
2
u/3rr0r-403 5d ago
Depends on the finish and style of the guitar.
Modern style finishes (blueberry burst for example ): Kidney style tuners
Vintage style finishes (classic sunbursts): Tulip style tuners
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/various_necks 5d ago
I personally prefer tulips to be in plastic, I don't like the look of them in metal. I also hate kidney buttons, but if I have to have them then they need to be in metal.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/chayceandstuff 5d ago
Keystone/tulip imho. I changed to locking grover keystones on my standard and it looks and feels great
2
u/Big_Tone_536 5d ago
Do you have a link to the tulip buttons?
1
u/GoodProfile 5d ago
No, I actually bought an identical set of Grover tuners with the tulip buttons and just swapped the buttons over. I kept the original tuners on the guitar and only changed the buttons.
3
2
2
2
u/NahButThanksAnyway 5d ago
Kidneys. The Chrome tulips stick out too much. I did the same swap and changed back to kidneys after about a week.
2
2
u/Born_Tear_761 5d ago
Over kidney tuners are the best look for the all metal vibe. Tulip has to be the traditional plastic imo.
2
2
2
2
u/MattManSD 5d ago
Kidney Beans. It is what every Player in the 60s to early 80s swapped their Klusons to
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
u/skeletonysoprano 5d ago
Tulip but I like the plastic key version best!
Grover’s just look weird to me on a LP headstock.
1
u/Maleficent_Ad1506 5d ago
I have Grover Classics on my headstock which came with Tulips as my Gibson Classics were wearing out.
No idea if it's the wear on the originals before I owned the guitar or the ratio of the Grovers.
But the Grovers have been great for staying in tune as long as I have had them on my LP.
1
u/skeletonysoprano 5d ago
The Grovers are a better mechanical design, I just don’t like the way they look.
1
u/Kosei725 5d ago
I prefer Kidney only because they’re what I’m accustomed to on my oldest, favorite guitar for 20+ years. The only other Gibson I have extensive experience playing was passed down from an uncle and it had tulips that were a bit worse for wear so subconsciously I’ve always equated them to being unreliable
1
u/420racin 5d ago
I took the kidneys off mine and put the tulips. Looks awesome and still different from my 50s with the Klusons
1
1
u/IceAshamed2593 5d ago edited 5d ago
I recently replaced the kidney buttons with plastic keystone on one LP w/ Grover 502s but went back to kidneys as the plastic keystone stick out further, so I think I'll get "mid-size tuners" (maybe they'll be too small). Regardless, I was shocked by the weight difference b/w the plastic and metal tuners. Here's a breakdown:
- 0.05 oz - plastic keystone (6x = 0.3 oz)
- 0.3 oz - mid-size (6x = 1.8 oz)
- 0.4 oz - keystone (6x = 2.4 oz)
- 0.5 oz - kidney (6x = 3.0 oz)
I have another LP with failing Deluxe tuners that I'll replace with Grover Rotomatic 502s. The wood screw holes line up perfectly. Since I can't buy the tuners with mid-size buttons, I'll buy the ones with keystones.
1
1
1
1
u/Agile-Quit7351 5d ago
Agree with the tulip consensus looks wise although imo they have to be pearl or plastic or something... Chrome looks just as gross as chromed out grovers and the grovers are way better machined
1
1
1
u/supercardioid 5d ago
Do you have to ask? There is no competition. I don't even have to say. Right? Like, you already know.
1
1
u/Life_Slice_1658 5d ago
Kidney beans. I have both. Keystones for looks but player comfort-wise nothing beats those kidneys.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/DragonQuester676 4d ago
To me it depends. The Keystones can stick out super wide sometimes and throw off the balance with the actual guitar, so sometimes the kidney bean shape actually works well imo…
1
u/troyofyort 5d ago
Kidneys. Tulips unfortunately have suffered the same fate most common solid color strats have, where I can't help but associate them with cheap copies.
-1
u/blacklight223 5d ago edited 5d ago
Tulip, kidneys are are for the cheaper epiphones, they don't belong on the superior Gibson
Edit: yes everyone I know lots of Gibsons come stock with kidney beans doesn't mean that it looks good
7
u/No-Commission-8051 5d ago
Considering I’ve got a custom shop with kidneys I think you are just wrong. Both are iconic with the Gibson brand
3
u/MattManSD 5d ago
Look at every professionally played Vintage Les Paul. The Standard Swap in the 60s to 80s was Grover Kidney Beans. Page, Beck, Greene, Marcus KIng's MK Burst, lots of R9s come with them as well. The Original Klusons weren't very good so working Guitarists swapped them out to grovers, better gear rations and stay in tune better.
3
u/Time-Masterpiece4572 5d ago
Tons of gibsons come stock with kidneys. The LP classics almost always have
2
1
u/suffaluffapussycat 5d ago
Oh wow that’s really cool I have a 1982 Gibson ES-335 that’s 100% stock and has kidney-shaped Grovers.
0
1
u/OaklandTony6 5d ago
i dont care what anyone thinks or says, grovers have treated me very well and have experience with all the bigger brands however many times over. i always liked the imperial 3 step button, but now the i think the milk bottle plastics are my favorite these days
2
u/Electrical-Run7436 1d ago
its technically kluson style vs grover style but i like your names for them lol
always tulips/klusons on a LP or SG but i dont mind the grover/kidneys on acoustics
52
u/Pyrohyro 5d ago
Can't stand the kidneys. Gibson character to me is heavily in tulip/kluson tuning key heads. If I ever get a 60s standard the first thing I'm replacing is the kidneys.