Looking for Tuner Recommendations

The place to discuss 18W-related ampfests, get-togethers, gigs, etc. These should be of interest specifically to 18watt.com members.

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CurtissRobin
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Looking for Tuner Recommendations

Post by CurtissRobin »

I'm finally up to HERE with my cheapie tuner and it's time to get a serious, though not elaborate, tuner. (I've admired the $200 Boss TU-1000 but...) It's got to do electric, steel and nylon acoustic and bass; it'd be nice if it'd do mandolin and wind instruments as well. Finally, I'd really like a sub-$100 price, though here I suspect I'm asking too much.

I'd prefer hearing experiences, not just makes and models. Thanks, all.

KennyO
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Post by Wayne_Alexander »

If you want a floor model for live performance you cannot do better than the Peterson Strobostomp 2. Costs more than some, worth it. If good enough is good enough, then the Boss TU-2 is a decent floor model (but noticeably not as accurate as the Peterson).
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Post by what_wires »

I like the Sonic Research Turbo Tuner tuners. I have both the ST-122 (for around the workshop) and the ST-200 (pedalboard model) and they rock. They are so good I sold my Peterson VS-2 and my Conn Strobotuner ST-11. If you are concerned about accuracy, the Turbo Tuners are guaranteed to be within +/-.02 cents vs the +/-.1 cents that the Petersons offer. They are around $130.00 and well worth every penny.

http://www.turbo-tuner.com/
Last edited by what_wires on Sat 10/03/09 10:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by GUITARmole »

+1 on the Strobostomp. They're accurate enough to adjust bridge intonation. Go to the music store...tune your guitar with a Boss or Korg tuner...then tune it with the Strobostomp and see how far off you are :wink:
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Post by Graydon »

I've been using the Korg DT-1 for years and it works great. My current one is probably 15 years old now and it is starting to act up a little. The pass-through never worked really well. I had another one for at least 10 years before that one. It was stolen with the rest of my gear when I was in college.

I use a Korg rack tuner in my rack. I really like that one. it is fast, accurate and easy to use.

Everyone speaks very highly of the Peterson tuners so I'd like to try one of those.
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krx
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Post by krx »

Anyone tried the Planet Waves strobe tuner? $68 on Music123 right now for a true strobe. The Peterson stuff is great but way too expensive due to lack of competitors until recently.
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Post by what_wires »

krx wrote:Anyone tried the Planet Waves strobe tuner? $68 on Music123 right now for a true strobe. The Peterson stuff is great but way too expensive due to lack of competitors until recently.
I tried one and found it to be pretty heavy and it really didn't have the resolution.
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Post by rjgtr »

krx wrote:Anyone tried the Planet Waves strobe tuner? $68 on Music123 right now for a true strobe. The Peterson stuff is great but way too expensive due to lack of competitors until recently.

The planet waves tuner is pretty good but has one flaw when used on a pedalbaord. If you use a pedal board with built-in power it will be noisey unless you use a separate wall wart. I'm just using a Korg GT-2 Tuner from the tuner out on a Ernie Ball Volume pedal.

I just use the G-major's built in tuner when I use that.

I go between discrete pedals and the G-Major.
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Post by Norbert »

I like the TU-2. It has modes for flat guitar, double flat guitar, bass, if you like those sorts of features. I suppose just the names of the notes are good enough, and it can give you that (with sharps and flats). It also has a buffered output (isn't true bypass) which is supposed to be good for driving subsequent pedals. Mine isn't in the signal chain, I just plug in when I need to tune. Could work on a floorboard, though.
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Post by Deric »

I had a TU-2. Sold it and bought a Strobo-Stomp. Hated it. Bought the 2nd gen Strobo-Stomp. Hated it. Sold them both and bought another TU-2. It's still on my pedal board with NO complaints.

I have a Peterson VS-II on my bench. I've been happy with it.

If I had to buy a new tuner I'd probably buy a Sonic Research... Great price and seems like a great product... (never actually used one)...
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Post by tazwolf »

I have both a Peterson strobostomp and a sonic research turbo tuner.
Turbo tuner is better - easier to use, compact, clearer, display.
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Post by zaphod_phil »

I hate to be the party pooper, but I've never found tuners to be very useful personally. I think trained ears can do a better job. :)
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Post by StarGeezers »

I got a cheap Marshall tuner at the Wal Mart for 14 bucks , works great ... still have to depend on the ears for those on the fly G string adjustments during a song... :roll:
Funny , seems like tuners became popular about 15 years ago , before that we tuned to the organ , harmonica, tuning fork , whatever... Worked fine !!!
I met a guy here who's a famous music arranger who had to go to New York to write up some big band arrangements ... When he got there, they asked him if he needed a piano... he said ,"No, I've got my tuning fork ".... :lol: He showed me how to "sing" the intervals ... 8)
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Post by GUITARmole »

zaphod_phil wrote:I hate to be the party pooper, but I've never found tuners to be very useful personally. I think trained ears can do a better job. :)
Not when you use a Jazzmaster with that horrible trem, the strings are all out of tune in different directions, and you have 15 seconds to get back in tune before your next song. :wink:
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Post by Chubsman »

zaphod_phil wrote:I hate to be the party pooper, but I've never found tuners to be very useful personally. I think trained ears can do a better job. :)
But that sounds like amature night when tuning on stage... doing the harmonic thing... I personaly use a TU-2 and it works great. It's on the Tuner-out of my Ernie Ball volume pedal... so not in the signal chain at all....


I like to tune up every time I am not playing..( Song intro's... singer is talking to crowd...) That way I know it won't sound off when I start playing... especialy when you have a keys player or sequencers in the equation... Those hot lights seem to do a job on guitar strings... You take a guitar that was side stage and throw it in front of a flood light.... and the guitar goes out of tune... that is my experience...

my 2cents
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Post by cl1093 »

i use a boss tu-2 tuner and it works just fine for me. one thing worth mentioning is that your selection might depend on who else you are playing with. like mentioned above, all of these tuners are a little different and some people feel that its best if everyone tunes with the same kind of tuner. to each his own
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Post by rjgtr »

Chubsman wrote:
zaphod_phil wrote:I hate to be the party pooper, but I've never found tuners to be very useful personally. I think trained ears can do a better job. :)
But that sounds like amature night when tuning on stage... doing the harmonic thing... I personaly use a TU-2 and it works great. It's on the Tuner-out of my Ernie Ball volume pedal... so not in the signal chain at all....


I like to tune up every time I am not playing..( Song intro's... singer is talking to crowd...) That way I know it won't sound off when I start playing... especialy when you have a keys player or sequencers in the equation... Those hot lights seem to do a job on guitar strings... You take a guitar that was side stage and throw it in front of a flood light.... and the guitar goes out of tune... that is my experience...

my 2cents
The best thing is to hand the guitar to your tech and get a fresh guitar, but most of us don't have that luxury.

I agree that it's great that we can now tune in silence. Makes for a much better presentation.

Here's a funy story related to tuners. I also play drums and I was playing drums with a guitar player who had a Korg rack tuner. Instead of hooking it up right, he set it up so he doesn't tune silently. I offered to show him how to hook it up for silent tuning, but no, he didn't want to change it!

Even better, he was playing through a modelling amp with a built in tuner!
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Post by zaphod_phil »

GUITARmole wrote:Not when you use a Jazzmaster with that horrible trem, the strings are all out of tune in different directions, and you have 15 seconds to get back in tune before your next song. :wink:
I would have to agree with you there. But I don't use trem. I even unscrew the whammy bar from the couple of Strats I have. :) I guess the same would probably go with 12 string guitars.

Bad joke:
Death row convict about to be executed.
- "Any final requests?"
- "Yes please, could I just tune my 12-string guitar"?
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Post by katopan »

I've found Korg to have a much better resolution than Boss. Don't know about any others.
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CurtissRobin
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Post by CurtissRobin »

Thanks for the comments, all.

I once went to a benefit concert at a music shop in CA and one performer played a 12-string. In his introduction the shop owner remarked that, "I don't play 12-string guitars; life is short; tuning a 12-string takes a long time; our next performer doesn't perform often so he has the luxury of playing a 12-string guitar."

In re: Z_P's distaste for tuners, I have no quibble with that. It is a preference and whatever floats your boat is good. I'm a mite slower about a lot of things these days so using an electronic tuner speeds things along.

I looked at the Peterson Strobostomp 2 and have eliminated it from my list because it has no microphone for use with my acoustics. The Sonic Research Turbo Tuners are pretty spiffy and they've zoomed into the spendy slot of the top three on the short list. The Korg DT-1 being a rack mount begs the question: will it do my acoustics without pickups, preamps and cables? As to the Planet Waves tuner, I'll look into their Universal Chromatic II Tuner since they specifically mention stringed and wind instruments. I'd love to hear from someone who's used one before buying it, though. The Boss TU-2, like the Strobostomp, only addresses the electric side of things. Their TU-12 series has prospects but they offer a separate "brass and wind" instrument version. I won't eliminate the TU-12 from consideration but I'd really (and unreasonably, perhaps) prefer one tuner for all my instruments.

The mention of the Jazzmaster's trem brings to mind the horror of horrors that was the Freeflyte tremolo on the Elite Strat of 83-84. Some consider it the swan song of the CBS era at Fender. I am so-o-o-o grateful that my Elite is a hardtail and that the CBS era ended.

Still searching.

KennyO
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