Hi folks,

Just wondering what stand alone tuner do you use for your guitar (other than the clip on headstock type)

I have been using this one for last 20 years, same as this one advertised on ebay, Wouldn't mind a second.

|Lock on guitar Tuner

I do a search now and again but very few available in UK and the US ones are usually a good price if I was to pay the cost to ship to here.

I have found it to be a great little tuner and so easy on batteries, usually I just reuse the smoke alarm battery (when it starts beeping in alarm) and get many more months of use out of it in tuner.

Tuner was really expensive 20 years ago £50 probably that equates to $70-80 at the time.

Musiclover

Rarely need a standalone tuner. Would not recommend Snark. Mine would read bad before the battery warning light said batteries needed replacing. My intellitouch works well. That brand started the clip on tuner market. Mine has worked since I got it in 2003 or so. These days I use the built in tuning function of my amp simulators or a couple different iPhone apps that work great and are free. Apps to check out are nTrack tuner and PitchLab tuners

I'm going to weigh in favorably on SNARK for a couple of reasons:

1) Price. They are very inexpensive

2) They're clip-on, so you can use them for acoustic instruments too

3) some of my other tuners only show EBGDAE... which is great for guitar, but useless for other instruments or for special tunings. Snark reports all of the notes

4) some tuners are 'jumpy", meaning when you pluck a string, the display rapidly reports a bunch of different notes, maybe getting confused by harmonics. I've found the Snarks to be pretty stable in that way.

In summary, snark works on all my instruments, and its cheap enough to keep one (or two) in each instrument case. They have an on-off switch and they don't draw much current, so if you remember to turn it off after you tune, the batteries last a long time. They use a common battery that's found everywhere. I absolutely love these little tuners!

Mine is a Korg GT-1 dating from around 1992.
Hilarious to find that it is now classed as "Vintage".
Whatever, it still does a good job despite its age.
Just for the fun of it - here is a pic -

Ian

I have two.

My main one is an old Korg CA-1 chromatic tuner:

https://www.amazon.com/Korg-CA1-Chromatic-Tuner/dp/B002PMHAVS

The other one is a Arion HU 8300 that I have had for about 40 years now.

http://www.studio1525.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=34&products_id=1863

It only works with guitar and bass. Plus you have to push a button to get to the next string! When I was teaching I would bring this to my lessons so my students could use it as it was very simple to use.

I use a Boss TU2 tuner. It can plug in to my volume pedal so not in the pedal chain. For my acoustic an Apex AT7.

All certainly beat the pitch pipes.

Don't know about everyone else but sometimes my guitar seems better in tune than other times and that's even after using a tuner.

Musiclover

Since 1979: Korg WT-12

I had to have something like this to tune a pedal steel guitar.

Just to be different...

I've been using a Seiko ST757 for years.

It's fully chromatic, has the facility to change key and to set the tuner's pitch to a particular Hz.

Batteries seem to last forever and it's been as reliable as you might expect from a watch-maker.

ROG.

I have 3 that I use.

I bought a Conn Strobe tuner many years back. I used that tuner through so many different bands. I had it plugged in to the line out of my amp so I could check and fix things in the middle of a song if needed.

One night, we were hosting a music competition at the club where we were the house band. One of the contestants left a cheap tuner backstage and never returned to get it. After a few weeks, I carried it home. It's in one of my guitar cases.

Finally, the POD2 has a built in tuner.

All 3 work exceptionally well.

Music Lover said:

You should recheck your tuning because it's likely that one string slipped or never got to pitch properly. When that happens to me, I rework the tuning and always find one string slightly off.

"Don't know about everyone else but sometimes my guitar seems better in tune than other times and that's even after using a tuner."




I don't want to tell you something you already know, but are you stretching your strings properly?



Regards,


Bob

Believe you me Bob they are well stretched because they are never changed too often Maybe that's the reason they go out of tune.

On the subject of strings I use Martin custom light, usually three packs for £10 on ebay.

Musiclover

I'm using a Boss TU-80 here, bought it around five years ago to replace a Boss TU-12H that I had had for the previous 20 years. Nice thing about the TU-80 is the batteries last forever, compared to the TU-12H.

When recording I mostly use the tuner built into my S-GEAR amp sim, and before that I used the one built into my Pod XT.

Yep, old strings are harder to keep in tune than new ones. I know this for a fact as most of my guitars have old strings on them!

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/16542

That IS the reason. Tell me if this isn't the case. You tune up and the open strings are perfectly tuned. Then as soon as you start to play, especially up the neck, the chords and notes sound slightly off pitch and out of tune.

If that's what you are experiencing, change the strings. As you play on a set of strings you are pressing them against the frets and with time, the underside of the strings develop grooves. You can actually feel these grooves on the lower strings as you run your finger under the string and up or down the fretboard.

Those dents or grooves change the physics of the string. and therefore the intonation of the string. The string has less mass when it's old and with grooves worn in it than it did when it was new and still perfectly round along it's length. As the mass changes, so does the rate at which it vibrates at a given distance. You hear a slightly off pitch note as a result.

When I was playing for a living, I changed my strings every 2 weeks on average. Now that I don't play for a living, I change the strings only when I think they need it. And if I have a song I'm plugging to a publisher I will invest in new strings before I record because everyone knows 2 facts about new strings....
1. they sound better
2. they inspire you with that sound.

Now, go change your strings.

Yep you're right Herb, as I play up the neck they go of tune, so must try to change them a little more often.

I have an old ES 335 copy which doesn't hold the tuning very well, even though I have put on Grover machine heads and got it setup by a luthier. I have put it down to either the wood in guitar reacting to room temperature or me being a bit heavy handed when playing it without using an amp.

The Martin custom light strings I use on the acoustic are very inexpensive, but don't know if using cheaper strings is a false economy in the long run.

Now for some string changing......Thanks for the Sweetwater link Bob.

Musiclover

I have a bunch of various tuners from over the years in different horn cases, but the one I prefer now is the small clip-on polytuner by TC Electronic.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PolyTuneClip

Yep, another vote for the TU-2 here. Great for stereo FX chains and all that stuff, too.

As a lowly keyboard player may I add the IOS/Android app Cleartune?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitcount.cleartune&hl=en

I used this to tune my piano and it's really good. Some time ago the bass player on a gig was having a problem with his tuner so I opened the app and handed him my phone. He loved it so much he put it on his phone on the break. The guitarist thought it was pretty cool too. I know you guys can plug directly into the hardware ones so it's silent but still, you can put the phone next to your amp and play quietly. Even in a noisy venue, it works well.

Bob

I started out many years ago with a Korg WT12 as you could use it for acoustic instruments as well as plug in a guitar or bass.

When the Intellitouch came out, I jumped on the "clip on" bandwagon and used that on guitars and basses for many years. Then a few Black Fridays ago, the Snark came on sale for under $10 and I bought several, some for me, some for family and friends. Not sure why rockstar_not had problems with his but all mine work great.

Next I came across a capo from China that had a built-in tuner, and for $20 I figured I'd give it a try. Been using it ever since.

Finally (another Black Friday sale) I picked up a few d'Addario minis https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NSMicroClip2PK

They're small and unobtrusive and I leave one permanently attached to both my banjo and my ukulele.

LLOYD S

regarding the ES-335 .... He's a band story. I played in a band with another guitarist. He had a really nice Strat (the real ones, not the import) and I had my Gibson SG. We'd both have new strings, properly stretched, and tuned with my Conn Strobetuner. 2 guitars in perfect tune.

Into the first song, I'd often see him checking his tuning with his inline tuner. And this would go on all night. My guitar on the other hand kept perfect tune all night. I'd check it anyway to tweeze it before each set.

I asked him about the guitar he had and the apparent tuning issues. He'd taken it to a luthier to have it set up and checked and it came back supposedly perfect. That night, same deal.

So I suggest that we swap guitars for a set. I'd play his and he, mine. Wanna guess what happened? If you said that now my SG was having tuning issues... you'd be right...and his Strat with me playing it kept perfect tune for the entire set.

It was his hand technique and pressure that he was using. He was subconsciously pushing or pulling the strings and making them sound out of tune. Once he was made aware of the issue, he was able to work on it and develop a lighter touch and the tuning issue disappeared.

Korg CA-10 Chromatic Tuner. No longer in production but Korg offers multiple tuners in the CA series of tuners. All the CA tuners have a large LCD display, high impedance instrument plug or internal microphone and 1 cent precision. The newer tuners have a speaker to produce tones for tuning by ear. Love the LCD display as it mimics tuning to a needle.

That first one looks like an old Sabine? tuner that every steel player & his mother used back in the day!

My main one is a Korg Pitchblack Best tuner I have ever had, and believe it or not is right on with most every Peterson I have compared it with.

My practice tuner is a Arion UM-70 Chromatic Auto Tuner with Metronome. Clips on the lip of the music stand, 2 batteries last about a year, and the metronome, besides have some good sub-divisions, gets LOUD when needed.

When practicing / running thru software I use what ever the program has, unless it is a "serious" take.

Thanks for the heads-up on these. Stellar reviews on Sweetwater, $25 for two of them, not a bad deal at all.

Good information there Herb, Thanks,

Even though the ES335 is a semi solid and will sound a little louder than a unamplified solid guitar, thee is no point in playing it, as if it was an acoustic and playing harder just to get it to sound louder.

Maybe a lighter touch in future (not that I play it that often)

Musiclover

Just out of curiosity, what thickness of pick do you use? I've found myself going to thicker picks as time goes on, and use more regulated picking hand motion with a lighter fretting hand effort. I used to use medium thickness (Fender reference) as my thickest pick and over time, on all the stringed instruments I play (Acoustic, electric and electric bass), I have migrated to heavier and heavier picks as my confidence has increased. This seems to naturally make my opposite hand also relax some. Might or might not be a help to you as well.

Another good question since we are on the subject of guitar bits and pieces.

I myself like the .73 Jim Dunlop picks.

I have tried lots but keep coming back to these, to get a better grip I use a little trick I read about on net, putting a hole in middle of pick with one of those things you use to make a hole in belt.

Leather hole Punch

Does seem to help.

Musiclover

I've been using the .88 mm Dunlop Tortex picks, for the last 25 years or so.

Here's what I use:


http://www.wedgie.com/nylon-xt.html

Speaking about Dunlop picks: as for me the best on the market! I use a 0.88 pick:tried thousands other pics, returning always to this!

As for tuner, I own a Boss tu-3 pedal tuner that I use for bass and guitar, and a Korg Ca-1 chromatic tuner I use for flute and saxophone. They run always flawlessly!

My main pick is a Peavy 1.14mm. If I want that twangy 1960's 12 string sound I use an ultra flexible Fretwerx pick. I also have a felt pick that I sometimes use on my basses.

Old fashioned here... still using the tuning fork ... "gimme an A", the rest is history!

Ah the Tuning fork, remember when a small kid at school the teacher would strike it on the edge of her desk, then get is all to to sing the Doh, ray, Me fa Soh, and try to guess the intervals.

Great if you were good at that kind of thing, but unfortunately I wasn't.

That alone and a feeling of pressure that you had to be good, didn't make the music lessons that enjoyable.

Musiclover

And we go from the tuning fork to my favorite, the Peterson StobroClip. I made use of their "sweetened" tuning for my resonator guitar. It opened my ears to a whole world.

on guitar (and anything I need to tune, really) a Boss TU12..
and my ears.

/No sense being in tune if everyone else is flat ..