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Which tuner?

#22
Lownote38 said:
$19.99 will get you a Snark which just clips on your headstock. It's cheap, durable and just as accurate as the Boss tuner. It picks up my low B on my 5 string just fine. That and I can tune when I'm not even plugged in to anything.
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I had one of the red Snarks, and wasn't impressed at all - I gave it away, actually...

Biggbass said:
Between the two you listed definitely the Pitchblack. it's a good tuner...
and much easier to see in daylight too. I sold my Boss tuner after getting the Pitchblack.
First time I used it I knew I'd never use the Boss again.
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+1...

sillyfabe said:
TC Electronics Polytune MINI: doubles as a mute switch, tiny footprint and can tune my drop A like a champ
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A downside to the Mini is that it cannot run on a 9v battery, and needs a power supply...

AaronVonRock said:
I have a Pitchblack and am pleased with it. It has a larger and simpler display than Boss which makes it easier to see for me.
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+1...

mmbongo said:
TC Polytuner runs circles around both of them and costs the same/less. Faster tuning, MUCH better display, better build quality. Polytuner or Turbo Tuner are really the only ones worth looking at.
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I disagree - I've had a Pitchblack for a couple of years, and borrowed a Polytune from a guitarist friend for a couple of gigs... I prefer the Pitchblack's display - IMO, it's easier to read, and MUCH easier in daylight... The Pitchblack tunes plenty fast and accurate enough for any gigging bassist, and is built quite well, too... The Turbo Tuner is a step above, but is also more expensive...


- georgestrings
 
#23
All good points.

FWIW, I had the original Polytune and was very happy with it. Replaced with it with a Polytune Mini and even happier. Much faster response times and brighter display. Takes up a tiny amount of room on my pedal board which I like. True, no battery option but I've got clip-on tuners and my iPhone to cover that. It's the rare case that I use batteries in any floor pedal. I recently pickup up a couple of One Spot's off amazon for $14 ea. For gig situations, I want fast, small and easy to read. For setups, still use my original blue StroboStomp.
 
#24
Britbonic said:
All good points.

FWIW, I had the original Polytune and was very happy with it. Replaced with it with a Polytune Mini and even happier. Much faster response times and brighter display. Takes up a tiny amount of room on my pedal board which I like. True, no battery option but I've got clip-on tuners and my iPhone to cover that. It's the rare case that I use batteries in any floor pedal. I recently pickup up a couple of One Spot's off amazon for $14 ea. For gig situations, I want fast, small and easy to read. For setups, still use my original blue StroboStomp.
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Totally understandable - I was approaching it from the angle of not using a pedalboard... I actually did consider the Mini, as it's compact form would fit nicely in a laptop bag with my Streamliner - until I discovered it required a power supply... I don't mean to infer that is a negative - just putting the info out there...

When I'm not using my racked Mesa setup(w/DTR-2000 tuner), I've been using an XDS-PLUS and Pitchblack with my Streamliner - and that's worked out quite well... I could see a Turbo Tuner in my future, though - they're probably the best pedal tuner on the market today... FWIW, I also have a Strobostomp - which has been very good, but is pretty big - and doesn't track as fast as the Turbo... works well enough for setups, though...

- georgestrings
 
#27
In the last few years I have used a Korg DT 4 modified for a 9 v supply on stage but it has an auto cut off if no signal is fed to it. Got tired of that and got a Snark pedal today, works well and though the response is slower than the Korg, I am happy enough to leave it as a pedalboard tuner.
 
#28
Boss....you can't go wrong. Super sturdy, uber reliability, picks everything, no matter what instrument is connected, super stable and smartly slow riding leds for easy tuning, lots of choices, can power many other boss units with a simple additional cable.

I have used a few clip tuners because on the paper they are more comfortable, I have still to find one that is fast and precise. My bass produces huge vibrations on the headstock and I think this is the problem, piezo tuners can go mad...
 
#30
I use the Korg pitchblack and it's really good, I particularly like the size of the display, compared to the Boss. The only problem that I have had with it is that the jack sockets are set quite a bit lower than on Boss pedals. This caused a bit of a problem for me when putting it on my pedal board, as my cables wouldn't fit over the edge of my board with the pedal at the end of the chain. It was easily solved by putting it after an eq pedal, but worth considering.
 
#32
I'm in the market for a tuner as well. Thought I had my mind made up on the TC Poly, but was looking at the Turbo after reading through this thread. I also came across this demo:



Decisions, Decisions........
 
#37
SoonerMatt said:
Honestly you can't go wrong with the Korg Pitchblack, Boss TU-2/3, TC Electornic Polytune, or Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. Just pick up whichever has the best deal.
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I disagree on the TU-2. I've never understood how a tuner with +/- 3 cents accuracy could be the "industry standard". At +/- 1 cent accuracy, the TU-3 is better but you can you find tuners with better accuracy for around the same amount of money.
 

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