I am not a big fan of headstock tuners but I see EVERYONE using them. Maybe I haven't tried the right one but they never seem to track my B string amongst house music and other musicians checking levels. I have one of the old black Korg tuners about the size of a tape cassette. I think pedals are the best but I don't really use effects and I bike to gigs so I'm obsessed with how much weight I carry. I'm curious to see how the talkbass community tunes at gigs.
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How do you tune your basses (AT GIGS) with low E/B?
- Thread starter eJake
- Start date
I hate headstock tuners - especially when gui****s leave them clipped on all the time. Super fugly and dorky...
No option for my low "D" 
- I use a pedal tuner that I carry in my gig bag or more recently the tuner built-in to my Peavey MiniMax head.
- I use a pedal tuner that I carry in my gig bag or more recently the tuner built-in to my Peavey MiniMax head.Headstock tuners are fine at practices. Not at gigs.
A tuner pedal won't add much weight to your commute. Rig it onto a lanyard. Stuff it into a gig bag. Velcro it to the top of your amp. Get a side car. Strap it to a ball cap. Wear it as a wristwatch. Put a pretty basket on your bike. Buy two and wear them as earmuffs. Throw it into your guitarist's bag-o-crap. Make the drummer carry it, then fire said drummer. Buy some cargo pants. Replace a bike pedal with a tuner pedal. Put little wheels on it and pull it as a li'l trailer. Stow it where the water bottle goes. ANYTHING but a headstock tuner.
I use a Boss TU-2 in strobe mode. When I step on the tuner it mutes my signal. This tuner quickly tracks the B string and I don't notice any signal degradation.
Here's the current model
Here's the current model
- Apr 18, 2008
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What’s the problem with headstock tuners at gigs? That’s what I do. I don’t leave it attached the whole time, just when I’m using it. Unless I’m playing through an amp with a built-in tuner.
I usually tune the low B string using the twelfth fret harmonic.
I usually tune the low B string using the twelfth fret harmonic.
Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-300. Reliable and accurate (handles the low B just fine). Fits in your case/gig bag.
- Dec 21, 2007
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Peterson Strobe Tuner App for iPhone. Plus a headstock tuner for on the fly stuff sometimes.
My Eden combo has a tuner out right next to the DI out. I have one of these on a short patch cable and it sits atop the amp. Stomp the mute button, check the tune, done. It has led's for dark stages too.
I have used the same one of these for 10+ years. I just changed the batteries for the second time a couple months ago.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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I either use my boss, or the tuner on my amp head. I like the pedal cause I can check it real quick between songs while muting myself. But, my amps tuner does Low B and High C...spot on too. So, it depends on whether I want to run another cable or not. Lately, it's been not. But, I do like the pedal more. I'm just lazy.
D
I voted LOW E TUNER, but i have a detuner for DROP D, so I check both D and E, and back and forth, thru a Zoom B3 tuner.
I had a head stock tuner that I thought was working fine on my 6 string, but it always seemed like I was a tad flat. Bought a pedal tuner and sure enough, every string was slightly flat. Needless to say that I now only use the pedal. The other went into my acoustic guitar case. Good enough for that.
Headstock tuners- The Crocs of the band world.
Works great with low B and is easy to read even in bright sunlight.
Boss TU-2 for EBG and inbuilt tuner on my Fishman preamp stompbox for upright. Not sure where to clip one of those headstock thingies on the upright....
Korg makes the AW-LT100B headstock tuner designed for bass and it does pick up the E and B strings better than most. Sadly, it has physical issues. You cannot rotate the display, only tilt it and the power switch design is just clumsy. It does strobe tuning as well, which I find useless. I only use it on DB where the display angle is OK when mounted to the bridge.
I also found the Snark SS-20 to do well on the E and B. But for best results in noisy environments, bite the bullet and use a plug-in tuner.
I also found the Snark SS-20 to do well on the E and B. But for best results in noisy environments, bite the bullet and use a plug-in tuner.
