The smallest pegs in the world! I installed GOTOH STM31 on my travel guitar!

Hello!My name is Takuto Fujioka, guitarist and an occupational therapist. Thank you for always reading!

I have something to ask you. What do you do when you had a little time to touch your smartphone? I just open up the Sound House app and check out equipment….
My hobby is replacing guitar parts and I’m addicted to DIY. So at night, I'm always looking for products that interest me on the Sound House app.

Recently I was looking for pegs to install on this travel guitar.

I’ve occasionally mentioned this in my column, but this Journey Instruments travel guitar has a removable neck and body. However, the strings wrapped around the pegs get loose when the neck is removed, and in the worst case, the strings may come off, I was thinking this may be solved with locking pegs.
Also, the head drops a lot on this guitar, so one day I was thinking that I should reduce the weight of the head side as much as possible, and I found such a strange peg.

GOTOH / STM31-SB5 / L3 + R3 Chrome

The smallest peg in the world. Known as the STEALTH-KEY.

Can this size perform the function of pegs?! The weight of the pegs can be reduced by 1/2 to 1/3...! Moreover, it has the Magnum locking function. This peg had all the specs I wanted.

However, when I searched on the net, there was no one who had used them on an acoustic guitar, and it was an unknown peg that for which I did not find any reviews. I had to become a pillar for the people! I took advantage of the points I received from Sound House.

And here is what arrived.

You will understand when you get the package.
Very light!!!
I was worried if it wasn’t too light, and they forgot to include the pegs.

Each one weighs 11g-12g. The original Grover pegs weighed 30g, which makes the new ones about one-third lighter. The pegs that were originally installed were made by Grover and had changed them to wooden peg buttons to reduce the weight, but they are still heavy.

I immediately installed them myself. The diameter of the included bushing was 8 mm. A conversion bushing is required because the peg hole was about 10 mm. I was able to use bushings I had on hand, so I easily steered clear of this problem. It would be better to fill the original peg hole and then re-drill the hole to install it, but this time I will continue as it is.

Please measure the size of the peg holes carefully to ensure they can be installed when considering purchasing

It looks like this.
Seen from behind, it's strange to me because I'm not used to them yet. Seen from the front, they look like ordinary pegs. Personally, I also like this look.

Regarding the change in sound.
Is there a lot of change in timbre due to the change in weight? I thought there would be a difference, but personally I didn't care so much. Rather, the bass that was a little muddy is refreshing. However, the structure of this guitar is a little special, so I think that this area will change depending on the characteristics of the instrument on which they will be installed.

Head drop has improved considerably. It still tilts down, but I think it's easier to play because the burden on the left hand that supports the neck has been reduced.

They also function excellently as far as pegs go, with a gear ratio of 18: 1 and a fairly smooth turning feel. They also come with the Magnum Lock. Thanks to this locking function, the problems of the strings coming loose when the neck was removed was solved.

The point to note about this peg is that it can only be used if the tension of the strings is 20 kg or less. However, according to this site, it states that the tension of an acoustic guitar is about 10 to 15 kg, although it varies depending on each string using a light gauge set installed on a regular scale. The travel guitar I used this time is a medium scale, and I can tune it without any problem as long as I use a custom light gauge for regular tuning. I use basic custom lights tuned a semitone down, so there is no problem. The medium gauge of an acoustic guitar may be a little more difficult.

In the end, it was good to replace the pegs!
I think this was a special case, but I'm very happy because everything problem I had was solved. It's been a few days since I replaced the pegs, and I haven't had any problems.

Although there are restrictions on the string gauge as described above, for…

• Those who want to improve head drop
• Those who want to make their guitar lighter
• Those who use Journey Instruments travel guitars

…I would especially recommend it to anyone who personally falls into one of these categories. They’re also excellent pegs, so if you're interested, check them out!

As a “guitarist who is also an occupational therapist”, I usually talk about the body, providing information that is worth knowing if you are a guitarist! I would be grateful if you could read my other columns as well.
See you soon!

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