Vintage Tuners

Between 1954 and 1967 Fender used for Stratocasters Kluson tuning machines, nickel plated or, on request, gold plated. Differently from those previously used by Fender on other models, they had a second side hole from which the tuner shaft came out. They were characterized by the presence of a slot at the end of the string post, called split shaft, inside which the string was inserted, and had oval knobs.
Aesthetically they can be cataloged in three different types used in three different periods:

• The first Klusons to be used on the Stratocaster had no brand name stamped in the outside tuner casing, while, on the side not visible in contact with the headstock, were engraved "2356766" and "PAT APPLD". 

Kluson used on '52 e '53 Fender instruments, but not on Stratocaster

Kluson "no-line" used on Fender Stratocasters until '56; they had a second side hole from which the tuner shaft came out

Back side of Kluson "no line", "2356766 PAT APPLD" engraved

• "KLUSON DELUXE" was stamped in the outside tuner casing of the tuning machines called single line. While in the originals the final "E" remained on the back, on many reproductions it slipped on the side; the position of the hole for the lubricant also was different. On the back of the single line tuners used between mid-1956 and 1964, it was possible to find the engraving "D-169400" and the "PAT APPLD" one, replaced, during 1958, by "PATENT NO". 

Kluson Deluxe single line on a 1959 Stratocaster (realvintage.it)

Back side of a Kluson used on a 1958 Stratocaster, "D-169400 PATENT NO" stamped (realvintage.it)

• Since mid-1964 to 1967 "KLUSON DELUXE" had been no longer stamped on a single line but on two vertical lines, while on the back of the tuners the code "D-169400 PATENT NO." remained, so that these Klusons were nicknamed double lines. However, some Stratocasters of the beginning of 1965 still had the single lines. 

Kluson Deluxe tuners "double-lines" (realvintage.it)

As Forrest White remembers, between 1950 and the beginning of 1951, Fender had to cut the lateral ends of the Kluson keys with a press because those suitable to be mounted in a row along the same side of the headstock did not exist. Therefore, the company purchased the tuning machines intended for the mandolins, which had four keys “strips”, and cut them. 

After CBS bought Fender, one of the first thing wanted by Don Randall was to make his own tuning machines, thus avoiding buying the Klusons. Forrest White therefore designed some keys with angled ends which could be mounted with only two screws and were lined up one after the other. The new Fender Keys, later copied from Schaller, chromed and recognizable thanks to a large “F” stamped in the back cover, whose chromed knobs were made of plastic and not of metal, took the place of the Kluson tuners in late 1967.
These tuning machines were slightly modified over time: at first they had a second side hole from which the tuner shaft came out, but since 1975 the “cover” has been completely enveloping the key without letting the shaft out and was called closed cover. 

1974 Fender keys, "fist series": they had a second side hole from which the tuner shaft came out

1977 Fender Keys, "Closed-Cover": no more second side hole for the tuner shaft

On 1982 Vintage reissues and on the next American Vintage Series Fender began to use excellent Kluson reproductions (meanwhile it had closed its doors, but the brand was purchased in 1993 by Larry Davis of WD Music Products).

1979-2000

In 1979 the 25th Anniversary Stratocaster was unveiled; at first, it mounted the Sperzel Non-Locking Tuners (the locking tuners were unveiled by Sperzel only in 1983), which were split shaft free and had “Fender” stamped in the back cover. The reason why Fender later began to use on its 25th Anniversary Stratocaster the same Schaller tuning machines which would have been mounted on the Strat is not clear. 

Sperzel non-locking tuners on the 25th Anniversary Stratocaster

The 1980 Strat had the Deluxe Schaller Keys, split shaft free, that had “Fender” stamped in the back cover. Although the hardware of this guitar was totally golden, the tuning machines of the first Strat models were chromed due a delay in refilling the gold-plated keys.

In 1983 also the Standard Stratocaster and the subsequent American Standard Strat mounted the new Deluxe Schaller Keys, whose back cover was slightly different from that of the tuning machines mounted on the Strat.

Chrome Schaller keys on a "Strat"

Schaller tuners on a 1988 American Standard Stratocaster

The second and the third American Standard Series and the American Series featured the new staggered Deluxe Schaller Keys, whose string posts had a variable height: those of the treble E to the D were lower than the other two, thus ensuring greater pressure on the nut and greater sustain (at the expense, however, of greater friction when using the vibrato lever).​

Fender/Schaller Deluxe Staggered Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines on the American Series Strat

The Plus series used satin locking tuners and, in particular, Sperzel until early 1988 and Schaller later as for the Stratocaster Plus, while Sperzel until 1990 and Schaller later as for the Plus Deluxe; only Schaller for the Strat Ultra. 

Locking Tuners used on the Plus Series

Locking Tuners Shaller used on the Plus Series