• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Best foot pedal tuner?

#61
I'd say take a look at the Boss TU3 like many others are saying. I have the KORG Pitchblack, and as cool as it looks, it just doesn't read the notes fast enough or accurately. This is especially true when tuning a low B. The meter jumps all over the place. I also don't think it could survive a drop where I'm more than confident that the Boss will.
 
#62
bkbirge said:
Turbo Tuner has both a pedal and non-pedal versions. It's the most accurate tuner around and I use it on my DB all the time. It is a real strobe tuner with analog pitch detection and as such it is very fast. I can practice fretless intonation scales to it at a slowish tempo. Can't do that with anything else. I'm kind of surprised people are still using other tuners, in my mind there really is nothing else made that can touch it in response or accuracy (guaranteed to +/- 0.02 cents, this matters if you are bowing). You could probably tune a piano with it if you tried. The other pedal tuners are neither as accurate (0.1 cent accuracy is the best I've seen) nor as fast. Heck it tracks my vibrato, how cool is that.

http://www.turbo-tuner.com/

st2-249h.jpg
Click to expand...


+1 I've tried most of the others, and the Turbo Tuner is unmatched.
 
#65
mmbongo said:
The Turbo Tuner is fantastic! But the TC Polytuner beats it hands down :)
Click to expand...

I've used a lot of tuners including both of these and with the improvements TC made on the Polytune2 it kinda comes down to what display you prefer. Both are excellent tuners. Saying one beats the other "hands down" is a load of pure malarkey....especially when you don't give any reasons. Oh wait, you couldn't have given any good reasons because there aren't any!
 
#66
Jeff Bonny said:
I've used a lot of tuners including both of these and with the improvements TC made on the Polytune2 it kinda comes down to what display you prefer. Both are excellent tuners. Saying one beats the other "hands down" is a load of pure malarkey....especially when you don't give any reasons. Oh wait, you couldn't have given any good reasons because there aren't any!
Click to expand...

Price, size, display, TC wins hands down!

Boss or Pitchblack should never even be mentioned in comparison to either of them though. Polytune and Turbo Tuner are light years ahead of both.
 
Last edited:
#67
If they're so great, how and why do Turbo Tuners ever come up for sale used?
A while back, I couldn't believe a Turbo Tuner came up on the second-hand market here in HK. In the US? Sure. Europe? Possibly. Here?
I tried to snap it up, but the deal fell through.
Still mad the deal fell through...
I want a Turbo Tuner! :crying:
 
#68
One of my guitar players has a turbo tuner.. We were on a festival gig in Europe.. we went on in the afternoon... He could not see the LEDs on the turbo tuner with the sunlight. .He had to borrow my Peterson strobo stomp.. The LEDs get washed out on bright stages or daytime gigs at times. The Peterson with its LCD only get clearer in bright light.. Thats why i recommend the LCD types...
 
#69
pbass6811 said:
It's about $130, which may put it in the "too pricey" category, but the Sonic Research ST-200 Turbo Tuner is, by far, the best tuner I personally have ever used. I've owned most of the Boss tuners at some point, and I've tried the Korg & the TC, which are both great tuners, but the Turbo Tuner is still more accurate and faster and I've never had any problems seeing the display and we play on some bright stages. Honestly, I haven't had any experience with the Peterson, and I'm sure it's a fantastic tuner, but it's $60 more than the Turbo Tuner!

If something happens to my Turbo Tuner, I will buy another one...;)
Click to expand...
Turbo tuner is IT!
It's the only real analog strobe tuner in a pedal that I know of. The Peterson and the planet waves are digital emulations, so they are not as fast nor as stable/accurate. The turbo can grab the B string immediately, even if just whack the string with my palm. It's the first time I've ever been excited by a tuner.

It's always in my signal path, and sometimes I watch it accurately track my notes as I'm playing a line. Now that's fast tracking!
 
Last edited:
#71
joel kelsey said:
...I need one that will read a low B, as well as mute me through my amp and PA. I have the Boss TU-3, but alas it has crapped out on me after only a few gigs...
Click to expand...
No one else is asking about the elephant in the room so I'll bite.

Boss pedals has a reputation for being "built like a tank" as most people put it. Did you drop it in the bathtub?!
How in the world did your TU-3 die?!

I use the Boss TU-3 for exactly what you're describing, i.e. I tune a 5 string onstage and use it as a mute.

I'm dying to know how you killed your Boss pedal. I've never heard of that before. Perhaps it's not dead; maybe there is another issue?
 
#73
Well, I didn't "kill" the tuner or drop it. It just stopped working. All of the lights on it started lighting up when I tried to tune with it. I took it back and exchanged it for a Poly-Tune, then the footswitch on the polytune started making noise after 2 months. So I exchanged that polytune for another one; same problem...... So now I am back with another TU 3, and so far so good.... Gear hates me for some reason.
 
#79
joel kelsey said:
Well, I didn't "kill" the tuner or drop it. It just stopped working. All of the lights on it started lighting up when I tried to tune with it. I took it back and exchanged it for a Poly-Tune, then the footswitch on the polytune started making noise after 2 months. So I exchanged that polytune for another one; same problem...... So now I am back with another TU 3, and so far so good.... Gear hates me for some reason.
Click to expand...
So you've had problems with the TU-3 and the PolyTune.

What you've described makes me suspect an inappropriate power source. I wonder if you've used these tuners plugged into the same outlet. It could be the power source (and I mean the power SOURCE; not the wall wart adapter) is faulty. Bad wiring, lack of grounding at the outlet, etc.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back