Graph-Tech PRL 8521 B7 / Ratio Locking Machine Heads (black)

In the early 80's, Dave Dunwoodie, Graph Tech's President, was mid-performance at a gig in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada. Hitting the tremolo bar on his first Fender® Strat (he was a Gibson® man) during a guitar solo, he was immediately introduced to the problem of string binding on traditional guitar nuts. "I went to do my first "wang" and went totally out of tune" Dave said. "I couldn't use the guitar for stage work at all. Back then, it was a lot harder to get information on fixing this, but I was pretty determined." Spurred by the resurgence in popularity of tremolo guitars, the need for pencil lead in the nut slots for lubrication, and his own frustration, Dave began experimenting with a variety of composite guitar nuts designed to eliminate string binding. He engineered the world's first self-lubricating nut, a formula 500% more slippery than graphite. Almost thirty years later Graph Tech Guitar Labs has become an institution, producing some of the industries most innovative and reliable nuts, saddles bridge pins, bridges and pickup systems. Through patented methods and proprietary techniques, Graph Tech has designed specific tone and performance enhancements that were once impossible to achieve. The result is an outstanding reputation for quality and rapid acceptance by guitar players. Dave's commitment has never waned: "products that really do what they say they will do." The successful introduction of totally new concepts (as opposed to "copy cat" products) into the guitar market have led to Graph Tech's booming success. Graph Tech products are factory installed worldwide in over 42 countries.