View Full Version : Electronic tuner for mandolin?
sailor
Jan-11-2005, 5:02pm
Just got a new OLD mandolin! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif Not sure I am tuning it correctly and don't know anyone else who plays one. So, can anyone suggest a good electonic tuner to use with this. It's a very old mandolin and I don't want to damage it by tuning too high!
glauber
Jan-11-2005, 5:20pm
Any electronic tuner will work. The difference between a $20 and $200 tuner is very small. I think the Intellitouch PT-2 (or PT-1, more expensive and with more bells&whistles) is convenient, but anything will do. If you want to go high end, get a Peterson VS-II pocket strobe tuner.
mandroid
Jan-11-2005, 5:51pm
reccomend a basic chromatic, most all have a microphone to sit in front of you, if background is too loud, a bridge mounted alligator clip piezo with 1/4" plug , fixes that.
PT 1 as an example feature added will recalibrate to stuff like pianos that are uniformly off, so youre in tune with them, and old recordings that are tuned to themselves , but not A=440 exactly.
I've used everything from the $8 jobs to the Peterson. While I always thought I was in tune with the less expensive jobs, the Pete really makes a difference to me. I'm a stickler for being perfectly in tune and it makes my playing sound so much better (to me anyway).
The cheaper ones are fine though, when it's not handy.
Christopher Howard-Williams
Jan-12-2005, 2:20am
I thought the question was as much about pitch as which tuner. Just in case it is the mandolin is tuned to G D A E (the tuner won't tell you that).
And by the way I have a Sabine which does an ok job, but I would recommend a tuner with backlight (mine doesn't) for dark places (like in the wings) and the strobes give greater accuracy (mine doesn't have them) and are not only available on the more expensive tuners.
sailor
Feb-02-2005, 6:33am
Just got an Intellitouch pt-2. Works great for my purposes so far. Very easy to use.
keith_rowan
Feb-02-2005, 2:30pm
you can get a korg
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws....53&rd=1 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22672&item=3779033553&rd=1)
i dunno allot about this stuff (yet) but i saw the same one in different music stores for arround 30..
lookin forward to my first lesson tomorrow!
be well
keith
peterfret
Jun-18-2011, 12:19pm
Try this online tuner (http://www.e-violins.com/tuner.aspx), it is suitable for mandolina.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hiJZIp0PUM
CelticDude
Jun-18-2011, 12:27pm
The Snark clip-on tuner is quite good, and on sale at Elderly (at least it was...) Either the blue or red model will work, as well as the basic black. The difference is in built-in microphone vs. just piezo (picks up the vibrations), as well as tap metronome. (There's a recent thread on Snarks here in Equipment.) I have a clip-on Korg that also works fine, although I do like the Snarks better.
allenhopkins
Jun-19-2011, 12:44pm
...(There's a recent thread on Snarks here in Equipment.)...
Current Snark thread. (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?66624-Snark-Tuner-SN1-v.-SN2)
I have a couple of the SN-2's ("the red ones") and I'm pretty pleased. Prices are all over the map, but you can get 'em for around $13 on-line; here's (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=snark+tuner&cp=7&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1271&bih=836&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3390979415983297&sa=X&ei=6TT-Tc6uJI7pgQeCq4nsCg&sqi=2&ved=0CDEQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers) a Google shopping search.
Surprisingly, some of the bigger retailers like Guitar Center and Musician's Friend seem to want $30 or so, so shopping around's a real good idea.
Jon Hall
Jun-19-2011, 3:40pm
A red Snark (SN-2) would be my choice.
Fstpicker
Jun-19-2011, 10:11pm
Another Snark lover here. And yes, I have a red one for my mandolin. Hey, it matches the color of my mandolin better than the blue one, IMO.
Jeff
Bill Snyder
Jun-19-2011, 10:27pm
Even threads that are over 6 years old can be of interest if brought back up. :)
Wayne Bagley
Jun-21-2011, 1:17pm
I have the red Snark and I love it.
Don't use any of my Korg's since I got it.
mandroid
Jun-21-2011, 8:05pm
Curious ? Any tuner apps for cell phones out there ?
Universal, work with any phone?
gregjones
Jun-22-2011, 9:07pm
Driod.......Doesn't Peterson have a phone app for StroboSoft??
Dave Greenspoon
Jun-23-2011, 9:45am
Had the PT-2, worked fine but missed a backlight. Tried a couple since, and I've been very happy with the Sabine Zoid.
I use a Crafter TG-200H, this is great for guitar, bass guitar and mandolin. It's one of the best chromatic tuners I've used and they're only about £16/$25 off Evilbay!!!
Paul Busman
Jun-25-2011, 7:03am
My two cents for the Red Snark. Works great, it's inexpensive and the red color makes it hard to lose. It's actually a sort of subdued flat metallic red, not a totally in-your-face fire engine red.
Rob Gerety
Jul-03-2011, 1:44pm
Red Snark.
mandroid
Jul-03-2011, 2:26pm
Tuning my Mandolin to the Piano, works fine, it sure is easier to find,
than the little electronic clip on tuner.
:whistling:
Mike Bunting
Jul-03-2011, 2:41pm
Tuning my Mandolin to the Piano, works fine, it sure is easier to find,
than the little electronic clip on tuner.
:whistling:
Yup, A piano is a hard thing to lose! :)
Tuning my Mandolin to the Piano, works fine, it sure is easier to find,
than the little electronic clip on tuner.
:whistling:
Hard to do at the festival. :)
mandroid
Jul-03-2011, 3:06pm
depends if the piano player is in tune, then I tune to the variation on that piano..
had a good ol time at the weekly tavern jam , and the bar-room piano had a variation of tunings in any given octave
so a play it by ear average value was given to those 4 string pitches on the mandolin.
In Festival jams , like our local one, we tune to each other , odds are one of us remembered
their widget tuner, to begin in tune.
As sobriety slips away , it seems to matter , proportionally, Less. ;)
Doug Brock
Jul-07-2011, 8:59pm
Yes, there are tuners for smart phones. I use gStrings (free) on my Android phone from time to time. Peterson sells an app for iPhone family. gStrings does nicely in a quiet room. For a noisier environment, I just use one of my many (way too many) contact-type tuners.
HTH AMPS
Jul-09-2011, 6:04am
I've just got one of those cheapy Cherub ones off ebay - works fine, job done.
tbyron
Jul-09-2011, 7:14am
Another vote for the red Snark.
Garyinboston
Jul-11-2011, 6:50pm
I use the $ 19 Zoid in the chromatic mode and it works just fine.
Gary
mandroid
Jul-11-2011, 8:05pm
Yup, folks seem to vote for what they spent their dosh on .. :whistling:
allenhopkins
Jul-11-2011, 8:38pm
Yup, folks seem to vote for what they spent their dosh on...
True, but I had used a bunch of different ones over the past five years: Intellitouch, Korg, Meisel, and then Snark. All of 'em worked, and I wasn't dissatisfied with any, but the Snark has the features and price to make it a favorite. So it's not just "brand loyalty" (a feature for which I'm not noted).
One thing I did notice, though: one of the rubber pads on the clamp started detaching, and I had to Duco it back on. Maybe a weak spot in the design.