Accurate Electronic Tuner?

[Mark and two Cats]

Can someone recommend an accurate clamp-on tuner? The one I got on eBay tells me that one string of a course I just tuned is good, then tells me the same for the next string, but I can hear a difference.

TY!

[rubydubyr]

Snark, its a vibration tuner, you can get one for about $35. Or you can download an app called gStrings to your phone.

[Rob Meyer]

Was using a Snark, which was ok, but switched to a Planet Waves NS micro recently. I like it a lot better. Seems more accurate to me, but of course ymmv.

http://www.amazon.com/DAddario-NS-Mi.../dp/B005FKF1PY

Some folks love the Peterson stobe tuner, but it is expensive and has a bit of a learning curve.

[Astro]

Get the Snark. I have both the Snark and the micro tuner and both are good for the money. The micro has an attachment accessory for the planet waves capo and that is the best thing Ive found for guitar because you can quickly retune as you capo up the fretboard or just keep the capo on the headstock to tune standard. But I still like the Snark and use it on my mando because its display is easier to see. It does eat batteries but its simple, cheap, easy to use, and just plain works.

But for guitar, the micro tuner on this capo is The Bomb !

Click on the second picture to see the combo.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acces...es-artist-capo

[Ivan Kelsall]

I have 2 Intelli IMT900 tuners that i bought,one for my Weber & another for my Lebeda.They work ok,but they're not in the same league as my Red Snark.The Snark is the only tuner i've used that will respond to the notes produced by almost 'slack' strings.In other words,as soon as you begin to tune up,you know exactly where you are. The display could be a bit brighter,but it's still good enough,but for tuning,it's hard to beat the Snark at it's price,
Ivan

[Polecat]

I have a Snark, and it does the job, more or less. I can reproduce the phenomenon the OP describes (both strings "in tune" according to the tuner but perceptibly different) with it, but with a little common sense its a useful tool. As far as I can tell, the Snark, along with all better tuners, claims an accuracy of one cent (1/100 of a semitone), but I am not sure that I believe it - if you go to the Wikipedia page on musical cents, there are sound files offering notes with differing cent deviations, to hear what they sound like, and judging by that, the tolerance of the Snark appears to me to be a lot more than 1 cent (I would guess, around 5, but don't hold me to it).
Important is how one uses a tuner - if you hit the string around the "sweet spot" with the pick flat to the string, you produce the complex tone with a lot of harmonics which sounds pleasing, but tends to confuse a tuner, which only wants to hear one frequency. If you pluck the string exactly in the middle, using either the pad of your finger or holding the pick at an angle, the tone you produce will be closer to the "pure" frequency the string should be tuned to, and the tuner will react more reliably. That's been my experience at least, but IMHO there's no substitute for ears, and it is sensible to use them as often as possible to tune up in order to stay in practice, and not to rely too heavily on digital tuners.

[Mandoplumb]

I never try to " twin" strings with a tuner. I get one tuned to pitch then twin them by ear. It's easier to do at the octive instead of open.

[Rob Meyer]

but IMHO there's no substitute for ears, and it is sensible to use them as often as possible to tune up in order to stay in practice, and not to rely too heavily on digital tuners.

Good point! A digital tuner is a good way to start the process, but final tuning is always best done by ear. Check unison strings against each other, fifths and octaves between courses and make adjustments as necessary. Your ear can also balance out any slight intonation issues your instrument might have that are not easily resolved with a tuner.

[Astro]

Some of you guys have great ears. Mine are less developed and if the Snark says its tuned, well thats good enough to me. At least until I develop a better ear (if ever).

Also, one of the biggest reasons I use a snark is that the places I play, I can't hear a d@mn thing when trying to tune. There is no chance of tuning by ear or with anything other than a vibration sensor. There is too much back ground noise. Only once I start wailing can I tell if I'm close to tune or not. And when you play that loud its pretty obvious to everyone so you better be there ahead of time. The Snark is great getting me there in that environment.

[pops1]

The Peterson is most likely the most accurate clip on you could get. It is a strobe style so there is a slight learning curve, but not all that much. It is more accurate than other clip on tuners. I could look, but if i remember it is accurate to 1/10 of a cent, most others are + or - 1 cent. It is a little larger also so not easily carried in the case.

[Perry]

The Peterson is most likely the most accurate clip on you could get. It is a strobe style so there is a slight learning curve, but not all that much. It is more accurate than other clip on tuners. I could look, but if i remember it is accurate to 1/10 of a cent, most others are + or - 1 cent. It is a little larger also so not easily carried in the case.

+1

The Peterson is bar far the best I've tried.....and I've tried and owned many.
The "mandolin" sweetened tuning setting is especially useful for tuning mandolins

[Steve L]

I like the Snarks a lot...battery life has never been an issue for me and I have about 5 of them. You can get one from Amazon for a lot less than $35.

[StevieBGoode]

Peterson smartphone app $10
Peterson smartphone adaptor $11
Korg CM-200 clip-on contact mike $15

Very accurate and works with any instrument that vibrates or plugs in.

-- Steve

[Mark and two Cats]

Thanks to all for your opinions and advice :)

[John Soper]

Mark with two Cats:

Any tuner would work better if you moved your grommets on the other side of the bridge, or if you're going for the "prepared mandolin concept" if the grommets were in a straight line, rather than staggered, like your photo... :-)

[Astro]

Mark with two Cats:

Any tuner would work better if you moved your grommets on the other side of the bridge, or if you're going for the "prepared mandolin concept" if the grommets were in a straight line, rather than staggered, like your photo... :-)

Wow, good pick up John Soper. String suppressers in front of the bridge ?

[Pete Jenner]

I've had people ask me to put grommets in front of my bridge. Some have even been kind enough to take out their ear plugs and offer them to me to use as grommets.

[afhusband]

I love the Peterson Stroboclip. I have used the "Sweetened" tunings before, but I use it on guitar as well so I keep it on standard chromatic.