Virtually all violin family instruments we make at D. Rickert Musical Instruments are fit with planetary pegs. The image of the violoncello da spalla pegbox/scroll clearly shows the planetary geared pegs, which look exactly like regular ebony pegs.
Planetary geared pegs provide a profound enhancement of the playing experience, especially for non-standard lower pitched violin family variants, including, but not limited to, the violoncello da spalla, octave violin, octave viola, tenor viola and similar instruments. I have actually come to see planetary pegs as essential for players of 4 and 5-strings fiddles.
We will also be using violin-style planetary pegs on some of our Minstrel-inspired 5-string banjos (flamenco guitar violin style pegs for the main 4 strings and smaller ukulele violin style pegs for the 5th strings), which will be marketed under our new sister brand, Georgia Mountain Strings. Minstrel style banjos and so-called ‘Mountain’ or ‘Appalachian’ banjo traditionally were fit with violin or slightly larger viola pegs.
The problem with violin pegs, especially on a banjo, and particularly on a metal-strung banjo like a Mountain Banjo, is that they are notoriously inadequate for keeping the instrument in tune. My last statement is an invitation for a banjo joke about a banjo being in tune doesn’t really matter.
Many people have cold feet about internally-geared tuning pegs on their violins or fiddles. We think that it has to do with the fact that most of us envision a planetary-geared violin peg as heavy and "non-traditional" looking. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are two makers of planetary pegs for violins and fiddles, PEGHEDS™ (also sold under the Knilling brand as "Perfection Pegs") and Wittner Fine-Tune™ Pegs. PEGHEDS™ and Wittner Fine-Tune™ Pegs. Both make wooden pegs obsolete, except in the case where one is interested in rigorous adherence to historical authenticity on an old instrument. For a number of reasons, I have come to prefer the Wittner FineTune™ pegs, for violin family instruments as well as historic guitars and banjos. The reasons are listed below:
- No modification to the peg holes: Wittner pegs use existing peg holes and are held in by friction; whereas the PegHeds are glued and screwed into the peg holes.
- Peg hole wear: The ends of the PegHeds rotate, leading to pegbox wear.
- Gear Ratio: Pegheds have a 4:1 ratio; whereas Wittner FineTune pegs have an 8:1 ratio (more accurate fine tuning).
- Note: a 4:1 ratio means that for every 4 turns of the peg, the shaft turns 1 time. For an 8:1 ratio, every 8 turns of the peg results in 1 turn of the shaft. A regular violin peg is "direct drive", which means a 1:1 ratio, so 1 turn of the peg results in 1 turn of the shaft, as the peg button and shaft are all one piece.
- Cost: The Wittner’s cost less
Both Pegheds and Wittner FineTune™ pegs look like traditional ebony pegs. With either type of peg, fine tuners on the instrument tailpiece are unnecessary. I install Wittner FineTune pegs on virtually every violin family instrument I make. The only exceptions have been a few baroque violins for which ornate Baroque style pegs were part of the instrument’s aesthetic, and cigar box fiddles, which are generally fit with geared ukulele pegs. Also, my mandolin family instruments generally have regular geared tuners. As I mentioned earlier, some of my new banjos will be fit with Wittner pegs; however, modern banjo planetary pegs are the norm.
I often install Wittner FineTune Pegs on existing instruments, particularly fiddles. This generally occurs at fiddlers’ conventions after folks see them on the instruments I make.
Let me know if you are interested in having planetary pegs installed on your instrument, whatever that instrument might me.
Contact Information
The web address for the “Cool Instruments for Hep Cats” video podcast is: @Cool_Instruments_for_Hep_Cats - https://www.youtube.com/@Cool_Instruments_for_Hep_Cats/podcasts
Don Rickert’s main website, ‘D. Rickert Musical Instruments’, is https://www.RickertMusicalInstruments.com.
Online store, ‘Don Rickert Musician Shop’, is https://www.DonRickertMusicianshop.com.
Don Rickert on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/donrickert. This link gets you to ALL of my detailed contact information, my websites and social media.
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Phone (in US): 706-400-1481 (mobile)
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