How to Set Up Your Guitar for Riot Gearless Locking Tuners (The Right Way)

So you’ve just received your Riot gearless locking tuners. Before you install them, read this guide. Ten minutes of preparation now will give you perfect tuning stability from the first string — and will prevent the string breakage issues that catch unprepared players off guard. This is the complete gearless locking tuner setup guide. The PDF installation instructions for all generations of Riot tuners are available on the Installation Instructions page.

Riot tuners are engineered for superior tuning stability compared to standard guitar pegs and most other locking tuner designs on the market. But like all precision guitar hardware, they perform best on a properly prepared instrument. This guide walks you through exactly what to do before, during, and after installation.

What You’ll Need

• Your Riot gearless locking tuner set
• Appropriate screwdrivers for your tuner mounting screws
• Allen wrench (included with Riot tuners)
• Nut lubricant (graphite pencil, nut sauce, or petroleum jelly)
• Nut files (optional but recommended)
• String winder
• Fresh strings in your preferred gauge

Step 1: Prepare the Nut — This Is the Most Important Step

Before you touch the tuners, address your guitar’s nut. This is the single most important factor in how your Riot tuners will perform. Proper gearless locking tuner setup starts here. Gearless locking tuners increase the string break angle over the nut compared to standard tuners, which means any existing nut binding will be amplified. A nut that caused occasional tuning drift with standard pegs may cause string breakage with gearless tuners.

Test Each String Slot

With the old tuners still on and strings at pitch, test each nut slot individually:

1. While tuning a string slightly upward, gently lift it out of the nut groove with your finger.
2. The string should lift smoothly and freely with no resistance.
3. If the string catches, sticks, or requires force to lift, that groove is binding.
4. Repeat for every string.

Fix Any Binding Before Installing the New Tuners

Minimal resistance: Apply nut lubricant directly into the groove. Graphite from a soft pencil is free and works well. Specialized products like Big Bends Nut Sauce or GHS Fast Fret also work. Work the lubricant in by tuning up and down a few times.

Significant binding: The groove needs to be widened or smoothed with nut files to match your string gauge. The groove should be slightly wider than the string diameter so the string slides freely side to side. The groove depth should allow roughly half the string diameter to sit above the nut surface. If you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, any guitar tech can do it in minutes. For a dedicated step-by-step guide to testing, filing, and lubricating nut slots, read Adjusting the Nut to Prevent String Breakage with Riot Tuners. For external reference on nut filing technique, see how to correctly fix guitar string nut binding.

Do not skip this step. A properly cut nut is the foundation of stable intonation and tuning regardless of which tuners you use — and it becomes even more critical with gearless locking tuner setup. For a deeper explanation of why nut binding causes string breakage at the tuner, read Why Riot Gearless Locking Tuners Break Strings (And How to Fix It).

Step 2: Remove Your Old Tuners

Remove your strings and existing tuning machines. Note how the tuner bushings fit in the headstock holes — Riot tuners use standard sizing but you want to confirm the fit before committing. If the holes are too small, they’ll need to be reamed to fit. If they’re too large, use the bushings included with your Riot tuners.

Clean the headstock surface around each tuner hole while you have access to it. A clean mounting surface ensures the tuner sits flat and the mounting screws grip correctly.

Step 3: Position the Rubber Washer Correctly

Each Riot tuner ships with a rubber washer. This washer has a significant effect on string angle over the nut, and choosing its position correctly for your guitar is important.

Washer below the headstock (default position): The tuner body sits closer to the headstock surface, which increases the string angle over the nut. This gives maximum downward pressure on the nut, which can improve tone and sustain — but requires the nut grooves to be properly cut to handle the load.

Washer above the headstock: The tuner body sits slightly higher, reducing the string angle over the nut. Choose this position if your nut grooves are borderline and you want to reduce pressure on them, or if you don’t have access to nut files and want a margin of safety.

If your nut is properly cut, the default below-headstock position is recommended for best performance. If you’re unsure about your nut, start with the washer above and adjust later.

Step 4: Install the Tuners

Insert each tuner into its headstock hole from the face of the headstock. Fit the bushing over the post from the back. Align the tuner so the string post faces the correct direction and the tuner body is flush against the headstock. Mount each tuner with its screws — snug, but do not overtighten.

Check that each tuner sits flat and does not rock. A tuner that rocks on the headstock surface may have a mounting screw hole that doesn’t align perfectly — adjust the position slightly until it sits flat before fully tightening the screws.

Step 5: String the Guitar Correctly

The next phase of gearless locking tuner setup is stringing. Stringing Riot gearless locking tuners is different from standard tuners. Follow this method carefully — incorrect string attachment is the second most common cause of problems after nut binding.

1. Thread the string through the bridge as normal and pull it up to the appropriate tuner.
2. Thread the string through the hole in the brass collar of the tuner.
3. Loop the string around the collar and back through the hole — this loop is what holds the string under load, not the set screw.
4. For the high E string, loop through twice for extra security due to the thinner gauge.
5. Pull the string snug against the collar with light tension.
6. Using the included allen wrench, tighten the set screw with light finger pressure only. The screw locks the string in position — it does not need to be cranked tight. Overtightening can damage the string and cause breakage at the pinch point.
7. Refer to the sample string included in your Riot tuner package as a visual reference for how the loop should look.

Step 6: The First Tune-Up

With all strings attached, begin tuning up to pitch slowly. As you tune each string for the first time, repeat the nut binding test from Step 1 — gently lift each string out of the nut groove as you tune. If any string resists, stop tuning that string immediately and address the binding before continuing.

New strings will stretch and need to be tuned up several times before they stabilize. This is normal for any tuner system. Gently stretch each string by pulling it upward from the fretboard while holding it down at the nut and bridge, then retune. Repeat until the strings hold pitch through the stretching.

Once the strings are stable, check each set screw one more time. The tension from tuning up can occasionally cause a screw to work slightly loose on the first restring — a light snug with the allen wrench is all that’s needed.

Step 7: Confirm Tuning Stability

Play the guitar through a full range of techniques — bends, vibrato, chord strumming, and any heavy playing you normally do. Check tuning after each session for the first few hours of play as the strings fully seat.

Riot gearless locking tuners are designed to hold tuning through aggressive playing. A complete gearless locking tuner setup pays off here. If tuning is drifting after the strings have fully settled, the most likely cause is the nut. Return to Step 1 and retest each slot, or consult the dedicated guide on Adjusting the Nut to Prevent String Breakage with Riot Tuners.

Gearless Locking Tuner Setup Checklist

• ☐ Nut tested — all slots move freely under tension
• ☐ Nut lubricated or filed as needed
• ☐ Washer position chosen — below (default) or above headstock
• ☐ Tuners mounted flat — no rocking on headstock surface
• ☐ Strings looped correctly through brass collar
• ☐ Set screws finger-tight only — not overtightened
• ☐ First tune-up done with nut binding recheck per string
• ☐ Strings stretched and retuned to stable pitch

Follow this gearless locking tuner setup checklist and your Riot tuners will deliver exactly what they’re engineered for — tuning stability that outperforms standard pegs and holds through anything you throw at it.

Questions during installation? Contact us directly — we’re happy to walk through your specific setup.