I absolutely love Wittner products for my all of my string instruments. My general rule for me and my family's instruments: if Wittner makes a product for it, then I almost always purchase it. My wife plays a cello. Wittner fine-tune pegs and the classic ultra-composite tailpiece on it. For my son's violin: wittner fine-tune pegs, the plastic composite chin rest, izny shoulder rest, classic composite tailpiece......same with my viola. For my viola, I'm waiting on Wittner to manufacture and release their classic, ultra-composite viola tailpiece sometime in the spring/summer of 2016. I will certainly be purchasing it and getting it on my viola this year. Old, vintage, antique, old-school ebony and wood certainly has their place in the string music world. I'm just a huge fan of trying to incorporate a little bit of modern materials and engineering into everyday life. The Wittner fine-tune pegs are fantastic. I have never had any issues with any of them failing (and I own six sets). The most difficult part is (a) ensuring you order the right size/diameter and (b) not over-boring the peg holes. I don't even bother cutting or trimming the pegs after I've installed them....it's simply cosmetic. Actually, having the pegs extend slightly past the walls of the scroll gives each of my instruments a unique, one-of-kind look (something I have found very handy when someone else picked up my instrument). Be conservative and take your time on boring the peg holes (if you need to at all).....then push the Wittner pegs in, re-lace your strings accordingly and off you go. I also own the matching or corresponding Wittner fine-tune pegs winder (about $5). You only use this winder tool twice. It's a small plastic tool/sleeve that fits over your pegs and allows you to wind/turn your fine-tune pegs very quickly when you initially lace up your strings. Since the ratio is about 9:1, it's going to take you a little longer to tighten up your strings.....then it's easy to use the same winder tool again when you need to quickly unwind and loosen your strings when removing them. Once the Wittner fine-tune pegs are properly installed, they work so effortlessly. You simply just turn the peg head like a racket wrench just a 1/8 or 1/4 or 1/2 turn at a time until the string comes into tune. I do have a fine tune adjuster just on my E (violins) and A strings (violas and cellos). I have never had any of them slip or strip for have the gear mechanism fail. In fact once the peg holes are bored correctly and the Wittner fine-tune pegs are pushed in correctly, they are nice and firm and tight. I have never even had to replace them (or think about them) again. I find it very refreshing to purchase a product just once and know that it is so consistent and so great, that I find myself completely forgetting about it and take it for granted. I have no idea if using composite pegs changes the sound of the instruments or not because I always put Wittner fine-tune pegs, chin rests, tailpieces and izny shoulder rests on all of my instruments when I purchase them and re-build them. I would rather start with Wittner products as a base (because his products are so great). To change the sound/characteristics of my instruments, I would then change the bow or the bridge or the strings. The Wittner products are absolutely worth the price because it's a one-time purchase. The other great feature is these fine-tune pegs make it soooo much easier for my son to self-tune his own 1/4 size and 1/2 size violins because the peg heads require do not require a lot of torque to turn and adjust. (same goes with my wife and her cello). As you can see from my photo, I did not bother to trim the excess peg that extends beyond the scroll wall. This does not affect tone, stability or performance. It saved a lot of time and (to me) creates a very unique look to my instruments...especially if they go missing.