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Tuners: those little clip-on thingys vs. the stomp on a board


koula901

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Has anyone ever had the experience of tuning your guitar to one of those small clip-on tuners, and then comparing the tune up with the a stomp-box type tuner? I'm finding that the clip-on tuner seems to tune the guitar a bit sharp as compared to the tuner on my pedal board (a Korg Pitchblack). The guitar also seems a bit sharp when I compare it with songs on You Tube, though I realize those folks could be out of tune too. I wonder if this is common, or if anyone else notices a discrepancy. Hope this is clear.

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Are they both set to A440? Many modern tuners have the ability to set A from several Herz flat to several Herz sharp. For instance, the piano at church seems to be consistently 2 Herz flat - A438 rather than A440 so I set my tuners to A438. Perhaps one of your tuners got misadjusted.

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I've never used a board mounted tuner or tuner pedal. I'd like to try something like that but wouldn't know where to begin looking for one. I've only seen people on stage using them so I don't even know what they look like. Maybe I'll need to start a thread asking about those.

 

The clip on tuners (in my experience) don't seem to work very well for various reasons.

My favorite tuner is one of those Fender soap bar looking tuners with a digital needle display and LED indicator lights.

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Are they both set to A440? Many modern tuners have the ability to set A from several Herz flat to several Herz sharp. For instance, the piano at church seems to be consistently 2 Herz flat - A438 rather than A440 so I set my tuners to A438. Perhaps one of your tuners got misadjusted.

 

Okay man, that's it! Mine's set at 443. That was the first thing I checked - I went on the internet, which says concert pitch A=443, so, I assumed it was right. Thanks for the correction.

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I own several tuners and feel that you get what you pay for. The tuner in the Line 6 HD500 is the best one I own; it is very accurate and has a very fast response time. The tuner on my work bench is a small Korg that I have had for many years. It is very accurate but has a slower response time. I use it for set ups and intonation. I did get one of those cheap clip on tuner, it came free with a 4 pack of strings. It works well on an acoustic guitar providing there is no ambient sound. The Herz can be set on all of them, so I would check that first

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Can't stand the Snark. When they first came out they weren't too bad. But all of the other incarnations seem to be less robust and just don't work as well - for me. Sure, it may be the environment. But if they're going to market something like that, it should work in all situations. Best clip on I've found is the newer Boss TU-10. It doesn't swivel, which leads to it's own problems. But it's dead accurate. And isn't as affected by ambient noises. And when I'm trying to tune a mandolin, fiddle or banjo on a noisy stage, I need something that is going work. Nothing really likes the "B" string on the banjo. But then .... it's a banjo!! Totally understandable. ... :laughing7:

 

On the floor is a Korg Pitch Black (it doesn't like the banjo b, either!!). It's been on the board for many years. I gave the Boss TU-2 to Tracy and that one has been rock solid as well. In my opinion, if you're gigging you need one on your board, assuming you use pedals. Mine is off the tuner out on the vol pedal, so it's not in the signal chain. Barring not having a vol pedal, you still need one. More robust, more reliable, less prone to outside interference.

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the best clipon tuner I've used is the intellitouch PT 10:

 

 

4421-2.jpg

 

it has worked great for me...fast, easy to read...even in loud situations, and it will also work on a bass guitar. I bought 2 of them...they are well made

 

plus I like the design...they don't look like a sex toy hanging off your headstock!! ie: snark

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the best clipon tuner I've used is the intellitouch PT 10:

 

 

4421-2.jpg

 

it has worked great for me...fast, easy to read...even in loud situations, and it will also work on a bass guitar. I bought 2 of them...they are well made

 

plus I like the design...they don't look like a sex toy hanging off your headstock!! ie: snark

 

That's the one I use, and I agree - it's quite good. My problem is, by accident, I hit the little button that sets A= -- should be 440, but I had put mine up to 443 and that accounts for my tuning the guitar a little sharp. I've set it back down to 440 and there should be no problem now. The Intellitouch is one of the better ones.

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Personally, I've never been fond of those clip on tuners or even the stomp box tuners. I use rack mount tuners. I have 2 Sabine rack mounts for my gear. I like them because they're not on the floor and I can see them better and they are super accurate and easy to dial in the strings. Just my humble opinion.

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I have and do use both and have not problem as longs both are set at 440.

Me too.. I like the stompbox unit for my electrics because it mutes while I tune.. But the clip on is perfect for playing acoustic in church.. So both are useful really..

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I have and do use both and have not problem as longs both are set at 440.

 

This.

 

I've used several different clip on tuners. Each and every one I've owned, I've compared to my Boss TU-3 Chromatic Pedal. If set to 440 they've always been dead nuts....and given the situation, they've been something I wouldn't want to be without.

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I've got a sabine rack mounted RT7000. you can see it easily from 10-15 feet away. i also have a tc electronics poly tune, and a snark that I use when i don't have access to either of those. the snark is chromatic, so I can tune guitar, bass, ukelele, even trombone, if needed.

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I have a clip on for acoustics, or if I need to tune up somewhere without being plugged in. Otherwise, I use the TurboTuner. Much better than a couple others I tried.

 

st2-proto4a.jpg

 

This is a pretty accurate tuner, I use one in my home studio before I record any instrument, and I've had nothing but good luck with it. That said,

in some outdoor gigs I find it hard to read.

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  • 1 month later...

I just ran across this; Son of Snark! I've had decent luck with the regular Snark, but I haven't used it in combat/live situations like some of you.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Snark-S1-Clip-On-Guitar-Tuner/dp/B00FXKIG5I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383922235&sr=8-1&keywords=Snark+S-1+Son+of+Snark+Mini+Clip-on+Guitar+and+Bass+Tuner

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I'm still thinking a pedal tuner is in store for me. Anyone see Epiphone has a pickup ring tuner? Wish that was an after market item... It's basically a Humbucker mounting ring that has a tuner on the edge....

Tulk posted a link to a Schaller pickup ring recently that does exactly the same thing. Tuner lights are on the bass bout side so you can see them looking down. Not cheap and limited to the guitar it's on.

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Not to get snarky about it :laughing7: but you get what you pay for. IntelliTouch is the way to go. Bought the 3 years ago, still going strong. Haven't even had to change a battery in them.

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