What tuner do you use?

[Doug Lindhout]

I'm a bit frustrated right now. I have purchased a couple models of contact tuner (Tune Tech 500 & 1000) and I'm disappointed. Here is why:
- They are slow to respond to a pluck. Higher frequencies receive a faster response than lower frequencies, but I need to wait several seconds for the A or low E string to get a response.
- Sometimes there is no response to the low E string.
- Sometimes a low E pluck shows as a B on the tuner.

Both of these tuners are inexpensive, so I guess that I'm getting what I deserve, and maybe that is just the nature of the beast. But I doubt it.

So, what are you using that doesn't suffer from these maladies?
Thanks,

[Dan Fearing]

I use a Korg tuner seems to work ok,responds quickly. I don't know which model it is as I am at work. It run me about $30......hope this helps....Dan Fearing

[Doug Lindhout]

Dan,
Thanks. I see on the Elderly Instruments site that Korg offers quite a number of tuners, many in the price range you mentioned. I see a very cool looking device - KORG AW-1 CHROMATIC ACOUSTIC MICRO TUNER . This has the oval head with the orange display and lists for about $60. Might be woth the $$ just for the looks alone :)

I'd be interested in the model that you use.

[Robin Collord]

I use Intelli and have the same....exact same...problems. I change the battery and solved it. Seems like a low battery will cause the problem.

[Doug Lindhout]

That seems too simple...
But I'll try it anyway

Thanks,
DJL

[Kathy Gryta]

I have noticed that if I am touching the peg-heads when I pluck the string, I get a different result, too - so remember to take your finger off the knob.

[Bill Longworth]

I use a Tune Tech 500. Placement on the peghead seems to make a big difference. Try moving the tuner around until you find the best spot.

[Paul Whitcomb]

Right now, I'm using the Sabine ZIP-700, and as long as I lay the tuner flat on the pick guard, I get a good result. Sometimes, I have to pluck the string a couple of times to get a response, but it is my impression that that happens when I pluck the string too hard and I get overtones, which might "confuse" the tuner. For a non-digital tuner, the Boss TU-6 is good, and you can still find them if you look.

[Ron Carnihan]

I use a tuner that is built into my Digitech Vocalist Live 4. When wee play a lot live and I run my 14" cable through it before going to the sound system. I also use it wnen just playing/singing into a mic. My delayed responses ( or lack of response) when tuning disappear. Ron in NC

[Ron Carnihan]

By the way here is a link: http://www.digitech.com/products/Vocalist/VocalistResources.php

I use a tuner that is built into my Digitech Vocalist Live 4. When we play live, I run my 14" cable through it before going to the sound system. I also use it wnen just playing/singing into a mic. My delayed responses ( or lack of response) when tuning disappear. Ron in NC

[Making Sawdust]

Batteries, Batteries, Batteries. The clip-ons use Batteries up and when the E turns into a B time to change the batteries.. it's a royal pain, but the other ones don't work well in a noisy environment. That been my experience.

[Doug Lindhout]

It's been a while since my original post, so I thought I'd get you caught up.
Yup, batteries make a difference. I still wasn't satisfied though. Slow response and inconsistent readings kept me frustrated. I normally don't like falling prey to the lure of curing a problem with the Visa card, but one night in a noisy jam session the old tuner pushed me over the edge and I decided to go a different route. I purchased a Peterson Stroboflip... What a machine! Fast and accurate! It took a minute or two to understand how to interpret the display, but once I had that figured out, the guitar has never sounded better. On top of that, I use one of the "sweetened" tunings, making (IMO) the sound even cleaner. So, even though the Stroboflip is 5x to 10x the cost of the other clip-on tuners, I'm not looking back.