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- Dec 28, 2009
- 2,053
- 1,380
- Disclosures
- Endorsed by K.B. Guitars, Nordstrand Audio Pickups, Von York Strings and Gallien-Krueger Amps.
I use Hipshot tuners on all of my Killer B basses. They work great and don’t have any play in the heads when tuning. The quality of them is top notch.
you may want to check the petersen strobosoft app for your phone Link Removed It's $10 and you can buy a clip on sensor to use in your phone jack for noisy rooms. I really like the app. quite accurate and you can run it live a rehearsals to keep track of things. My rational was you always have your phone with you so why have 6 tuners [one for each bass]
I like the Korg Pitchblack+ because I can plug two basses into it with no detectable signal loss. Also, it can power several other pedals. It's easy to use, easy to read, and plenty accurate for my needs.
Ok.. Best is subjective.. But as fast most accurate.. Strobe tuners are used to tune pianos.. Have a learning curve.. If you wanna find the most inaccurate but idiot proof tuner ask a guitarist.. Just a joke.. my vote is either turbo tuner.. or just match your guitarist.. and tune at the 12 fret..
I use a clip on KLQ Uber Tuner. I got from Amazon. So far it works perfectly.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O4L3F9E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I've used all sorts of tuner over my 50 yrs of playing bass. Before tuners came out we had to tune with the KB and between the guitar, sax, or whatever, it would take a good 1/2 hour just to get everybody tuned up. In those days, I would get my G string in as perfect tune as I could with KB and then tune the rest of the bass using string harmonics. I think the 1st electronic tuner I used was a plug-in strobotuner used by piano tuners. Conn Tuner The Who , John Entwistle. It not only shows fundamental but all the harmonics. I didn't own it, it came with one of the band programs I directed. Next was a battery powered box by Korg. It would tune the higher notes but had a problem with low e so you had to touch the string at the 12th fret and then it would work OK. These things just keep getting smaller and smaller until now we have clip on's. I like them because you don't have to plug anything in as they work of the vibrations transmitted through the neck. The one I use these days works fine even with low B.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O4L3F9E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I've used all sorts of tuner over my 50 yrs of playing bass. Before tuners came out we had to tune with the KB and between the guitar, sax, or whatever, it would take a good 1/2 hour just to get everybody tuned up. In those days, I would get my G string in as perfect tune as I could with KB and then tune the rest of the bass using string harmonics. I think the 1st electronic tuner I used was a plug-in strobotuner used by piano tuners. Conn Tuner The Who , John Entwistle. It not only shows fundamental but all the harmonics. I didn't own it, it came with one of the band programs I directed. Next was a battery powered box by Korg. It would tune the higher notes but had a problem with low e so you had to touch the string at the 12th fret and then it would work OK. These things just keep getting smaller and smaller until now we have clip on's. I like them because you don't have to plug anything in as they work of the vibrations transmitted through the neck. The one I use these days works fine even with low B.
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There are some objective measurements for best tuner. Ability to track accurately and quickly are objective. Frankly there are some tuners that can’t track low E or B at all. Favorite is subjective.
No argument here.. Just avoid sells terms.. And look at facts.. Right. Petersons rack tuners and boss tuners were the standards til the polytune and turbo tuner came out.. I'd say .. I am someway wrong but it's still valuable statement
IME tuners of any type will get you withing the ball park of a tuned bass. With bass, there's a lot of room for error as opposed to guitar or piano. What has more impact on tuning is the setup and intonation, and how the bass handles all the notes up the neck and with open strings.
I don't have much experience with pedal tuners, I've been using the Tuner in my Zoom B3 for the last couple years. I recently bought a Pitch Black for my guitar rig, but tested it out on bass also, very impressed!
Any recommendations for a tuner that will work on low B? I've not found one yet that works well. (Mostly clip ons and phone apps)
I have three different tuners... The snark is definitely the best. It surprised me how fast and accurate it was. I recommend it most definitely...
One of my X-Mas stocking stuffers this year was a Sonic Research Turbo Tuner.
It has turned out to be one of the most useful & satisfying bass-related devices I've ever worked with.
It is much quicker & more accurate than my old Boss & Korg tuners - so much so that I am currently going through all 13 of my basses, re-doing setups & setting intonation.
Where the Boss & Korg show things as perfectly intonated & in tune, the Turbo Tuner reveals just how inaccurate those old dinosaurs really are.
Like the Peterson units, the Turbo Tuner is a true strobe tuner, and worth every penny of its $129.00 price.
Highly Recommended.
Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page
It has turned out to be one of the most useful & satisfying bass-related devices I've ever worked with.
It is much quicker & more accurate than my old Boss & Korg tuners - so much so that I am currently going through all 13 of my basses, re-doing setups & setting intonation.
Where the Boss & Korg show things as perfectly intonated & in tune, the Turbo Tuner reveals just how inaccurate those old dinosaurs really are.
Like the Peterson units, the Turbo Tuner is a true strobe tuner, and worth every penny of its $129.00 price.
Highly Recommended.
Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page
Boss Tuner for iOS, as suggested above is the best of the iPhone apps.
As for clip-on -- Polytune works well with my low B, I also have the old Planet Waves clip-on that also tunes the low B. It highly depends on the guitar and clip-on neck positions (you may have to move the clip-on around to make it work).
Pedals are better though. If I don't have one, I will use my clip-on and the phone app as a last resort.
