Looking at Tuners.....

J E C

J E C

New member
I need to get a REAL tuner. One that is very accurate for setting intonation, but also capable of being used on my board as well.
I have looked a bit at the DigiTech HardWire HT-2 and the Boss TU-3 Chromatic tuners.
So what are your experiences/thoughts with/about these? any other suggestions?:scratchch

Thanks, John
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

I'd recommend Peterson Strobe tuners if you want accuracy. I use a Stroboplus HD on my bench every day. Very accurate and easy to use. I think they make a pedal strobe tuner as well, although I will say that I used to have a Planet Waves True Strobe (stomp box) or something like that that was fairly difficult to use...definitely would not have wanted to use it during a live performance. Actually still have it and will sell it cheap if you want to try it.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

Currently making the same decision and piggyback here rather than start a new thread. Would like to add one more tuner to the above list - the TC Electronics pitch black tuners?

Thanks, John.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

The Sonic Research Turbo Tuner or the TC Electronic Polytune 2 will do the trick. The Polytune has a digital strobe mode that is 0.1 cents accurate, on par with the Petersons, and 10 times as accurate as the Boss Tuners. It also has a great LED display with a light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness, making it usable in any gig.

The Turbo Tuner is by far the fastest and accurate tuner available. It is 0.02 cents accurate, and tracks almost instantaneously. The only downsides are: it's so damn accurate, it's hard to use on the fly; it's display takes some time getting used to with the spinning LEDs; it might not be bright enough for daylight gigs; using it during gigs will make your bandmates hate you if you're not used to using it.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

I have multiple boards, and have replaced Boss TU-3s on all of them with TC Electronics PolyTune 2s. They are bright and ridiculously legible with the single green stripe when in tune. The all-strings-at-once feature is handy for quick checks; and it is plenty accurate enough for live use or practice. Probably for intonation too, but if you're really a fanatic about that you'll probably want a strobe tuner anyway - and that wouldn't be as easy and quick in live settings as the PolyTune 2. Life is full of compromises :-)
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

Maybe in the mainstream way of thinking, but damn it anyway: PolyTunes, series 1 and 2 not because of the poly-chromatic mode, but it does great job with tuning. Haven't seen any brighter and clear looking display on any other tuner and it does tune good. I've tried BOSS TU-2 and Korg Pitch-black just before the Polytune purchasing and my feelings are: TU-2 who the hell invented such small and unclear display, Pitch-black even better with tuning but the same story. I'm not the TC Electronic fan at all, but this one is a good deal ;)
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

Can't go wrong with either, but the Polytune is easier to read

 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

Archer250 said:
The Sonic Research Turbo Tuner or the TC Electronic Polytune 2 will do the trick. The Polytune has a digital strobe mode that is 0.1 cents accurate, on par with the Petersons, and 10 times as accurate as the Boss Tuners. It also has a great LED display with a light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness, making it usable in any gig.

The Turbo Tuner is by far the fastest and accurate tuner available. It is 0.02 cents accurate, and tracks almost instantaneously. The only downsides are: it's so damn accurate, it's hard to use on the fly; it's display takes some time getting used to with the spinning LEDs; it might not be bright enough for daylight gigs; using it during gigs will make your bandmates hate you if you're not used to using it.
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Well bandmates may hate you for being 0.02 cents accurate than them as well.. Lol

I got the micro tuner from planet waves recently. Compared to reviews & posts i found online, mine doesnt drain the battery when not in use & only has trouble with the low E string being 0.02 cent accurate than my turbo tuner. Using the turbo did teach me to tune properly/effectively but live it isn't necessary or a problem if the others are using tu2s & i end up sounding correctly out of tune with them.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

There really isn't a best tuner for both live use and intonation. The best tuner for intonating a guitar will be something extremely accurate like a Peterson strobe or a Turbo Tuner, but both are a bit slow for live use. The best tuner for live use is something that tracks quickly, but those tend not to be as accurate. The best option IMO is to get something cheap and good enough for live (I like the Korg Pitchblack), as well as a strobe tuner for setup work.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

I have a blue Peterson Strobo-Stomp to set intonation with.

On my board I use a TU-3. It's slower to tune than the TU-2, but the brighter display is a must for outdoor use or under bright stage lights.

And there's a great phone app called "g-strings" guitar tuner. Very accurate.

Bill
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

I'm using the TC Polytune 2. I used a Boss for a long time and I wasn't sure I liked the TC at first but I do now. It intermittently added noise on bypass but a flash update fixed it (TC took a couple of days to respond but they sent me the link to the software to flash it). Polyphonic mode doesn't jibe perfectly but it's close and good for a quick check.

I have the Planet Waves strobe pedal tuner too. They were notorious for the display going out but it was 39 bucks on clearance a while back. I wouldn't use it on my board and it is a PITA like BrianS mentions. It is real accurate though. I use it for intonating ... when I bother. :-)
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

My favorite is the Go Go Pedal Tuner. I could probably intonate a guitar with it, but the best feature is the giant screen, and the letter changes color when it's in tune. I don't have to squint to see a small screen and see something spinning down there.

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Re: Looking at Tuners.....

TU-2 and TU-3 on my boards for live, and the Peterson iPhone app for intonation (ideally I'd buy a hardware strobe, but that's more money...).
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

Darg1911 said:
I'm using the TC Polytune 2. I used a Boss for a long time and I wasn't sure I liked the TC at first but I do now. It intermittently added noise on bypass but a flash update fixed it (TC took a couple of days to respond but they sent me the link to the software to flash it). Polyphonic mode doesn't jibe perfectly but it's close and good for a quick check.

I have the Planet Waves strobe pedal tuner too. They were notorious for the display going out but it was 39 bucks on clearance a while back. I wouldn't use it on my board and it is a PITA like BrianS mentions. It is real accurate though. I use it for intonating ... when I bother. :-)
Click to expand...

Interesting. Have you tried A/B it with the Polytune 2's strobe mode? TC claims the strobe mode is as accurate as any Peterson.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

I used to have a strobostomp which I loved until the switch started popping so I got a Turbo Tuner which is even better on a board as the display is quicker, it's easy to see and a smaller footprint. I have set guitars up with it but I have a Peterson VS 2 for that which is more a table top tuner. I recently added a Polytune black edition with blue and white LEDs to my small board which seems ok and I'm sure you could intonate a guitar with it.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

Archer250 said:
Interesting. Have you tried A/B it with the Polytune 2's strobe mode? TC claims the strobe mode is as accurate as any Peterson.
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I've had it for a while now and pretty much just use the polyphonic and chromatic modes. I've been lazy lately and aside from taking time with the Planet Waves on a couple of guitars when I first got it, I've just used the TC's chromatic mode and said "good enough". Like I said, I've been lazy. I have one of the cheaper Gibsons I picked up a few months back and haven't even changed the strings yet. When I do that (soon), I'll compare the Planet Waves with the TC's strobe mode. It wont tell me how the Planet Waves or the TC compares to a Peterson, in terms of accuracy, but at least I can compare the PW and TC. At any rate, it's a good idea, thanks.
 
Re: Looking at Tuners.....

Darg1911 said:
I've had it for a while now and pretty much just use the polyphonic and chromatic modes. I've been lazy lately and aside from taking time with the Planet Waves on a couple of guitars when I first got it, I've just used the TC's chromatic mode and said "good enough". Like I said, I've been lazy. I have one of the cheaper Gibsons I picked up a few months back and haven't even changed the strings yet. When I do that (soon), I'll compare the Planet Waves with the TC's strobe mode. It wont tell me how the Planet Waves or the TC compares to a Peterson, in terms of accuracy, but at least I can compare the PW and TC. At any rate, it's a good idea, thanks.
Click to expand...

I always put my Polytune mini on strobe mode lol. It still does poly tuning, but chromatic tuning is much more precise.
 
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