Those 1:21 gear tuners are smooth as silk. Bought them for my Ibanez Artist, and although the originals werent bad, I needed something a tad lighter to lessen the headdive on this Artist. I must say, the transition from a 1:18 ratio to 1:21 is such a joy for this guitar, it makes precise tuning much easier, and smoother experience overall. The tuners look and feel flawless and very smooth. Tempted to put them on all of my guitars, that's how much I like 'm!