Tuner for the guitarist and myself

Bett · #1 05-02-2008, 10:01 AM

During our first practice yesterday our guitarist's guitar was out of tune. I offered to tune it for them since they were unable to. I used the chromatic tuner on my amp, but the guitar still sounded out of tune for some reason, then got even worse a bit later when we started playing again. Now I'm thinking of getting a guitar/bass tuner so I could tune the guitarist's guitar as well as my bass if I'm not using my amp. Maybe a tuner meant for a guitar will do better than the one on my amp. I was looking at this one http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ner?sku=211051
but I wanted to post first and ask for suggestions. Anyone have any ideas?

LowDown Hal · #2 05-02-2008, 10:06 AM

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ner?sku=213012

Febs · #3 05-02-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowDown Hal

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ner?sku=213012

x2

Deacon_Blues · #4 05-02-2008, 10:39 AM

+1 on the Boss TU-2. The batteries last forever and it's very reliable.

BTW - did you check out the intonation on the guitar as well?

tplyons · #5 05-02-2008, 11:26 AM

Probably the intonation. If it tuned fine then sounds like junk, it's usually the intonation.

**Thor** · #6 05-02-2008, 11:51 AM

And the hardest string to intone on the electric guitar is the G string.

Old strings on guitars usually blow as well.

Tell him to change his strings and show him the secret of using
the allen wrenches to set the string length (intonation).

Then make him get his own tuner, they are not that
expensive. You shouldn't get him in the habit of letting you
buy gear for him that he should have.

Or maybe he doesn't care how he sounds.

Deacon_Blues · #7 05-02-2008, 12:23 PM

Btw, there's a lot of tricks on how to tune a guitar (or bass) by ear:

1. Press down the 5th fret on one string (or 4th if you're on the G string) and pluck the next (higher pitched) open string. Tune down the open string a bit below the pitch and then slowly up until they sound the same (no harmonic vibrations caused by interference).

2. Pluck a flageolet on the 5th fret and compare with the flageolet on the 7th fret on the next open string. Tune the B and high E string using the flageolets on the low E string, (7th and 5th fret respectively).

3. Tune using power chords. Pluck the open low E and the 2nd frets on the A and D strings (B and E). Tune the octave first, then match the fifth. Then jump to the next strings and tune the G string. On the next move, you need to press the third fret on the B string and on the last one the third frets on the B and E strings...

I mostly use a mix of all these methods. When I get lazy or want to tune quicker, I just use my old faithful TU-2.

Traver · #8 05-02-2008, 01:12 PM

Boss TU-2 wins.

lemur821 · #9 05-02-2008, 05:04 PM

I doubt it was the tuner, although if it's one of those that just have a couple of LEDs it might be hard to read. But what do you need a tuner for other than to get a reference pitch in the right range?

Bett · #10 05-02-2008, 06:48 PM

Hmmm... I think my plan is not going to work. The recommended tuner looks like more than I need. Our band currently isn't much more than 3 friend getting together to play. We had our first practice yesterday. We have no drummer, and the second guitarist hasn't practiced with us yet.
Deacon_Blues, I did your first suggestion. That I knew about, and when I tried it yesterday, everything sounded fine. I can't really do chords though (I'm not a guitar person), so I can't use the third suggestion.
Intonation... no, I didn't check it. My first thought to the tuning problem was that the tremolo was doing it though.

Quote:

Then make him get his own tuner, they are not that
expensive. You shouldn't get him in the habit of letting you
buy gear for him that he should have.

I offered to let her use the tuner on the amp, but she didn't know how to... She said she doesn't know the names of the notes. I couldn't even remember the tuning for a guitar at first yesterday but I figured it out after a couple of minutes. Maybe I should teach her... Anyway, the tuner wouldn't only be for her, I'd use it too. Also, no one else even noticed that the guitar was out of tune (I don't know how much musical skill these people have...) so I had a feeling I should have a tuner to double check the other instruments if need be. I did suggest to her that she get an amp with a tuner on top (all she has now is a tiny, I think 10 watt amp) when she mentioned she wanted to buy a better amp.
Yeah.. I think we have a long way to go with this band. My friend is really excited about it though. I wonder if we should have a couple of lessons on the basics of music...

Bett · #11 05-02-2008, 09:09 PM

Is there any other tuners similar to the Boss TU-2 that costs less? I want to ask for this as a birthday present, but I'm not sure I can convince anyone to get me a hundred dollar tuner. Might there be any used ones for sale that I could get cheaper?
Also, what else should I get if I get this model (anything I need to buy separately, another cable, the outlet cord)?

Edit- I looked up more on the TU-2. From the recommendations here and the information I found on it I think I may consider getting this one. I heard it's near indestructible. It could be a good match for my T-40.

Deacon_Blues · #12 05-03-2008, 03:17 AM

Of course there are cheaper tuners that does the job. I guess you can get one for like $20-30 that might be enough for you. Just walk into the nearest music shop, they should have a few models.

rfclef · #13 05-03-2008, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bett

Is there any other tuners similar to the Boss TU-2 that costs less?

Behringer tu300 is "inspired" by the TU-2, but less... saw good reviews mostly... Considering it... also, the PEwaves pedal tuner on Ebay is not too spendy, though have not seen reviews for it...

Bett · #14 05-03-2008, 04:15 PM

I think I may be able to get my dad to get me the Boss. I was telling him about it and I mentioned the price, though I'm not sure he heard me. Still, if it's built well and is as good as everyone says, then it's probably worth the price. I'd rather have something that cost a bit more but lasted longer (as long as I don't have to pay

).

McHaven · #15 05-03-2008, 05:30 PM

If you're just playing around with your friends, not doing anything serious I really don't think you need a TU-2. I didn't bother getting a TU-2 until it necessary since I was gigging.

You'd be just fine with a Korg pocket tuner. Little electronic device you plug into. Fits in your pocket, about the length of a credit card. Shouldn't be more than about 25 bucks.

stoneboy26 · #16 05-03-2008, 10:34 PM

Yes the TU-2 is worth the price and it should last you forever!!

Korg make some great tuners too, even their little ones.

Bett · #17 05-04-2008, 05:57 PM

Well I ended up ordering the TU-2. It seemed worth it, and with the adapter I won't need to buy batteries. Some of the smaller tuners I looked at ran on watch batteries. 9 volts are easier to find and I hopefully won't go through too many either.