Best Tuner

[Gmountain]

Is there any tuner that is better for a bass? I use a TC Polytune on my guitar, but I wonder if any tuner works better for a bass.

 

[Diamond_Dave]

I don’t have a bunch of experience with pedal tuners, but I just got a Snark pedal tuner that I like. Sturdy, inexpensive, fast, good display.

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

For a pedal tuner the Turbo Tuner is insanely accurate. Only issue I've had with those are they are so accurate, you tend to spend too much time trying to perfectly dial each string in. I use a Boss TU-3 and it's nice, but have been thinking of switching to a Polytune pedal. Most of the time I use a Polytune clip-on tuner (own several of them) and love those.

 

[scubaduba]

Here is the list I have experience with and a recommendation based on that hands-on experience:
1. Snark clip on tuner. Low quality. Works for a while. Eats batteries. Drop it and it could be toast.
2. Korg Pitchblack (original full-size) pedal tuner. Built like a tank. Loved the screen clarity. Easy to use. Never any issue.
3. TC Electronics Polytune mini noir pedal. Nice size. Seemed to tune quickly (faster than Pitchblack). Didn't feel as well built as the Pitchblack.
4. KLIQ Tiny Tune Pro. Very small. Inexpensive. Definitely not as well built as Korg or TC Electronics. Tuned quickly. Tiny screen.
5. D'Addario Planet Waves pedal tuner. Very well built. Huge easy to read screen. Fast tuning. Priced comparatively to Korg and TC Electronics. It is bigger than Polytune mini or Kliq or Pitchblack Mini in that it is longer and taller. However it is narrow and much more sturdy. It is like a full-size pedal but not as wide which means it takes up less pedal board space. Sharp is indicated by meters above and flat below. This is more intuitive than left and right. This pedal is my recommendation. Best tuner pedal I've used. I love it.

Planet Waves

 

[Mastodon2]

TC Electronics Polytune pedal. The polyphonic tuning feature is cool but I never use it. It's just a solid, easy to use pedal.

That said, the Boss tuner app for mobile phones is good, works very well even on low B strings and is free. If I tune up with the app and check it with my Polytune pedal, the app always gets it bang on.

 

[b3e]

Politune clip-on - just works for me very reliable on 4 and 5 strings

 

[DigitalMan]

Petersen Strobe tuners are the best in class. Very fast and accurate. They cost a bit more.

 

[mwbonsall]

Is there any tuner that is better for a bass? I use a TC Polytune on my guitar, but I wonder if any tuner works better for a bass.

Your TC Polytune will work excellent for bass.

Mark

 

[Zooberwerx]

Petersen Strobe tuners are the best in class. Very fast and accurate. They cost a bit more.

I own two...one on my bench, one on my board. They're the gold standard IMO.

Riis

 

[micguy]

I have a two tuners on pedalbards:

Boss tu3
polytune mini

I also have 2 snarks for when I don’t use a pedalboard. All my tuners work fine - no need to over think this.

 

[bertthebassist]

I use a polytune TC electronics pedal for my 5 strings and it works great.

 

[bassbenj]

I own a zillion tuners from inexpensive to very expensive ones. And I"m sorry but the "best" one belongs to a previous more civilized age.
I'm amazed at what junk some very expensive tuners are! Kind of depressing really. I won't go into details.

My all time best tuner is the Korg CA-10. Cheap, accurate, works well with mic, works well with bass or guitar, used 9 volt battery. Cheap enough to have them everywhere.

Problem, of course is that it was too cool. The great things about it needed to be broken like say changing from a common 9 volt battery to AA or AAA batteries that will one day drip corrosive goo all over the insides and render it destroyed. All the later Korg models are inferior. It's been discontinued for a long time. Thus passes civilization. I've got a couple snarks they are OK but clearly inferior to the CA-10. The headstock pickup does not work well on the B string. Only place you can still find a few of these is on Ebay. History soul-powers On.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Petersen on the workbench, Snarks playing out.

But write your name on your Snark, as they have a BAD tendency to get passed around and wind up leaving attached to somebody ELSE'S guitar.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Bassbenj smacked that bugger right on the head! My experience to a tee man.

 

[Mr.Ace]

My tc polytune works great. I keep it in chromatic mode.

 

[Aqualung60]

I swear by my Ibanez "Big Mini" pedal tuner, very accurate and under $50.00.

 

[blowinblue]

This one is well above average. Sadly, out of production. But the company still offers a couple of pedal style tuners possessing similar awesomeness.

M. M.

 

[fourstringdrums]

I just got a Sonic Research Turbo Tuner and it's my favorite. In the middle price wise between the Polytune and the Petersen at about $129 (I got mine used). But it's the most accurate I've ever used and gets a lot of love here.

 

[40Hz]

I’ve bought a good number of tuners over the years. I’m currently using a Sonic Research ST-300. It’s the best tuner I’ve ever had. And that’s what finally bumped the TCE Polytune that was my previous champion.

For clip-on tuners, I’ve found the SuperSnark both easy to use, fast, and accurate. But I’ve recently shifted over to using a Korg Sledgehammer Pro which has a better display (IMO) and a strobe mode. (note: the TalkBass Store sells them in case anybody’s interested. That’s where I got mine.)

FWIW I’ve found I prefer strobe-type tuners.

 

[Zeke3elevn]

I've been happy with the TC electronic polytune. I've used the 2 and the 3.