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Double Bass Clip On Tuner Recommendations --------------------------------clip-on
- Thread starter bobsax
- Start date
Macher, I picked up a Fishman last week and it works well for at home practice. I used it this past weekend gigging for the first time and I struggled with it. It appeared to pick up vibrations from my bass and other sources, i.e., house sound, PA, drums... and didn't do too well at all with the B string.
Any suggestions?
Missy Rains uses the Fishman with a little clip-on mic into a mixer. I don't remember the exact setup but if anybody is a member of the Academy of Bluegrass it's like the 5th lesson.
The Planet Waves mini tuner does not have a crocodile clip, rather a plasticy thing designed for thinner guitar necks so it's pretty painful to keep it hooked to a bass headstock.
It neither works that well in a noisy environment due to the smaller area connected to the neck so you are out of luck tuning if the band is noodling or while the band is playing.
They are cheap but I would not buy another one (purchased one just for fun a couple of months' ago.)
Now the bigger PlanetWaves clip-on tuner is really great but I've destroyed two of them by them dropping on the stage and the LCD display cracking. Anyway, Snarks and others are a far better investment than the PlanetWaves mini tuners.
I got the Planet Waves Mini based on reviews I read here and I love it. They are cheap enough that I bought one for every instrument I have.
Has anyone tried the Snark SN-8 Super Tight and compared it to the older Snark versions?
I'm a little sceptical because the readout contains so few bars, compared to the old scale.
Thanks...Lyle
I'm a little sceptical because the readout contains so few bars, compared to the old scale.
Thanks...Lyle
I used the Snark Sn-8 all summer before purchasing a couple of dozen of them for my middle school Orchestra classes. I felt that were perhaps a tad inaccurate, but that they would be close enough for 7th and 8th graders to get their instruments in tune as well as they would with anything else.
Well, we tested the Snarks out by projecting the iPhone app Cleartune onto a screen above and behind so the kids could see it but I couldn't. I then tuned a kids violin using a Snark all while telling them I was going purely off the Snarks screen and really just nailing it as close as the Snark would let me. No flat and no sharp bars allowed.
Lo and behold, when I was done, Cleartune confirmed that the Snark, when used properly, got each string tuned within a couple if cents. Not bad and certainly better than I expected.
One thing to consider is that my low C (currently my bass is tuned in fifths) does not register on the Snark at all. Oh well. The E is spotty on the school basses, but the A string registers just fine.
Well, we tested the Snarks out by projecting the iPhone app Cleartune onto a screen above and behind so the kids could see it but I couldn't. I then tuned a kids violin using a Snark all while telling them I was going purely off the Snarks screen and really just nailing it as close as the Snark would let me. No flat and no sharp bars allowed.
Lo and behold, when I was done, Cleartune confirmed that the Snark, when used properly, got each string tuned within a couple if cents. Not bad and certainly better than I expected.
One thing to consider is that my low C (currently my bass is tuned in fifths) does not register on the Snark at all. Oh well. The E is spotty on the school basses, but the A string registers just fine.
It heard the low B on my BSX Allegro solid body EUB. The Snark was on the bridge near the G and the bass was not amplified.
I have the SN-8 Super Tight Snark..and the Intellitouch PT-10.
The Snark reads the note much faster on all double bass strings and makes it easier to find the exact tuning point.
The Intellitouch is great on guitars but on double bass is slower to read the note and wavers around the note centre more than the Snark. It also can sometimes take longer to read the E string on a double bass.
An important difference for me between the two tuners is that the PT-10 is not as manoeverable on its arm as the Snark. You can bend and twist the display on the Snark any way you want.
The Snark reads the note much faster on all double bass strings and makes it easier to find the exact tuning point.
The Intellitouch is great on guitars but on double bass is slower to read the note and wavers around the note centre more than the Snark. It also can sometimes take longer to read the E string on a double bass.
An important difference for me between the two tuners is that the PT-10 is not as manoeverable on its arm as the Snark. You can bend and twist the display on the Snark any way you want.
Steve:
The SN-8 is easier to read in the daylight...and the graduation marks are bigger and easier to get lined up for the exact note. Very user friendly and very fast.
The SN-8 is easier to read in the daylight...and the graduation marks are bigger and easier to get lined up for the exact note. Very user friendly and very fast.
The basic $10 Snark works very well as long as it isn't too bright out. Hard to see when playing outdoors in direct sunlight. Why spend more? Mine picks up fine when clipped-on up by the tuners so it can even be left up there, out of the way, when you're playing if you want.
Steve: Thanks for the heads-up! The display looks similar to my Korg Pitch Crow (which is just one of almost every other clip- on tuner know to mankind that I have in my collection!) and I like the way it works.
The only concerns I have about the Pitch Crow are: the small power switch on the back (one of four tiny buttons that are very close together) which makes it awkward to reach when it's on the end of the peghead. Invariably, the tuner moves on the peghead when you turn it on or off because it is very light.
The other concern is the clamp spring which is not strong on the Pitch Crow. The Snark Super Tight feels more solid, with a large clicking power switch on the front and a stronger clamp. However from the photo of the new Bass tuner with the AAA battery, it looks like the clip has been beefed up a bit. If so, this looks like my next tuner purchase.
