hmmmm, Korg pitchblack reliable?

[Downunderwonder]

They seem to be the weapon of choice and I probably should get one to replace my "hold up the show while I unplug & tune" tuner,

but it seems like they get sold an awful lot in the classifieds for something that you'd think would stay on your board until your kids sold it on ebay after you died.

Why so many getting traded?

[bongomania]

There's fickleness and fads in tuners just like any other pedal. It's not that there's anything wrong with the Pitchblack, but somebody may decide they want something even fancier, or smaller, or whatever.

[Wootie]

It just is what it is: a solid pedal tuner. It's accurate, tracks pretty fast and has a small footprint. Some say the display is hard to read in sunlight, but i never had problems with that.

If you want something fancy like a polytune mode: don't get the pitchblack
If you want a simple workhorse tuner: get one and never look back.

greez

[Valerus]

I've heard nothing bad about them, really.
And you might see a lot for sale...but if you think about it:

The more people that buy a pedal, the more chances of the pedal being put up for sale.

[bassgod0dmw]

I haven't had any issues with mine. It's small, easy to see in the dark, and tracks pretty well. I've got a few tuners, so I've got this on my really small board...or when I don't take any board and grab a tuner. I've got my Peterson SS2 on my larger boards.

I do think the Peterson tracks better, but it's much more expensive too.

[kraigo]

I like its predecessor, the DT-10. It was indispensable when I was using my AMP BH-420 more, because the BH-420 doesn't have a mute switch. Now that the Shuttle 6.0 gets taken out more often I'm thinking of pulling the DT-10 because it's extra cabling (I use a wall wart and set it inline, so there's an extra patch cable) and it doesn't have a mic, so I can't lend it out as readily in acoustic situations. My little DT-3 may be a better fit for my current needs.

But I love Korg tuners. They are the best in their class. You can probably get better tuners, but they'll cost you significantly more. Even if I switch to the DT-3 more regularly, I'll keep the DT-10.

KO

P.S. My limited experience with the Boss TU-2 is that it doesn't track a B string very well. Korg does a good job of it. It also tracks pretty quickly, and pretty accurately. I really do love Korg tuners.

[whitedk57]

I love my PitchBlack. I don't see getting rid of mine, ever. If it breaks, I'll probably get another one.

[caeman]

The Korg is so yesterday. Between the TurboTuner and clip-ons, the Korg is such a loser.

[sutarappa]

The Pitchblack is the fastest tuner I've used and tracks superbly.

[MSUsousaphone]

I really don't get that hype people put on tuners.....I mean....the nature of chords is that they are...in essence...out of tune. For example, symphonies and orchestras constantly have have people playing flat or sharp to get a chord just right. Each player has to know where the not they are playing fits in the chord (5th, raised 7th, stuff like that) and where the tendency is for that note...basically if they have to play it a tad sharp or flat to get the chord in tune.

Plain said, even if a guitar is PERFECTLY in tune, on every string and every fret, the chords played will be out of tune because there's no way to raise or lower it as needed...maybe a phenom can bend each string as needed but that would just be insane.

SSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOO...to make a long pretentious post short. Buying the most expensive and accurate tuner is a waste of money. As long as it functions the way it should and gets you close (and is consistent), you're good to go.

Helpful tip: Things actually sound a little more beautiful when higher notes are a little sharp...so if your guitarist is a little sharper than you, it'll all be good...almost better at times....but the worst sound possible is when the bass is sharper than the guitar. Never let your guitarist get flatter than you.

[MSUsousaphone]

For anyone wondering, page 6 of this:

http://www.midwestclinic.org/clinici...n_thursday.pdf

Is a pretty simple and cool chart explaining basic chords and the intonation needed to get it truly in tune. The numbers on the side of the chords denote how many "cents" the note needs to be altered with "-" being that it needs to be lowered and "+" being that it needs to be raised.

A pretty good read. I've always just been taught that and never had to look anything up...I'll start researching it and maybe starting it's own thread....sorry to threadjack.

[Berger912]

i have a turbo tuner and i love it. but i play 2 basses at a show and need to switch quickly between the 2, the pitch-black plus is a tuner and a A/B box in one so it saves valuable space on the pedalboard and is a really good tuner, not as good as a turbo tuner but i am not intonating my bass durning a show. the korg has never failed me. i do still use the turbo tuner when i set up my bass though.

Peace
Dave

[adivin]

I love my Pitchblack.

[pietrocefa]

[QUOTEBuying the most expensive and accurate tuner is a waste of money.[/quote]


'nuff said!

[Berger912]

turbo tuners is not the most expensive but it is the most accurate in its price range by far

[ugly_bassplayer]

I've been beating the hell out of my DT-10 for the past 10 to 15 years, never had any problems with. I would easily recommend a korg tuner, but I never tried the pitchblack

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by MSUsousaphone

For anyone wondering, page 6 of this:
http://www.midwestclinic.org/clinici...n_thursday.pdf
Is a pretty simple and cool chart explaining basic chords and the intonation needed to get it truly in tune.

Ummm... The term "just intonation" has a completely different meaning than "intonation" as it applies to adjusting the bridge of a bass.

"Just intonation" is a tuning system that is different from the standard Western 12-tone scale, known as "equal temperament". An instrument that is tuned for just intonation will sound out of tune with anything tuned normally. In order for it to work, all melodic instruments in the band need to be tuned in the same system.

When people talk about correcting the intonation of a bass, they are talking about getting the note positions up and down the neck to all be as close as possible to the equal temperament tuning system.

[MSUsousaphone]

That's a bit near sighted of a statement....and not entirely accurate. Guitar/bass players may only use "intonation" to mean that. But to the World of music, intonation is the relation in pitch of tones to their key or harmony.

But that's exactly what I'm talking about. As a bass player (or guitar player) we've been taught simplified versions (and quite inaccurate ones) of tuning in that "if the strings are tuned and the intonation of the neck is right, the chord will be in tune". That's totally and completely false.

Everything I know about this comes from playing string bass in orchestras and teaching high school band. It's like second nature in that style of playing. Brass/woodwind/string players are all taught at very young ages how to bend the notes up or down on their instruments and how to use their ears and learn chord structures to figure out how to do it. It RARELY gets translated into rock and with fretted string instruments. Pretty much because it's impossible for a guitar to play a a multitude of chords truly in tune. Give me a few days to compile some stuff and try to translate it from the classical world to rock. I'll start my own thread on it and everyone can flame away in there.

The funny thing is, though, a rock band with two guitars and a bass who are using the most amazing tuners and have everything totally in tune with the intonations perfect on their instruments....will rarely play a chord in tune.

EDIT: "nearsighted" was very DBy of me. I didn't intend it that way. What I meant by that is that you're looking at it as just a bass player (and duh...we're on a bass forum...go figure) but I was using "intonation" as the way a the broader world of instruments would use it. So for semantic debating sake, when I use "intonation" let's think of it as the relation in pitch of tones to their key or harmony and not referring to the neck of the instrument.

[bongomania]

Except that you specifically referred to the cent markings on the chart, which are only valid for just intonation, not equal temperament.

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by MSUsousaphone

The funny thing is, though, a rock band with two guitars and a bass who are using the most amazing tuners and have everything totally in tune with the intonations perfect on their instruments....will rarely play a chord in tune.

Listening to a rock band must really suck for you.