LeftyBassist.com

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/msg/3772118610.html
I just bought a set from this guy. They're the real deal! Very cool stuff!

Are those reissues? You can get them "non aged" for under $69 new on the bay with bushings and screws.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330869355586?ss ... 1438.l2648

This listing is for RH tuners. Are you sure these are also available for purchase Left Handed?

You can get them lefty for days. I've owned several sets over the years:

http://bit.ly/1aNOIBq

They were hard to get a little while back, presumably because of the earthquake troubles in Japan.

Thanks Matt!

Hard to tell. The set that I got from the guy seems legit, but who knows. I doubt they're real 50's or 60's tuners for that price. But the aging that was done to the set that I got is really done well. I've also seen these tuners (brand new) for about $80.00 or so and for about $125 aged. Bass Parts resource has them listed on their site, but they're out of stock. They looked cool and they'll work on an old fretless J neck that I have that's been sitting around for awhile. Thought I'd share it with you guys to see what you thought.

HI TOM!

There is a simple way to detect the originals from the reissues- the original Klusons had a plate with a worm gear and two 'u' retainers with bent tabs holding them onto the plates. The EASY way to see the difference is the ring gear. The newer Gotoh made re-issues have a finer toothed ring gear, for finer adjustment. Old Kluson originals are EXACTLY the same as Kay upright bass tuners, excluding the longer shaft for the upright bass pegbox. Some old Kay basses actually have "Kluson Mfg. Co., engraved on the single long plates.
Allparts has the re-issue sets in lefty, I have 5 sets of them on my reissue lefty Japanese basses, and one Warmoth bass, and I LOVE them.

Hey Dave,
Thanks for the info. Here's one of the gears that I purchased. What do you think?

Sorry, I sent the wrong link... was running out the door for a day gig. They are all over the net lefty for same price. They have the "u" retainers on the back plate resulting in you having to drill or dig out 2 spots on the back of the neck per tuner. It's just the design but don't think the Vintage style HipShot's have the "u" support, but more $$$.

Hi Gravesbass... - Even with the u-tabs holding the handle and gear- (both old and reissues use this retention method) I'm seeing a 'fine' pinion- or 'worm' gear- that is not 'vintage.' The originals were made by Kluson.. the reissues are Gotoh. Using simple logic- anyone selling an original vintage set that knows what they are, will likely be asking a lot of money- say in the 4-500 dollar range for a complete set. Considering that a set of pre- CBS jazz bass pickup can go for 2k, that may be about right. I work on lots of Kay basses- they all use Klusons that are the same tuner aside from the large sigle plate and long shaft on the upright tuners. I KNOW Leo Fender went to Kluson and requested they make him the same tuner, on single plates for his new electric bass guitar.

Thanks Dave. I figured they weren't the real vintage ones due to the price I paid for them.

Just to let you know- they're actually better than the originals, in my opinion. I like the look of the old tuners, which was maintained, and the reverse wind, also like the originals. But, they're a lot less money- and are readily available. They also have a finer adjustment, due to the fine toothed gears.