$75 isn't a lot for a pedal that keeps you honest. ... I've been playing for 45-years and bought maybe 5-tuners. I now have the TC Electronics that's built like a tank and I'll need to will that one to someone when I go. ... The question should be, "Why do distortion pedals cost $100 when they make your instrument sound broken?"
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Why are tuner pedals so expensive?
- Thread starter Danilixo
- Start date
The above pretty much sums it up for me.
Yes indeed. I detect a profit opportunity.
But worry not. If the demand is truly there, somebody with an engineering degree (whose first language is probably Mandarin) will be along shorty to fill the high quality/low cost tuner niche. As they always do.
In my old garage band days we didn't have tuners.
(Also had to walk 12 miles to school, in the snow, uphill, both ways.)
The keyboardist just gave us an E, we tuned E by ear, then tuned everything else against the 5th frets.
No keyboard, we picked one guitar and referenced his E string.
Didn't matter how far off we were from actual tuning so long as we were in tune with each other.
(Also had to walk 12 miles to school, in the snow, uphill, both ways.)
The keyboardist just gave us an E, we tuned E by ear, then tuned everything else against the 5th frets.
No keyboard, we picked one guitar and referenced his E string.
Didn't matter how far off we were from actual tuning so long as we were in tune with each other.
Try to put your foot on your phone, you will understand why a pedal costs so much.
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When I don't bring a pedalboard, i clip one of those cheap tuning things on my headstock and tune the C G and D string with that thing, the rest of the strings by ear. All my basses usually stay in tune for the entire evening.
But when i set up a pedalboard, the two pedals that go on there first are the tuner (mine's a pitchblack) and the Sansamp. The fact that a good pedal Tuner can tune even the E and B string quickly and without effort and that it doubles as a mute switch makes that pedal so valuable to me.
So, to sum up that thread:
-When you look at tuners in the shop, you might find that 50-120 bucks for one is too expensive.
-When you bought one and started using it, your mind about that will change.
But when i set up a pedalboard, the two pedals that go on there first are the tuner (mine's a pitchblack) and the Sansamp. The fact that a good pedal Tuner can tune even the E and B string quickly and without effort and that it doubles as a mute switch makes that pedal so valuable to me.
So, to sum up that thread:
-When you look at tuners in the shop, you might find that 50-120 bucks for one is too expensive.
-When you bought one and started using it, your mind about that will change.
Joking or not, this is a big part of it. Aside from paying for the guts of the tuner to do their job, you are paying for the box to stand up to repeated stomps and continue to work. The parts and materials of better boxes cost more.
Additionally, don't discount the overhead that goes into making every pedal. Packaging, distribution, and marketing all have a cost. Getting a unit to the shelf or even direct to your door requires handling and the burning of fuel, which costs the same for fancy delay pedals as it does for lowly tuners.
I wasn't joking, you can play the bass, the keyboards, the guitar, the flute, the trumpet on your phone... But it is not the best tool.
Ears are cheap.
I think too many players are overly obsessed with twisting tuners and hitting harmonics trying to make sure their strings fit perfectly on some digital green dot.
The more you develop your ears, the more you get a natural sense for playing in tune. Switching to upright after 20 years of bass guitar really hammered this point home for me.
When I first started, I was amazed to see these Nashville session types tune by ear when they first picked up the bass, then proceed to play in tune for 4 hours never stepping on a tuner pedal once.
I'm not saying tuner pedals are unnecessary. They're great tools and sometimes it nice to have an additional mute or bypass function. I'm just saying that more people should use their ears to develop a sense of being in tune so as not to be dependent on some little box.
The only problem is that harmonics are not tempered.
Unfortunately, my eyesight is so bad that neither pedal, nor phone would work for me at that distance.
Also my phone gets dropped at least once every other day onto hard tile floors. No otterbox. Still working great after nearly 3 years.
At this point, I'm pretty sure I COULD step on my phone if I wanted to. (In case you are wondering: LG Flex)
Ask yourself this though. If your tuner pedal could make phone calls, surf the web, act as a GPS and play music and video games would you carry it around with you everywhere?
I recently re-learned the value of a good tuner, after going cheap on one that was ok for guitar, but not so on bass, contradicting its owner's manual. Buying a tuner isn't exactly exciting, but I'm seeing it as a buying a pedal that will make my other pedals sound better. FWIW. ☺
Everything is possible, during a rehearsal, in 2007 or 2008 I think, an old telecaster plugged into an old and odd amp caught a mass and then a radio station.
Are you playing on stage? or tuning to your phone in a bedroom setting? Big difference my friend. My tuner in extremely valuable tool on stage. You don't want to be "that guy"....always out of tune or tuning to you phone on stage....UGHH. Sure I can work without a tuner if I have to. but why, when I can mute and tune in seconds between songs if needed. Back in the day, as mentioned above, we didn't have tuners and had to tune to either a keyboard, pitch-pipe or each other. I remember tuning to records to learn songs.
Yep!
I have the "mini" on my guitar pedal board, and I've been faking bass with an Irish band -- that gigs a lot! -- and I bought the standard model for my bass. I'm OK with the $120 for these.
Danilixo has been trying to respond but the tuner app he downloaded for free has made his phone crash. 
This would be my sig if it wasn't that I am afraid of having to pay royalties!!
We can arrange a payroll program.
Overheard at a U2 concert. ... "Edge, I dropped my phone, can you give me an E?"
