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

[jerry]

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.

You just described my gig attire for most none corporate gigs.

 

[skwee]

I can't think of a time when I wasn't playing with a keyboard instrument of some type that everyone needs to tune with anyway.

 

[tb4sbp]

I always have the guitarist tune my stuff

Isn't that what there for?

 

[Stevorebob]

I always have the guitarist tune my stuff

Isn't that what there for?

What? Your guitarist knows how to tune?

 

[Ender_rpm]

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-300. Reliable and accurate (handles the low B just fine). Fits in your case/gig bag.

View attachment 3091748

Yup, this one. HAve had it for like 5 years, works every time. Head stock tuners annoy the F out of me, and IMO look terribly uncool.

 

[Luciferiad]

I have a Korg Pitchclip headstock tuner, but that's more for noodling around at home or rehearsal. At a live gig it's going to pick up every sound in the room, so it would be a pain. For gigs I use Snark SN2 pedal tuner. Super accurate, works great on the low B, and was a pretty good price.

 

[twinjet]

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.

I don't own a tuner pedal. They're nice but I have other stuff that my money must go to first. Headstock tuners may be cheesy to some, but real-time tuning is especially useful when you're outside.

I had the chance to use someone else's tuner pedal at a gig and while I loved how accurate it was, there just wasn't enough time between songs to stomp, tune and stomp again. Playing folk gives me plenty of chances to check open strings and the headstock tuner was just what I needed for a four hour night in 55° Alaskan weather.

 

[gricko]

sonic research turbo tuner or turbo tuner mini
the fastest and the most precise
end of story

 

[Paulabass]

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.

These guys are looking for a headstock tuner endorsment.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

...but they never seem to track my B string...

If your tuner can get the other strings in tune, tune the B to the E—or the E to the D—using the 5th- and 7th-fret harmonics.

 

[Andy Daventry]

I have an A440 tuning fork. The pickup will pick up the vibrations and I tune by ear from there.

 

[Mili]

G string with Tuner!
I tune other strings Through Harmonics.

 

[guy n. cognito]

G string with Tuner!
I tune other strings Through Harmonics.

So....question. If you already have the tuner out and plugged in, why not just tune all the strings?

 

[Nickweissmusic]

What? Your guitarist knows how to tune?

I have literally purchased a tuner pedal for a guitarist before.

 

[Dave Thomas]

I've use cheap headstock tuners and sometimes they do seem to catch the 12th fret harmonic on the B string better, but I hardly ever need to tune during a song and am lucky to have some pretty stable basses

 

[Nickweissmusic]

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.

A loud enough space will have enough ambient sound (vibrations) to vibrate the sensor in the tuner, rendering it useless.

 

[whero]

Zoom B1on for me. Less than $50, very light weight. And although you may not be in to crazy effects, it hass compressors, eq, cab/amp sims, so it's not all just stuff to make it sound like a UFO landing.

Yeah, I have a Zoom B1 as well. The tuner is great, picks up a low B or an E detuned to D with no problems at all. It's all plastic, so very light weight. I don't use 90% of the effects in it, but there's a few I do, which I have "moved" so they're all located together in the "A" patch set and I only have to scroll up or down one or two clicks to find the effects I want. While I'd much prefer a pedal board with half a dozen separate effects, it's all extra money, and extra stuff to lug around.

Plus, say I have Chorus pedal and want different depths of the effect on different songs - I have to bend down and fiddle with knobs each time. With the Zoom I add more chorus to one patch, take a little off the next. One click up or down with my foot and I'm done.

 

[QweziRider]

Gads, I remember the days of yelling at the guitarist or keyboard for a G. Then by ear from there.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

BOSS tuner (w/a tuner on rye)

 

[dbsfgyd1]

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.

Re: Obsessed with weight..

Oh, your going to love this, I have a rack mount tuner in my 75 pound rack. Works great. When I take my Eden WT-800, I carry a boss pedal tuner, that rides in my 35 lbs gig bag...

Sounds like you are compromising your intunation for the sake of your obsession. My pedal tuner weighs maybe 1/3 of a pound, and you can’t deal with that? Really?