quick question

[Leonardo Silva]

for a right handed stratocaster build, do I need 6R or 6L machine tuners?, I'm confused!

sorry for the stupid question, but I really don't want to mess up and buy the wrong ones.

[David King]

Generally speaking, the Left and Right refers to the side that the buttons are on when viewing the front of the headstock in a vertical position. With that in mind you most likely want the 6L tuners.

[Peter Wilcox]

I too have been, am, and probably will be confused about this until I die. Apparently some vendors (especially Chinese and ebay) consider R to mean for a right handed instrument, and L for left hand - that is, they go on the side viewed from the back, just the opposite of the convention David mentions. In my limited experience, if tuners are being sold for a branded type instrument (strat, tele, fender bases etc.) they are for a right handed instrument unless specifically noted for lefty.

More confusion exists for two sided headstocks with unequal numbers of tuners (4L1R, 3R2L etc.) When I buy I look at the picture (which is hopefully correct) to order the configuration I want. Of course, flipping those tuners around in my head can lead to confusion too.

[Leonardo Silva]

ok, that's useful, then I'm not as dumb as I guessed, I ordered some "stratocaster" fender tuners, that way I can't go wrong (even the pictures show a strat headstock with the tuners)

sometimes it's even trickier with those chinese pages, customer support is bullcrap.

[Jamie Unden]

If the photo is correct, go with that. When looking at the front of the headstock, you want the tuning shaft further from the nut than the string shaft.

[Peter Wilcox]

Yes, you want the string shaft between the tuning shaft and the nut. That way, the string tension will pull the worm gear into the worm through a fulcrum that exists somewhere between the string attachment and the worm gear, making it less likely the gears will be loose and sloppy or strip.

[Thomas Dooher]

I bought some from eBay/chinese vendor that were listed as 6R, for a right handed guitar, so that's my experience.