How do you put on DB? Which part do you clip it on? I would like to be able to use clip-on tuner with my EUB..but there is no place to put it on...
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Tuner pedal vs clamp on
- Thread starter 5andFretless
- Start date
How do you put on DB? Which part do you clip it on? I would like to be able to use clip-on tuner with my EUB..but there is no place to put it on...
I use it on the bridge. (I have a Korg that swivels so I can see it.)
It stays on during transport, is right there & ready to go for a quick tune-up when I get the bass out and then I take it off for the show. (It can rattle a bit and the pickup is also right there on the bridge.)
I usually don't have to tune mid-set so ongoing accessibility is not an issue for me.
I use both, depending. For a full electric set up (band is all electric instruments, bigger amps, full drum set) I use a pedal (Korg Pitch Black). It is downstream from my wireless receiver. At home and for acoustic gigs (acoustic guitar with small amp, cajon, me with small combo amp) I use a clip on (Super Snark).
I fully understand both sides and that is why I do it the way I do. The small gigs usually require fast setup/teardown, so I minimize my setup. AEB, guitar chord, and clip on.
I also don't like the clip on hanging off the headstock, so I hide it as best I can by positioning it so the display is behind the headstock. I find it easier to see there, too.
I fully understand both sides and that is why I do it the way I do. The small gigs usually require fast setup/teardown, so I minimize my setup. AEB, guitar chord, and clip on.
I also don't like the clip on hanging off the headstock, so I hide it as best I can by positioning it so the display is behind the headstock. I find it easier to see there, too.
So take them off for photo shoots.
Lol. You're a bit more diplomatic than I. : D
I use clip-ons because I don't have a pedalboard. Now, I often set up pedals (on the floor, obviously) but only one to three, and I don't want to add yet another -- especially a "no fun" pedal, as JimmyM called it. 
More importantly: I sometimes play gigs in cramped conditions where it would be awkward at best to set up pedal(s). Then there are gigs where I don't have time for whatever reason(s). And I sometimes play multi-band festival gigs where backline is provided: for those I just go K.I.S.S. and use my bass into backline, nothing else.
Bottom line: for me, it's a no-brainer to use a clip-on and not pedal.
More importantly: I sometimes play gigs in cramped conditions where it would be awkward at best to set up pedal(s). Then there are gigs where I don't have time for whatever reason(s). And I sometimes play multi-band festival gigs where backline is provided: for those I just go K.I.S.S. and use my bass into backline, nothing else.
Bottom line: for me, it's a no-brainer to use a clip-on and not pedal.
IME, this is only with cheaper clip-ons. My Korg, TC, and Peterson clip-ons work great even in loud onstage conditions. That includes low B string, even when tuned down a half-step.
The only exception I've encountered was at a multiple band showcase gig: my band was just offstage while another band was performing*, and I was trying to tune with a clip on while standing next to the loud FOH subwoofer. No surprise that I got erratic response from the clip-on, but it wasn't a problem: I was trying to be super-proactive, but it wasn't necessary because I was able to tune easily enough once my band got onstage.
*Would have been really awkward to use a pedal tuner in that situation... and it would have had to have been battery-powered.
I guess I can understand how some don't like the look of clip-ons, but I see guitarists and bassists use 'em all the time, and to me it looks perfectly ordinary.
I suppose the exception is when it's oriented so the tuner display is on the front of the headstock rather than the rear... but even then, no big deal.
P.S. The biggest challenge for me re clip-ons was when I got my custom headless Zon Sonus. Didn't take me long to figure out that the clip-on worked fine when attached to one of the two butt-end strap buttons. I also learned that it worked when attached to the strap itself, near the strap button!
P.P.S. I usually don't leave my clip-on attached to the bass I'm playing. My SOP is to move it to my backup bass. I'm not at all concerned about the look, but some clips are stronger than others, and I'd prefer not to swing my bass around and launch my tuner somewhere.
P.P.S. I usually don't leave my clip-on attached to the bass I'm playing. My SOP is to move it to my backup bass. I'm not at all concerned about the look, but some clips are stronger than others, and I'd prefer not to swing my bass around and launch my tuner somewhere.
As many times as I've been banned , I have to be. But there was a time.
I don't know. I use clippies for gigging. I think it's one of the best advances made for instruments in years.
Now, I wouldn't use one for shop intonation, that's what my strobe tuner is for.
And if you are one of those folks who uses a pedalboard, then yeah, the pedal tuner makes sense. But I have never used an effect on bass and don't plan on starting.
Interesting thread. A lot of folks reporting issues with interference from other instruments in the room. Never experienced that.
I use both pedal tuners and clip on for convenience and sometimes by necessity. I have been using the Zoom pedals so long I am used to the tuners and they work fine for me plus the mute function. I also have a bunch of different inexpensive clip on tuners on basses and guitars around the house and studio that get used regularly. I usually have both when I go to a gig because sometimes the Zoom pedals are not all that easy to see due to stage lighting or bright sunlight and having a clip on tuner has saved me more than once. I also regularly go to acoustic sessions where I don't take any effects and both my ABGs have a resident clip on tuner.
I still remember taking money from two gigs and shelling out big bucks for a Justina Quartz Tuner and for years being the only guy in the bands with a tuner and tuning everyone's instruments guitars, 12 strings, basses, banjos, mandolins even the electric keyboards. Before getting the tuner I still usually did that because i was usually the only one that could really hear tuning anyway.
It came with this nifty plastic case that had a place to keep a spare 9v battery which was a good GD thing because if you were really lucky it might last a month. I later replaced it with a Korg tuner IIRC.
I still remember taking money from two gigs and shelling out big bucks for a Justina Quartz Tuner and for years being the only guy in the bands with a tuner and tuning everyone's instruments guitars, 12 strings, basses, banjos, mandolins even the electric keyboards. Before getting the tuner I still usually did that because i was usually the only one that could really hear tuning anyway.
It came with this nifty plastic case that had a place to keep a spare 9v battery which was a good GD thing because if you were really lucky it might last a month. I later replaced it with a Korg tuner IIRC.
if I have my pedal board i use my pedal tuner, if I do not have it, I will use one of these
devnulljp
Supporting Member
I might be a bit ... something .. but I have a clip on strobe tuner, a strobe pedal tuner that acts as a mute and an old Boss Tu12 (with a real needle) in-line (I play lot of fretless and it saves me anxiety to be able to occasionally look at the tu12 when playing).
I don't like the look of the clip on at all. I would never perform with one attached on purpose. When I see them on a performers guitar, they diminish my respect for them lol. I've got a rack tuner, and my Zoom pedals have tuners built in, so I only use the clip on at home at my jam desk.
Play the rooms I (often) play and you'd feel differently. LOUD rooms. They often don't work in that environment.
