According to that link, It's more accurate.
Needle mode is +_3.51 cents while the strobe mode is +_ 0.02 cents.
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A better tuner
- Thread starter J-Bassomatic
- Start date
According to that link, It's more accurate.
Needle mode is +_3.51 cents while the strobe mode is +_ 0.02 cents.
It's more accurate by a lot.
Even the Polytune and Unitune Clips are more accurate than +- 3.51 cents! A tuner that isn't any more accurate than +- 3.51 cents is a piece of crap! All TC tuners are accurate within +- .5 cents in needle mode and .1 or .2 cents in strobe mode for the pedals and clip-ons respectively.
that's not really true. accuracy that manufacturer claims and that exists in real life -- may differ a lot. not really many users check it or they would be upset.
I'll say it in other words -- in needle mode Polytune's accuracy is comparable to a TU-2. that's not very bad, but in strobe mode Polytune has far better accuracy than it.
I have a few Korgs I use. That's immaterial though. You've replaced that snark. In three days you'll be tripping over it. Get ready.
TBH, no, but I also use it for a couple of guitars, so having it in bass mode would inhibit it's use.
Dropping into Poly mode when tuning a single string is an "annoyance" more than anything, especially when all the other strings are damped. Anyway, it's still a great tuner, just that the UniTune is better for use on a bass.
I would have thought that having it drop into poly mode would limit its usefulness more, and switching between modes is a single push of a button. But to each his own.
i use the snarks! (i do have several, though, so i've always got one at hand.)
they're fine for me: fretless. i've found that they're better than most acoustic pianos (don't do both, i.e., tune to the acoustic piano...not a tuner!)
Press and hold the Display Mode button (the small round one closest to the clip) for +5 seconds to switch between modes. When the secondary display shows the letter B, you’re in bass mode. Repeat to switch back to guitar mode.
Do you really need 0.02 cents accuracy? Seriously? Let's say you play two note A2 (110 Hz) on your bass in unison with two strings which are slightly apart from each other by 0.02 cents. Questions: how fast you can realize they are not in tune? Answer: not earlier than in 787 seconds
) Why? Because 0.02 cents difference at 110 Hz will give you 1 beat per 787 seconds. 1 beat per 10+ min, Karl. Ok. What about 3.5 cents there? Any guess? Right, 1 beat per 4.5 seconds. And in real life you probably do not play two notes in unison, so in the mix you will hardly be able to recognize even 5 cents difference for low frequency bass notes.
TC gives conflicting accuracy claims. On the Polytune 3, they claim .02 cents accuracy in strobe mode on the website, but the manual says .1 cent accuracy, so I believe the manual more than the website. And while you don't NEED that kind of accuracy, the reason I like that kind of accuracy is because of tuning drift. I've noticed that I stay in tune much longer if I use strobe mode, where if I use needle mode or a tuner that doesn't have as good accuracy, I go out of tune quicker. And it's not like TC tuners will cost less if you choose not to use the most accurate mode so I use it.Do you really need 0.02 cents accuracy? Seriously? Let's say you play two note A2 (110 Hz) on your bass in unison with two strings which are slightly apart from each other by 0.02 cents. Questions: how fast you can realize they are not in tune? Answer: not earlier than in 787 seconds
As for 3.5 cents in needle mode, that's wrong. TC tuners are .5 cents accurate in needle mode.
Claiming 0.02 cents accuracy on the website may be correct actually. They just did not specify how fast you will see it in strobe mode. We could also claim 0.01 cents accuracy for Airyware for example, and yes, if you sit for half an hour at the screen you will notice a strobe bars drifting
My point was not about legit marketing, but rather about a real need for such accuracy. I think if you compare tuners, do not put too much stress on the accuracy, do not choose one ONLY just because it is offering 0.02 cents accuracy and another one claims 0.5 only Do compare features, easy of use, size, battery, display, ability to mute, etc. And yes, true strobe tuning mode can be very handy because it gives instant feedback. However, in strobe mode you may miss influence of higher partials caused by string inharmonicity. If designed/programmed properly, the needle can compensate that inharmonicity and show you a weighted measure.
I have a Polytune 3 and love it, very easy to read and IMHO seems to track faster than my Korg Pitchblack. I also have an ancient Korg from 1981 that actually still works but there is probably a 2-3 secod delay from when you strike a note and when it registers.
when I set or check my intonation, I do.
.02 accuracy is the standard for accurate tuners, including those old strobes, or new strobes like Turbo Tuner or newer Petersons.
Can you show how you do it? I mean you pluck the string, and your tuner shows you steady, say, +0.08 cents. Then you turn your tuner peg and approach a steady 0.00? And then, you can pluck the string 5 more times and all 5 times the readings will be exactly 0.00? No way. Your readings will jump around because one hundred of a cent deviation can be easily made by just plucking a bit harder/softer or by fretting a bit harder/softer. Moreover, every time you pluck the string its initial pitch will be higher than a sustained one.
you want a video? hold on, I think I can make you one after my band practice ends.
yeah, it's normal for stringed instruments. you may have different technique or guitars. I have a 5-string bass where I'm not able to tune intonation for low B perfectly, by ear or any tuner, some notes are lower, some are higher and I need to settle it to some compromise.
I can only say that I had a +-cent tuner and tuning my intonation with it was much worse than a .02 one.
every time I adjusted intonation there, I had to double-check it with my ear. with a .02 one I can rely that if it says it's in pitch, it's in pitch and I don't need to double-check it.
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okay, I made one, but it's very poor quality (like no sound from my bass).
I will DM you a link to it, cause I'm ashamed of putting this publicly.
some observations: yes, if you tune your string on spot and hit it 5 times, you may get slightly different results. if one note is slightly-slightly flat and the subsequent one is slightly-slightly high, you're very close to perfect pitch. when the strobe is really slow, you're on spot.
if you're slightly flat or sharp, you will get same flat or sharp when you hit it several times in a row. I don't know how `slightly sharp' and `slightly-slightly sharp' translates to cents, but the strobe behaviour is more useful to me than a less accurate tuner that reports you're in tune, but not really in fact.
as for sustained vs plucked pitch, I believe you should rely on sustained pitch and let the attack be sharper, it's normal for stringed instruments, but in my video from 20+ plucks with turning the key machine only one had notably sharper attack. again, highly depends on instrument and technique.
This. Your tuner does not show you 'cents' at all but you are happy tuning with it. Then why do you need 0.02 cents accuracy?
