I use the Polyclip , and a rack PitchBlack. Used to have a Poly Stomp, but no longer use a pedalboard.
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TC Polytune - Best tuner for Bass?
- Thread starter Mark Ambler
- Start date
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
I'd pick up a Strobostomp if I cared much about tuners. Frankly, I resent them taking up space on my board where a fun pedal could go
i just put mine top of my amp.
OT: Super cool super twin. Is that a converted combo? Those are supposed to be terrible guitar amps but I imagine they could be good bass amps.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
yep. i just made a head cab for it. it makes an awesome bass head. it's basically like having a double-powered showman. lately, it's been the only amp i use unless i'm playing a smaller gig when i use a '67 showman.
My polytune noir 3 has been my favorite pedal style, for clip on I really like the tiny D'Addario. I have one that lives on each of my basses for when I play amp only gigs...
That pedal show just did a show on tuners. Insightful.
I just sold my Tc Polytune 3 for the previously mentioned issue of the low B and low E strings sticking into polytune mode and/or not tracking at all I've been doing alot of research trying to find something with similar features to the polytune 3 as it was otherwise a perfect solution for my needs and so far nothing else I've seen comes close to the Peterson StroboStomp Hd. It does everything I loved from the Polytune3 without the issues and has the added bonus of a larger brighter display and ability to change the display colors is a cool added feature.
Odd. Nothing but praise for the Polytunes, but there's a (albeit slight) problem with the low B and E, and display brightness on the polytune 3? Does the polytune 2 exhibit the same issues? Im probably going to go with the unitune clip-on to save space on my Nano+ pedal board, anyway
before the "great tuner debates" there were "ears." ears are still the best: any tuner will get you an A=440 (or close enough!) silently --- but when the lights go up: your ears will tell you whether or not the tuning you just made is the tuning you need to finish the tune. the brand/model/cost of the tuner is irrelevant at that moment. ears are free.
also: can a fretted bass be tuned?*
* yes, if you're not picky.
also: can a fretted bass be tuned?*
* yes, if you're not picky.
I've never seen (or heard of) the Polytunes 'sticking' in poly mode, and I've had like 10 of them starting with the very first release and I now have three Poly3's. So that may be a setup or instrument issue.
There is no brightness issue, he was just saying the Peterson has a brighter display. It must light up the room, as the Polytunes already have the brightest display of any other pedal tuners!
I have a bunch of different tuners. Here's a few.
I prefer the polytune over the Turbo. Currently using a noir mini on my main board.
I prefer the polytune over the Turbo. Currently using a noir mini on my main board.
Might have to do with the pickups or strings I'm using providing more harmonics in the signal or something — I don't know — but both my Polytune Mini and Clip "prefer" the poly mode with my B and E strings. The B tends to register in poly mode more than 75% of the time, the E about 50%. Practice and rehearsals are not issues, but show time, it makes me crazy. A simple poly-defeat option would solve this. It's a useless gimmick that can't help but show itself off, IMO. Many are happy with the TC tuners, so mileage does vary.
With the Peterson Strobostomp, it's not brightness, it's the size of the display and fullness of the characters rendered that make it easy to read.
That does sound annoying. I am learning to like the poly mode just for 'quick check' purposes, see if anything shows as off, but use single-string mode for any real tuning. Whats your signal chain? Do you turn instrument vol up to max when you're tuning?
Uh-oh. The TurboFanboiz are NOT gonna like that. Batten down your hatches sir.
What can I say? It's just easier for me to read the polytune display compared to the Turbo. They're both good tuners. No accounting for taste, I guess.
Signal chain: Primary basses: Lull NRT5 (passive), StingRay Special 5H, StingRay 5HH (both active) >> 15' Lava ELC >> Nose A/B Input Switcher >> tuner — was Polytune Mini, now Strobostomp >> effects (octave, dirt, compressor, modulation, LPF/HPF) >> 15'-20' Lava ELC >> amp >> D.I. out to FOH.
The only thing between my bass and tuner is the cable and A/B switcher. Active and passive basses. EB Slinky, DR Lowrider Nickel, D'A Pro Steel strings. Same issue happens with the Polytune Clip, but to a lesser extent, and there is no signal chain there.
I've never bothered to try to tune in poly mode with the Polytunes — can't figure out which string is which with a five string bass. Six strings show on the tuner when I strum five. Is the lowest reading my B or E? What is the tuner's highest string reading?
I have 3 pedalboards. First One was a Boss TU3 - works fine, a bit big, but in thne context of that big board, it wasn't an issue. Second board I built, I was going for a smaller board, and..I used a Polytune mini 2 (noir version). Works fine. I'm in the process of building a third pedalboard (insert board hoarding joke here). I just got a polytune mini 3 (again the noir version), Seems to work just as well. A tad slow on a low B string, but other than that, it seems to do the job I need it to. The buffer in it is nice and quiet.
I've never owned a tuner, and have been playing for a long, long time. But it would be useful to tune silently sometimes. Regarding whether a fretted bass can be tuned, I know where you are coming from regarding that, so I'd say yes, pretty muchbefore the "great tuner debates" there were "ears." ears are still the best: any tuner will get you an A=440 (or close enough!) silently --- but when the lights go up: your ears will tell you whether or not the tuning you just made is the tuning you need to finish the tune. the brand/model/cost of the tuner is irrelevant at that moment. ears are free.
also: can a fretted bass be tuned?*
* yes, if you're not picky.
Well, I have a Korg Pitchback Pro in my rack, my Helix has a built in tuner, both are very good, I also carry a TC Unitune and a Peterson Stroboclip. The Unitune is the worst, always picks my B up as an E and it just takes much longer to lock in, its very jumpy. The Peterson is great in the clip on category, nothing beats my Korg in the rack though.
Rock on.
Rock on.
