Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

Dave Locher

Dave Locher

New member
I have noticed quite a few people run into their tuner first and then into other pedals, and at first I did as well. But then I thought about it and decided it should come after my two pedals (comp & eq used as a boost) so that I am not amplifying any noise the tuner might produce. Am I wrong?
I have a Korg Pitchblack. Are they truly invisible in the signal when off?
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

I ran my tuner last on a couple of boards so if any cables went bad or a pedal fried ... anything producing noise could be silenced by switching on the tuner. On my current board it is first because it worked best that way for the pedal layout.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

So the tuner doesn't add any artifacts to the signal and it doesn't really matter if it is first or last?
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

If the tuner is last, the upstream FX (dirt boxes, modulation, delay, reverb) can impact tuner accuracy and effectiveness. If you're that concerned about noise, compare the noise floor with it at the beginning and out of the signal chain. It there's actually an issue, run it in a parallel signal path.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

It shouldn't add any noise, especially if it is true bypass like the Pitchblack. The Boss ones have a buffer so they should be after wahs or fuzzes or other effects that want to see the unbuffered guitar signal.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

I usually have mine at the end, but having it first allows for the purest signal for tuning. this is especially important if you have pedals that get kept on frequenty
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

Great responses so far, I'd definitely put it before any delays, reverbs and modulations that would alter the tuning accuracy. After a compressor actually makes sense to provide a stronger signal to the tuner theoretically. Interesting point about muting a noisy drive! If the tuner can perform accurately after the drive pedal, I guess that's an option.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

I have mine last so as to mute the entire board. When tuning, everything is off anyway. Haven't come across any tuning accuracy issues.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

My initial instinct has always been to say that it should be first, if for no other reason than to make sure that it's getting the purest sound from your guitar. I like the idea of post-compressor... that makes a lot of sense to me. I also like the idea of being able to use it as a mute for other noisy drives/effects in the chain, but I would be a bit afraid of those effects' impact on the tuning accuracy. I tend to have my volume pedal as last in the chain (I actually use a Zoom G5 multi-effect, but you can decide what goes where), so that ends up being my mute button. Of course if you have the typical volume/wah near the beginning of the chain, then that's not much help.

It would be easy enough to make an on/off footswitch to act as a mute if you want one...
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

I always put it last, and turned any effects off before it while I tuned. I do this for the very reason stated...I want a quick way to bypass any noise or hum form a cable or pedal gone haywire. It also mutes everything on set breaks.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

I also have a Korg pitchblack. I have mine second in the signal chain, partly for ergonomics because my wah has to go first, but also because modulation and delay ahead of the tuner can make it harder to use if they happen to be on. It doesn't make any noise and it mutes the signal just fine even if I have pedals on after it.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

ErikH said:
I have mine last so as to mute the entire board. When tuning, everything is off anyway. Haven't come across any tuning accuracy issues.
Click to expand...

My Peterson was the one I ran last. I had to be sure the delays and tremolo were off before tuning. Neither affected tuner accuracy ... they just made it more difficult to attain a more focused tuning "picture". The wheels got a little wacky.

I turn my guitar volume all the way up when I tune, and that volume setting is unstable due to nature of both tremolos and delays.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

Of course, going back and look at the OP, comp and EQ really shouldn't affect a tuner, modulation will.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

Good talk. Guess I was overthinking it. Thanks, everyone!
I am going to stick with last so the comp gets first crack at the signal, but if I were running a big board with a lot of modulation effects like so many here I can see why first makes sense as well.
 
Last edited:
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

A tuner can go ANYWHERE as long as the other pedals are turned off. Mine is first by the way.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

Slight hijack ...

Who has there's in the effects loop? I usually have it first, but I like my Flanger in the loop and I don't like running 4 - 20 foot cables for 2 pedals.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

If does not matter really, as long is everything is off the tuner does not care. I prefer having mine feed off a dead end signal from my ABY which is out of chain. The up front thing stems from several notions. One was the popular Boss tuner has a buffer and that can help your front end, can suck on some fuzz circuits though. The thought is having the cleanest signal in order for the unit to be able to detect and read it most accurately. Even when everything is off running through all the pedals and possible buffers can degrade the units ability to detect and read accurately. But all in all it does not really matter. If you are trying to tune with s fuzz or something on you need to rethink why the designers and makers of these pedals recommend recommend clean signal detection.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

While I love that album, he made some really bad videos.
 
Re: Shouldn't the tuner be last in line?

Ha! LOVE LOVE LOVE that song, and didn't even realize I'd put it in my title. (HATE HATE HATE that video, too.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ascension
Spent the last 2 days rebuilding my pedal boards.
Replies
7
Views
210
80's_Metal
80's_Metal
Hiwatts and Gibsons
Incoming NAD. Gonna be my last purchase for a long time.
Replies
10
Views
246
Ascension
Ascension
C
Big Muff Mods
Replies
2
Views
152
80's_Metal
80's_Metal
C
Assymetrical Clipping
Replies
5
Views
217
Chistopher
C
Rex_Rocker
Finally happy with the pickups in my guitars!
Replies
17
Views
362
MikeS
MikeS
Back
Top