Terminology: Van Ghent Tuners

If you’ve spent any time reading about early Rickenbackers, you’ve likely encountered the term “Van Ghent tuners.” Maybe you read it in a book, maybe you stumbled across it in a forum post, or maybe you saw it listed as a “special feature” on a Register entry. But what exactly are Van Ghents? When did Rickenbacker use them, why did they use them, and what’s the deal with the mysterious extra “H” that seems to appear and disappear depending on who’s writing about them?

Let’s start there. Van Gent (no “h”) B.V. is a Dutch manufacturer of stringed instrument hardware—primarily tuning machines and fret wire—founded in 1949 in the Netherlands by “the brothers van Gent.” The business has remained in family hands since its founding, and today specializes in vintage-style open-gear tuners—much like the products it offered in the early 1950s.

A sampling of current Van Gent tuners

Their current products are fairly well regarded in the reproduction market, and are surprisingly inexpensive for being European-made. They do not appear to currently have a U.S. distributor.

But from the 1950s to the early 1970s, Van Gent was a major supplier to European guitar brands like Hagstrom, Burns, Hofner, and Vox. They also appeared on instruments from U.S. manufacturers like Guild and Rickenbacker, and were especially common on Gretsch guitars.

So what happened to them? Much like Kluson, Van Gent didn’t quite keep up with the times. Companies like Grover and Schaller were advancing tuner design and performance, while Van Gent largely continued making the basic open-gear tuners it always had made. By the end of the 1970s, the company had very few new electric guitar fitments, and none in the U.S. Documentation is sparse, but Van Gent’s role in the guitar industry had clearly declined dramatically from its peak, and it never really recovered.

So what’s the story with the “H”? Unfortunately I have no idea.

The company has always been Van Gent. Its current products are marketed as Van Gent. But period literature from the 1960s clearly refers to the tuners as Van Ghents. Why? When did the usage begin? When did it disappear? For how long? I did a fairly deep dive into period catalogs and advertisements and came up empty-handed.

So when and why did they end up on Rickenbackers? As near as I can tell they first showed up on two different 385 acoustic models Roger Rossmeisl (click to learn more) built in 1961. The best known of the pair is probably the so-called “fish tail” or “steer’s head” version shown below:

1961 prototype “fish tail” 385

Both prototype 1961 385s

As to why…well, we can’t be completely sure. We do know that Roger’s father Wenzel used Van Ghents on his “Roger” guitars, so Rossmeisl was almost certainly familiar with them. That alone makes their appearance on the 385 prototypes a little less surprising.

Van Ghent tuners on a “Roger” by Wenzel Rossmeisl

Combine that with the fact that Van Ghent offered attractive pearloid-button tuners that complemented the aesthetic of Rossmeisl’s upscale acoustics, and their use on the 385 makes about as much sense as anything else.

The actual “model number” Rickenbacker used is lost to time, but in general they can be described as having pearloid buttons and distinctive teardrop backs, as shown below:

Van Ghent tuners on a 1963 460

The teardrop backs are purely cosmetic—removing the screw that holds them on reveals a basic open gear assembly. Being candid, they’re not great tuners. But they look fancy!

They started showing up on production models in 1963—like the 460 example above. Early on, they appear to have been used primarily on “special” instruments—custom orders, trade-show models, prototypes, and the like where appearance may have been valued more than outright performance. While we can’t say that with complete certainty, it is strongly supported by the physical record.

1965 “Randy Bachman” 375 with Van Ghent tuners

That pattern shifted in 1964 with the launch of the “New Style” round-top 360, which had the Van Ghents fitted as standard on 6-string variants. From 1964 to 1965—while the factory was struggling to keep up with exploding demand—they also appear to have been pulled from the shelf when nothing else was readily available

1965 625 with Van Ghent tuners

By mid-1965 Kluson Deluxes had replaced the Van Ghents as the standard fitment on the 360, and their use largely returned to the realm of special instruments. The latest example I have found dates to 1972—on the unusual 381 shown below—but there may well be others lurking out there.

1972 381 with Van Ghent tuners (and fake soundhole!)

And that’s about everything I know about Van G(h)ent tuners. Unfortunately, the mystery of the wandering “H” remains unsolved. If you happen to know when, why, or by whom it was added, I’d genuinely love to hear from you.

If you enjoyed this piece about short-lived and distinctive features, you’ll probably enjoy this one on the Sceusa neck.