Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

I really don't like to tune with my phone if I have another option, but it's an indispensable back up! There's just no excuse to not be in tune these days!

Agreed... under most circumstances it's far less than ideal, but it's also bailed me out a couple of times.

No excuse... you're absolutely right!


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[BriGuy1968]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

My rack has a power conditioner in it, so the rack is always with me. My amp has a tuner out/mute button on the footswitch, making it easy and convenient with multiple guitars without having to change anything. I never have to worry about a dead battery or broken clip, as I've had before with clip on tuners. The display is huge and bright, making it easy to read in almost any situation and the strobe mode is great for intonation work.

In short, Iit's a great option for me. I can see where some other people might not be in the same situation and would opt for other solutions.

If you have it anyway (like part of a rack, amp, or existing pedal, I think it's much more convenient than the clip-on... especially during performances.

I too can see where it would be a better fit though. If I'm unplugged or if real estate on a board was an issue I'd be all over it.

It's really kind of nice to have both ways available!


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[DeadandBuried]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

A lot depends on the nature of the situation though, for live purposes I wouldn't want a clip on, I run around quite alot and bump my singer with the headstock often. And dead batteries on stage aren't any use to anyone!!

 

[chadd]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

If you have it anyway (like part of a rack, amp, or existing pedal, I think it's much more convenient than the clip-on... especially during performances.

I too can see where it would be a better fit though. If I'm unplugged or if real estate on a board was an issue I'd be all over it.

It's really kind of nice to have both ways available!


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Oh, I have a handful of the clip on tuners too. They're great for when I don't feel like plugging into the whole rig. The right tool for the job and all that.

 

[Matt42]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

Looks goofy, can fall / get knocked off, can't be used as a mute, can be tough to read.

Handy? Yes. For a show? Never.

Pretty much where I'm at for it too. Especially the muting aspect. I use my tuner pedals as much for that as for tuning.

Plus, when I used it on acoustic guitar at shows, if the bassist or drummer were playing anything at all, it wrecked the accuracy.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

There's just no excuse to not be in tune these days!

And yet I see bands, even at festivals, where the guitarist is out of tune. I don't understand it. How hard is it to do a quick check between songs? Single notes are bad enough, but to be playing chords way out of tune...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

Looks goofy, can fall / get knocked off, can't be used as a mute, can be tough to read.

Handy? Yes. For a show? Never.

i dunno man. I've got a tu-3 pedal tuner and it works great, is easy to use and is bright as hell. but I've been using clip ons at gigs for years and never had a problem. I really like those little planet waves ones. I have one for pretty much every guitar in my quiver and they just live there. Somehow i just keep collecting them, intelli, snark, dimarzio, planet waves. The little ones are the best tho.
As far as muting goes...i just roll off the guitar volume.
The downside is that they can struggle with low notes, but i just play the harmonic and they read pretty well.
The only issues with tuning usually come from my singing!

 

[Godin15]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

I have the blue Snark, great tuner take it everywhere I go. It's accurate easy to use. Clip on all the way for me.

 

[punchlinechar]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

My personal tgought is that headstock tuners are more accurate because they take the vi brations from the guitar itself instead of the pickups, which could have shielding issues that cause inaccuracies.

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[Matt42]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

As far as muting goes...i just roll off the guitar volume.

I do that when I've only got one guitar I'm playing, but it's handy to have a mute button to switch guitars. I also used to play in a band where I'd switch back and forth from acoustic to electric about 5 or 6 times in the average gig. I quickly learned not to trust the sound man when it comes to muting. And with no volume knob on the guitar, or on the DI I was using for much of the time in that band, feedback became a huge problem. Hence the need for a mute switch.

I love my headstock tuners for around the house, for picking circles, and for parties, but I just feel so much more comfortable with a tuner pedal at a gig.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

Now that clip-ons are widely available in a very affordable price and superb accuracy, I can't find any plausible reason to use a pedal tuner.

I can.

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

:haha::haha::haha:

 

[Mincer]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

Clip ons won't work with my Steinberger either. I use the pedal tuners as there is one on my effects unit already. It is really accurate and fast to use in a show. I can tune between sections of songs, if I need to.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

Clip ons won't work with my Steinberger either.

Ah ha! headless guitars. I hadn't thought of that before. Is the body too thick for them to clip onto?

 

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

It's getting harder and harder to avoid clip-on tuners these days since they are practically GIVING them away at local guitar shops. (some of them are like eleven bucks.)

That being said, I prefer the mindset a tuning pedal or a rack unit gets me into. I need to be in "tuning mode" to tune.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

Ah ha! headless guitars. I hadn't thought of that before. Is the body too thick for them to clip onto?

Not on my Steinberger or Strandberg.

Another consideration is in multi-guitar setups. If the tuner is in your signal chain, you can have a single tuner for any guitar using that chain. With a headstock tuner, you're either switching the tuner when you switch guitars or running multiple tuners. CR2032 batteries aren't much fun to deal with IMO.

That said, I'm definitely not a clip-on hater. I own three micro tuners and find them very useful. They're sufficiently accurate and reasonably unobtrusive. I was fascinated by the Polytune Clip until I realized that an increasing portion of my guitar time was going to be on a headless guitar.

 

[Mr Wolf]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

I have a TU2 that has lived on my board forever. That said, when not using my main board... clip-on it is. No fuss either way as far as I am concerned.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

I'd feel like I was missing something if I had only one or the other.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

On my Steinberger, the headpiece is too thick, and so is the body, for most clip on tuners (an NS Micro Tuner works, though). I think live, tuning should be transparent- I don't like seeing it. Too Borg-like.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Thoughts on Pedal Tuner vs Clip on?

My new Florentine Epiphone doesn't like my Snark at all
The Ibanez and Fenders don't care
Epiphone refuses to use it