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Tuner Rant

RoadRanger

RoadRanger

Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2004
8,664
8,883
NE CT
cacophony.aspinock.com
#1
So, years back we learned to tune with a fork ( I still do once in a while to freak the kiddies out ;) ). Forward to a few years ago when I started playing again after a 20+ year gap:

I had a couple cheap handhelds which worked mostly OK. A couple years back I bought a cheapie pedal tuner - $16 for shipped, new off fleaBay but it doesn't work on the "E" unless I "chime" it and even then it's slow :( . OTOH it uses cheap AA cells and goes for months on a set of batteries - and works great as a buffer for my passives :) .

I bought a used Planet Waves tuner pedal for cheap ($20 shipped) a couple weeks back but decided I don't really like it - big, heavy, and even the strobe mode isn't very responsive IMO. I've offered it up to the guitarist at the jam last Sunday, he'll probably buy it off me as he doesn't have a pedal tuner.

I'm really GASin' for one of them Turbo Tuners but $130 = ouch :( .

I really like the tuner in my used Zoom 506 II multieffects pedal ($25 shipped from fleaBay last year) but I only use that when using a head that has no overdrive (AKA at one of my multiple rehearsal spots) as it kinda sucks down the batteries (you can't turn the display off) - my main gigging head is the TH-350 so I just need a tuner for that. Most tuners don't use much juice when not in tune mode so are happy to run for a few months on battery - I hate having to find a place to plug one in :( .

Co-incidentally also last Sunday Guitar Center emailed me a $20 "come back" coupon so I went on there and found a used Korg DT-10 for $20 so just had to pay $6.50 shipping and tax :) . Those seem to be well liked on TB. Just got it in today and am liking it so far, even came with a ProCell installed and nicely (but not excessively) relic'd ;) . Very responsive and tracks my low "D" well (I tune "D" standard).

Oh, and to complete the rant I also ordered up one of these last week to mess with people's heads with a rehearsals:
Intellitouch Freedom One Digital Wireless System | Musician's Friend
AFAIK the receiver sucks down expensive 9V alkalines big time so it'll have to be plugged in :( .

So, what have all you all been through for tuners over the years? Do you run them on batteries or plug them in?
 
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#3
TC PolyTune, yes. I had the original one for years. Just upgraded to the "mini" one and gave the other one to my guitar player. It is a saying among my people that a good pedal tuner is a blessing on your rig. You can mute your rig and tune without turning away from the audience or even taking your hands off your bass. My PolyTune is quiet and quick and even I can see it with my bad eyesight. Worth every penny.
 
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#4
Yah, I see folks here mostly using the PolyTube (II?), PitchBlack or DT-10, Turbo Tuner, or Boss TU-2/3. Personally I like to try out different stuff across the cost spectrum just because I can. Yah, if I had any sense I'da just ordered up the Turbo Tuner as a true strobe would be my weapon of choice. Most any will do the job but where's the fun in that ;) ?
 
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#5
RoadRanger said:
So, years back we learned to tune with a fork ( I still do once in a while to freak the kiddies out ;) ). Forward to a few years ago when I started playing again after a 20+ year gap:

I had a couple cheap handhelds which worked mostly OK. A couple years back I bought a cheapie pedal tuner - $16 for shipped, new off fleaBay but it doesn't work on the "E" unless I "chime" it and even then it's slow :( . OTOH it uses cheap AA cells and goes for months on a set of batteries - and works great as a buffer for my passives :) .

I bought a used Planet Waves tuner pedal for cheap ($20 shipped) a couple weeks back but decided I don't really like it - big, heavy, and even the strobe mode isn't very responsive IMO. I've offered it up to the guitarist at the jam last Sunday, he'll probably buy it off me as he doesn't have a pedal tuner.

I'm really GASin' for one of them Turbo Tuners but $130 = ouch :( .

I really like the tuner in my used Zoom 506 II multieffects pedal ($25 shipped from fleaBay last year) but I only use that when using a head that has no overdrive (AKA at one of my multiple rehearsal spots) as it kinda sucks down the batteries (you can't turn the display off) - my main gigging head is the TH-350 so I just need a tuner for that. Most tuners don't use much juice when not in tune mode so are happy to run for a few months on battery - I hate having to find a place to plug one in :( .

Co-incidentally also last Sunday Guitar Center emailed me a $20 "come back" coupon so I went on there and found a used Korg DT-10 for $20 so just had to pay $6.50 shipping and tax :) . Those seem to be well liked on TB. Just got it in today and am liking it so far, even came with a ProCell installed and nicely (but not excessively) relic'd ;) . Very responsive and tracks my low "D" well (I tune "D" standard).

Oh, and to complete the rant I also ordered up one of these last week to mess with people's heads with a rehearsals:
Intellitouch Freedom One Digital Wireless System | Musician's Friend
AFAIK the receiver sucks down expensive 9V alkalines big time so it'll have to be plugged in :( .

So, what have all you all been through for tuners over the years? Do you run them on batteries or plug them in?[/QUOTE

I used a lot and all of them had their pros and cons. But as for the most memorable

Korg rack units. I had the flat front white one first it looked good, tracked well but I didn't like running my signal through it because it sucked tone, so I always used the tuner out on every amp or pre amp I used it with. I got the dtr1000 next. If korg would've made them with a better bypass I never would have sold it. It just worked, you could tune from 30ft away in the dark with no issues. Tracking was the best I've see still to this day. Low b is no problem, it even picks up low f#. But again like its predecessor running through it sucked tone so I used the tuner out again.

I've always used a korg handheld when working on basses(restringing, intonation and action tweaks and so on)

On to pedals. I've yet to have a pedal tuner that tracked super low like the korg 1000 rack But when it comes to pedals I've always been about using the tuner in a pedal that does other stuff and isn't just a tuner. Because I just think a pedal tuner is a waste of space on a pedalboard and if your going to put it on your amp you might as well get an korg pitch black portable. So for all of 2013 and 2014 I used the tuner in the line 6 m5. The m5 tuner works as good as most people need. Tracks low b fine but struggles with tunings lower than that (when id tune low g# and f# I would just play the harmonic on the 12th fret) currently I'm using the tuner On the shure glxd wireless and it works good enough for me. Not using any tunings below low b except for one song in aeadg right now. It's actually a great wireless system that just happens to have a tuner. If your curious what it looks like check it out.
image.jpg
Click to expand...
 
#7
The only rant I have is for people that don't have a pedal tuner or refuse to use one.

I don't know why guitar guys think it's OK to tune by ear all week at home, and then like we should tune by ear to wherever their tuning ended up.... Get a pedal tuner so you can tune every so often or I'm not playing with you. PERIOD.

It took me alot of griping and pointing out on our perpetual rehearsal recordings "see how out of tune you were, that's a damn shame because it was a great take" and finally everyone understood that it was so so so much harder to fight it than it was to simply be in tune.

Having said all of that, I've had a Korg Pitchblack for some years now, and I'm thinking of trying something more responsive (quicker, I guess). All in all it's been fine, but seems like the LEDs leading me to pitch are always flickering one way or another.
 
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#8
I also feel very strongly about pedal tuning. I think even people with no other pedals should have one. Why? Because as I pointed out before you can tune without turning your back or lifting your hands off your instrument. It has the added bonus of muting everything such as during a break. Headstock tuners can't do this. Rack tuners can't do this. Tuners built in to your amp can't do it either.

As for not having a tuner at all? Absurd.
 
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#9
OK, let's see:
RoadRanger said:
I had a couple cheap handhelds which worked mostly OK....

A couple years back I bought a cheapie pedal tuner - $16 for shipped...

I bought a used Planet Waves tuner pedal for cheap ($20 shipped)...

I really like the tuner in my used Zoom 506 II multieffects pedal ($25 shipped from fleaBay last year)...

Oh, and to complete the rant I also ordered up one of these last week to mess with people's heads with a rehearsals:
Intellitouch Freedom One Digital Wireless System | Musician's Friend...

I'm really GASin' for one of them Turbo Tuners but $130 = ouch :( .
Click to expand...
why "ouch"? you spent more than that on your collection of disappointing "cheap" tuners ;)

that said...
RoadRanger said:
Co-incidentally also last Sunday Guitar Center emailed me a $20 "come back" coupon so I went on there and found a used Korg DT-10 for $20 so just had to pay $6.50 shipping and tax :)
Click to expand...
...score!

the DT-10 is legit, besides the boss TU-2 or 3 it might be the last of the really "pro" buffered pedal tuners, korg always made great digital tuners.
 
#10
Back in the old days, I tuned by ear ;) Then I finally broke down and got the Boss TU-12, then the TU-12h, then I got tired of having to deal with the TU-12h's size and lack of modern features and just bought one of those little Korg CA-30 pocket tuners, and used it for years, then I got a Hartke FT-50 pocket tuner and used it for a couple of years. And now I have a Korg Pitchblack on my board, I still have the little Korg and Hartke tuners, and when I'm not doubling on upright, I ditch the Pitchblack and use a Planet Waves clip-on tuner, which has been just as good as any of them for me on the gig. Wouldn't use it for setting intonation, but for tuning before a set? Sure. I also have a Snark clip-on tuner, but it's bigger and not as well-built as the Planet Waves and eats batteries.

But now I want to get rid of my Pitchblack and get a much smaller pedal tuner. Saw some last night on Amazon and Ebay for less than $40, but I'm getting convinced that the TC Polytune Mini is the way to go for a small tuner.
 
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#16
scottfeldstein said:
I also feel very strongly about pedal tuning. I think even people with no other pedals should have one. Why? Because as I pointed out before you can tune without turning your back or lifting your hands off your instrument. It has the added bonus of muting everything such as during a break. Headstock tuners can't do this. Rack tuners can't do this. Tuners built in to your amp can't do it either.
Click to expand...
OK, technically headstock tuners can do this, turn your bass volume off then tune; i'd still take a pedal, basses put out a way stronger electric signal than they do an "acoustic" signal, which means better tracking and faster tuning (especially in a club environment with pounding subs).
scottfeldstein said:
As for not having a tuner at all? Absurd.
Click to expand...
utterly agreed!

as a guitar player i can attest that this is actually one of our pet peeves with bass players, they think they can skate by without a stage tuner, that nonsense like "i'll tune once before i plug in" or "gimme an E" followed by 30 seconds of loud, annoying 5th-7th fret harmonic chimes is actually good enough.
 
#19
I had a GC Branded TU-12 copy for decades, it died because the battery leaked all over the circuit board about 10 years ago.

I Have a CA-30, and a couple of other cheapies. Once I got more than three instruments, I got tired of the inconsistently of using them for intonation, so I got a Boss TU-12EX, very happy with everything except the angle of the display window (it should also be matte finished to prevent glare).

It's very accurate, and has helped me better judge the quality of my cheapos for everyday use. It's shown me the tuner in my Mustang III and Bronco 40 are more accurate than the tuners in my Digitech RP-255 and Line 6 bass floor pod. It also shows me the CA-30 is much more accurate plugged in over using the mic (obvious, I know). I Had a Snark, and have D'Addario, and Reverb.com clip-on's. The snark was the worst (gave it away), the D'A is meh on a bass, and the $3 Reverb tuner is the best cheapo I have (not as good as the Boss, but for everyday use, almost as good as the built in Fender ones). For $3, it's probably the cheapest unified tuner solution for a band.

Were I gigging, I'd want everyone on the same brand of tuner.
 

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