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A better tuner

#42
JimmyM said:
I'm not getting the point you're trying to make. You make the Airyware cellphone tuner? It claims .1 cent accuracy. So you'd be arguing against yourself at this point :D
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:D In short, my points are: 1) for bass tuning you do not need a tuner with high resolution. 1 cent is already enough. If you are piccolo-flutist then look for 0.1 cent tuner. 2) be precise: do not say "I need 0.02 cents accuracy" when you want to say "a strobe tuning mode is better for me"
 
#43
Lofreck said:
:D In short, my points are: 1) for bass tuning you do not need a tuner with high resolution. 1 cent is already enough. If you are piccolo-flutist then look for 0.1 cent tuner. 2) be precise: do not say "I need 0.02 cents accuracy" when you want to say "a strobe tuning mode is better for me"
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Nowadays, the difference between the price of a tuner with low resolution and tuning accuracy vs one with high resolution and high tuning accuracy isn't a lot. Maybe you'd have had a point back in 1979 when Conn and Peterson were the only strobe tuners in town and they cost a couple hundy. Now you can get strobe tuners on your phone for pennies on the dollar, sometimes even free.
 
#44
JimmyM said:
Nowadays, the difference between the price of a tuner with low resolution and tuning accuracy vs one with high resolution and high tuning accuracy isn't a lot. Maybe you'd have had a point back in 1979 when Conn and Peterson were the only strobe tuners in town and they cost a couple hundy. Now you can get strobe tuners on your phone for pennies on the dollar, sometimes even free.
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Exactly. But the sad thing is that there will be people who choose tuner X only because the manufacturer claimed it is 0.02 cents accuracy. "Wow! It is much better than crappy tuner Y which offers only 0.5 cents resolution!" :)
 
#45
I'll say it another way, there is no reason to keep Polytune pedal in needle mode. When you switch it to strobe, you also have a needle and strobe for finer adjustments.

I didn't measure myself does Polytune in needle mode have +-0.5 cent accuracy or +-3 cent, but I know for myself that this is not enough to set up intonation, for that I want a more accurate tuner.
 
#46
Aloe said:
I'll say it another way, there is no reason to keep Polytune pedal in needle mode. When you switch it to strobe, you also have a needle and strobe for finer adjustments.

I didn't measure myself does Polytune in needle mode have +-0.5 cent accuracy or +-3 cent, but I know for myself that this is not enough to set up intonation, for that I want a more accurate tuner.
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.5 cent accuracy. I don't know where the 3.5 cent accuracy thing came from.
 
#48
I use pedals (Polytune mini or Boss Tu3,depending on the board),and for a gig I do where I don't bring my pedalboard, and at home practicing, Snarks.

The one time this system failed me was at an audition. Showed, up, plugged in, and....uh, could I borrow your tuner? Oops. Still got the gig, but it wasn't the best start.
 
#50
byacey said:
I just use a simple Petersen strobo clip. It works well, is accurate, and costs enough that I'm careful who I lend it to and keep it within sight at all times.
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I use a Peterson tuner that isn't made any more, but if I were going to get a clip on tuner? It would be this one. Currently, my only clip on tuner is an old Snark. It's... iffy... on most of my basses; better on most of my guitars; and works great on my mandolin and banjo. But, IMO, Peterson is just the cat's ass as far as tuners go...:cool:
 
#51
JimmyM said:
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.
As for 3.5 cents in needle mode, that's wrong. TC tuners are .5 cents accurate in needle mode.
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Asking totally out of ignorance but how much is dependent on the tuning machines vs the accuracy of the tuner? The wrapping of the strings, etc.? Anyway, my thing was I lost so many snarks that I thought an expensive tuner would save money in the long run. I get the impression that the PolyTune3 is a respected device. This has been a great thread, thanks for your input to everyone.
 
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#52
J-Bassomatic said:
Asking totally out of ignorance but how much is dependent on the tuning machines vs the accuracy of the tuner? The wrapping of the strings, etc.? Anyway, my thing was I lost so many snarks that I thought an expensive tuner would save money in the long run. I get the impression that the PolyTune3 is a respected device. This has been a great thread, thanks for your input to everyone.
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Well certainly the tuning machines, the strings, and the pathway of what touches the strings enter into how well you stay in tune. And to complicate things even more, temperature stability also enters into it. Like if I take my basses into a hot or cold place vs my medium temperature car with AC, it'll go flat when it's hotter and sharp when it's colder. But assuming everything is stable and working relatively well, it takes a lot longer for my tuning to drift noticeably when I use a more accurate tuner.
 
#53
my clip on Snark and planet waves headstock tuner things are cool, except that they are pretty worthless on the B string unless I play the harmonic, and if theres a good amount of room noise/volume happening, theyre totally worthless. Is the clip on Peterson or TC this way also?
 
#54
J.Wolf said:
my clip on Snark and planet waves headstock tuner things are cool, except that they are pretty worthless on the B string unless I play the harmonic, and if theres a good amount of room noise/volume happening, theyre totally worthless. Is the clip on Peterson or TC this way also?
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They're all going to do it if there's a lot of room music. Some are better about it than others, though, and the TC does seem better about it to me, although I haven't really given it an acid test.
 
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#57
J-Bassomatic said:
OK, I lost my Snark for the last time, I turned the house over under sideways down and I could not find it. I got so tired of looking for it I got in the car and drove to my fave store (The Music Farm in Canton OH, if that's allowed) and they recommended the TC Electronics Polytune3. I trust these guys so I bought it. Then, of course, there was the power supply and the connector cable but I was so much in a rage that I lost my Snark for the umpteenth time I thought, "I'm not going to lose something I paid this much for." Earlier in the week my truck died so I used the salvage yards payment to buy it. Fact is I like it. I started thinking, What's your fave tuner and why? Are there any caveats with the Polytune3?
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Another +1 for the Polytune Clip.

But the problem you describe isn’t your tuner. It’s your organization going out the door to the gig. I have had the same issue. I posted one solution here:
Doodads Bag
 
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#59
byacey said:
I just use a simple Petersen strobo clip. It works well, is accurate, and costs enough that I'm careful who I lend it to and keep it within sight at all times.
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I have one of these but fear to take it out of the house. So easy to loose something like that. Also, I carry my stuff in a gigbag, and I keep my tuner in an outside pocket on my gig bag. The Petersen would probably get crushed one day

The tuner I like the best (and still have) is a Korg DT-3. Have had it for decades now. Use it almost daily.
 

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