How do you tune your basses (AT GIGS) with low E/B?

[eJake]

Are you plugging your bass into that Korg tuner or using the mic? I have two of those and they are still the best tuners I've got. But I do have to plug in.

At gigs I use the tuner in my Zoom B3N, but before I had that I always used the Korg. My grey one might be a little better than the black one, it's also older.

Plug in for sure.

 

[RoadRanger]

Didn't see anyone mention these important rules to help with tracking - tune with:
Neck pickup only
Tone turned all the way down

 

[Nickweissmusic]

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.

Depends how much you care about appearances. I can respect the weight obsession biking to gigs, a quality tuner pedal will definitely add weight and bulk, and there are ways to pull it off. Headstock tuners are exceedingly tacky if you don’t at least keep it behind the headstock. A big blue Snark tuner hanging on the front of any instrument screams intermediate guitar student, might as well wear cargo shorts and sandals to the gig to complete the look, and they’re a bit too loose as far as accuracy goes. The TC electronics clip-on does fine for bass, very accurate in strobe mode, and it’s really unobtrusive. Just clip it on so the face is behind the headstock and it’s essentially invisible. If it doesn’t feel like tracking the low B, just use a harmonic. It’s not necessarily the tuners’ fault if it doesn’t pick up well, vibrations and harmonics are fickle phenomena, moving the tuner around can often improve that (but may cause another note to track poorly).

Assuming these aren’t high profile gigs, a properly placed discreet headstock tuner can work. If image is important, pro photos will be taken, etc, don’t be headstock tuner guy. The price of vanity is a little more bulk and weight for a proper pedal tuner, but you’ll also get easier, accurate tuning.

 

[eJake]

I don’t understand this. Headstock tuners work off of string vibrations traveling through the structure of the instrument. No problem. But what kind of stages are you guys playing on where the ambient noise is drowning out the string vibrations???

Or are you trying to tune during a song perhaps? I really don’t see the point in that. Use a tuner before each set, then use your ears.

I'm in a bar with a small stage and house music playing through the PA while we set up every Friday night. I tried using a headstock tuner there once. The screen started blinking "yeah right"... truthfully I didn't even know it could do that...?

 

[irisexit]

tc electronic polytune 3. we tune to drop a, it works great.

 

[eJake]

Depends how much you care about appearances. I can respect the weight obsession biking to gigs, a quality tuner pedal will definitely add weight and bulk, and there are ways to pull it off. Headstock tuners are exceedingly tacky if you don’t at least keep it behind the headstock. A big blue Snark tuner hanging on the front of any instrument screams intermediate guitar student, might as well wear cargo shorts and sandals to the gig to complete the look, and they’re a bit too loose as far as accuracy goes. The TC electronics clip-on does fine for bass, very accurate in strobe mode, and it’s really unobtrusive. Just clip it on so the face is behind the headstock and it’s essentially invisible. If it doesn’t feel like tracking the low B, just use a harmonic. It’s not necessarily the tuners’ fault if it doesn’t pick up well, vibrations and harmonics are fickle phenomena, moving the tuner around can often improve that (but may cause another note to track poorly).

Assuming these aren’t high profile gigs, a properly placed discreet headstock tuner can work. If image is important, pro photos will be taken, etc, don’t be headstock tuner guy. The price of vanity is a little more bulk and weight for a proper pedal tuner, but you’ll also get easier, accurate tuning.

I like my old korg stand alone non pedal tuner. It's fine. My head has an accessible mute switch. If someone ever offers me a bunch of money for a tour or something but says I absolutely must have effects I will def have a tuner pedal right next to my talent pedal.

 

[Maynjo]

Hmmm I have a Son of Snark mini tuner that tunes just fine. The trick is to use the harmonic over the twelfth fret instead of the open on each string. IME it tracks way better that way.

 

[wmhill]

I really like these- and plenty big & bright enough for outside in the sun gigs.

 

[onamission]

Polytune on the floor.

 

[gepettus]

Korg Pitchblack Poly (PB-03)

 

[nilorius]

I play 5 and lowest one is B and I use tuner (Korg Pitchblack, chromatictuner) pedal, made from iron, so it's very safe.

 

[Glynn Pelton]

Polytune clip, and the helix tuner both work well on all my 5”s

 

[Nickweissmusic]

I like my old korg stand alone non pedal tuner. It's fine. My head has an accessible mute switch. If someone ever offers me a bunch of money for a tour or something but says I absolutely must have effects I will def have a tuner pedal right next to my talent pedal.

Sure, that’s fine too. The only advantage of a pedal is you can tune without having to walk back to the amp, depending on how tight the show is that might not be practical. Also depends how much your bass actually goes out of tune. When I played more indoor club gigs, the first 20 minutes or so were tough on tuning as the strings adjusted to the light and room heat. Now I play a lot of outdoor evening gigs, where the temperature and humidity changes drastically, and tuning always suffers. Not to mention you won’t see an LCD screen in the sun to begin with.

Hmmm I have a Son of Snark mini tuner that tunes just fine. The trick is to use the harmonic over the twelfth fret instead of the open on each string. IME it tracks way better that way.

I’m not unduly dissing Snarks. If you’re experienced with them they’re fine, the main issue is their damping is so forgiving there's enough wiggle room to be perceptibly out of tune if you’re not patient, especially on guitar. I have one in my studio, since I know they’re so ubiquitous, so I can help my students learn to use them effectively, i.e., make sure your note is buried in the green arrow for at least three seconds before moving on. A Boss pedal in strobe mode gets the note nailed in half the time or less in my experience. The TC clip on is almost as good and fast. When you are used to using those, and go back to the Snark, there is a noticeable difference between in precision and response, which doesn’t matter if 1) you’re used to it and know how to get good results or 2) you’re patient with it and give it a little more time to settle in.

 

[Obese Chess]

I've got a Peterson Strobostomp tuner. Tracks down to a low G with no issues. Picked it up for like $45 on Reverb a few years ago.

 

[mark beem]

I'm curious to see how the talkbass community tunes at gigs.

With one of these.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

Harmonics + headstock tuner here...

 

[Mushroo]

I have a Polytune that does the trick, pretty nice.
In my experience, the Snark is less accurate than the human ear, worse than using no tuner at all.

 

[climber]

I have a Polytune headstock tuner. Works great on my 4, 5 and 6 string basses. It clips on so you can’t even see it when it’s not in use. I have a TU2 in my pedalboard but I don’t use it very much any more.

 

[MCS4]

I don't imagine I'd ever play a gig without a pedal tuner, even if I didn't use any other effects. It's too useful for tuning and mute functions.

 

[clayworx]

I use the Delta GT-10 tuner. Got some for $5.00/ea on sale. Works great on the cab or on the neck. 4 or 5 string works down to drop A reliably for me.