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tuner help

i hope this is the right forum for this thread. if not, feel free to move it. anyway, i bought an intellitouch pt10 clip-on tuner for my basses and my acoustic guitars. it was recommended to me by the guy in guitar center. on the screen, it says A=440, and there's a button that when pressed it changes it from 4=440 all the way up to A=450, and it goes down to A=430. i understand that A=440 is what to keep it on for standard tuning (or so i was told) but what should it be on to accurately tune my guitars down? i hope this makes sense, lol. thanks
 
so should i leave it there even when tuning down?

Why would you change any settings?:confused:
The idea behind a tuner is to identify what note has been played, and how many cents sharp or flat it is, based on a reference frequency. If you change the reference frequency, the bass will be tuned to a different pitch than standard A=440Hz, and you will be out of tune, relative to any other A=440Hz instruments.
 
The only scenario for changing the pitch on the tuner would be if you are playing with an non - tune able instrument like a penny whistle or some such thing which is off enough that it's noticeable. You could determine where the A is on the instrument and tune to it. If this is not your situation, leave the tuner at 440 and tune flat if you wish, a half step down.