Anyone tried a Planet Waves NS micro tuner?

[Johnny60]

Ordered one last night. It should be here tomorrow - will report back and let you all know!

[MikeEdgerton]

For anyone that plays guitar or banjo as well they sell these two products:

Guitar

Banjo

[Chris Daniels]

I liked the one I got with a box of 4 sets of strings a while back. The display and accuracy all seemed fine.
BUT, I seemed to have a lot of issues with buzzing on the headstock from it, so I went back to a black Snark.
It doesn't sound like anybody else has had that issue....so maybe I need to try again. Right now it's living on my mandola.

Nope, never had that problem even when swapping mine between 4 mandos, 3 guitars, a banjo and a uke. Perhaps it was headstock placement?

Which causes me to wonder if there's an optimal location for mounting it on a particular instrument. On some of mine there's a very small area it will fit (I prefer to have the screen on the back of the headstock) so there's not much of an option. On others my main concern is aesthetic in not obscuring any inlay. On my Northfield, which is what I play 95% of the time, there are a few options but I have it mounted at the top right where the scroll starts. I've found this makes it easiest see the screen even though my hand gets in the way tuning the Ds.

I remember seeing Thile use one so in checking a recent PHC video it looks like he has one mounted with screen on top to the Loar's small scroll just above the D tuning peg. I guess if it can be used reliably there it can be used just about anywhere it will fit.

C.

[EdHanrahan]

... inadvertently hit the button that turned the display upside down.

The original NS Micro (4-5 years ago?) had only 2 buttons, one for on/off and one to adjust A between 430-450, defaulting to A=440. It also defaults to "upside down" display, mounting on the back of the headstock. Sometimes having fewer choices forces you to make a smarter move!

FWIW, mine's been on a '72 Martin for maybe 18 months now, with no sign of affecting the finish.

[John Flynn]

I have TAS (Tuner Acquisition Syndrome). I can't afford a lot of instruments, but everytime I see a cool new tuner, I wind up buying it, so I have drawer full. I have two PW NS Micros and there are some pros and cons for me:

Pros:

• Unobtrusive
• Easy to read
• Accurate

Cons:

• I find the clamps come loose on them pretty easily.
• I just changed the battery in one of them and now it doesn't work at all. Believe me, I tried everything: Made sure the battery was good, I put it in right, etc. The tuner just died.
• I have had bad prior experiences with PW customer service. By contrast, Snark customer service is fantastic!

My current favorite is the DeltaLabs CT-30

[bratsche]

I've had my Korg CA-30 pocket electronic tuner for probably 15-18 years, and it still has the original battery, still working. I'm not even sure what kind it uses. Don't the clip-on tuners turn themselves off automatically if you forget?

bratsche

[Bertram Henze]

Don't the clip-on tuners turn themselves off automatically if you forget?

If left alone, yes. But when clipped on while playing, they'll never fall asleep unless you explicitly switch them off.

[AndyPanda]

I've got the older version of the Planet Waves tuner - it DOES turn itself off after about a minute, even if you are playing. I don't know if the current model does that.

[mcgroup53]

I had an issue where the tuner intended the soft varnish finish of my Northfield F5 and left marks I couldn't buff out. Became an issue when I sold the instrument. Now I use the PolyTune Clip-On exclusively. Much more accurate, and it hasn't left the slightly mark on my Kimble headstock

[AndyPanda]

I've got the older NS Mini (two buttons only) and it seems pretty accurate and works very well. But reading reviews I found a lot of people saying they don't like the NS Micro as much as the old Mini (the Mini is no longer made apparently). I did see a lot of people liking that the Micro can flip the screen - but I found I can flip the screen on my Mini using both buttons simultaneously though that is not mentioned in the documentation that came with it.

I haven't tried the Micro - do you guys find that it is accurate?

[michaelcj]

One for the guitar, one for the fiddle, one for the mando….. Great in a noisy room.

[FLATROCK HILL]

...I did see a lot of people liking that the Micro can flip the screen - but I found I can flip the screen on my Mini using both buttons simultaneously though that is not mentioned in the documentation that came with it.

I have an old NS Mini also and would love to be able to flip the display. After reading your post, I gave it a try...no luck. That's cool that you figured out how to to the screen-flip without any instructions. I've been unsuccessful so far. Mine just shuts off when the power switch is pushed regardless of whether the other button (frequency) is pushed along with it. Is there some trick to the technique that I'm missing?

[AndyPanda]

I tried to figure out the exact sequence and I cannot say for sure what it is ... but by turning it off then pressing the right button (change A=440) and hold it ... then press the power button you get a strange screen that shows the battery and bunch of other cryptic symbols .... then I let off the power button while still holding the pitch button. It doesn't always work so I'm sure there's a specific sequence that I'm getting by accident. Anyway ... I tried about 10 times and manged to flip the screen upside down and back again twice out of 10 tries.

EDIT: Ah, I tried turning it on, then holding down first the A=440 button then pressing power and holding both buttons down (you should see the cryptic screen) and then releasing the power button and it shuts down. When you turn it back on it should be flipped. I was able to repeat it several times in a row but it still may be some specific timing in how long you hold before you release that I'm not sure of.

[pops1]

I have an old NS Mini also and would love to be able to flip the display. After reading your post, I gave it a try...no luck. That's cool that you figured out how to to the screen-flip without any instructions. I've been unsuccessful so far. Mine just shuts off when the power switch is pushed regardless of whether the other button (frequency) is pushed along with it. Is there some trick to the technique that I'm missing?

The ones that flip the display have 4 buttons, the older ones had only 2 and i'm not sure that had that feature.

[AndyPanda]

The ones that flip the display have 4 buttons, the older ones had only 2 and i'm not sure that had that feature.

That's the whole point of my post - I have the old one with two buttons that everyone believes doesn't have the function - but I've been able to flip mine with a combination of holding both buttons down.

[pops1]

I wonder if there are instructions on line, or if anyone still has the instructions that came with their tuner.

[AndyPanda]

I wonder if there are instructions on line, or if anyone still has the instructions that came with their tuner.

Here's the manual --- there is no mention of flipping the screen. I only discovered it by accident.

[Bertram Henze]

I've got the older version of the Planet Waves tuner - it DOES turn itself off after about a minute, even if you are playing.

I used to have an older PW tuner that did that, too. I found the impatience of the device unnerving, cheekily switching off on me in the middle of tuning. Much better now.

[FLATROCK HILL]

EDIT: Ah, I tried turning it on, then holding down first the A=440 button then pressing power and holding both buttons down (you should see the cryptic screen) and then releasing the power button and it shuts down. When you turn it back on it should be flipped. I was able to repeat it several times in a row but it still may be some specific timing in how long you hold before you release that I'm not sure of.

Hey Andy...Thanks again for the info, especially thanks for taking the time to post the photos. I was able to get the 'cryptic-screen' as you call it, but no success with the display flip.

My tuner looks exactly like yours in outward appearance but your display is slightly different than mine. My 'cryptic-screen' is entirely green with none of the orange hue I see in your pictures. Also mine shows a 'sharp' symbol as well as a 'flat' symbol simultaneously. Looks like yours is showing two 'sharp' symbols.

So...my guess is that mine does not have that feature...hidden or otherwise. Still, it's really cool I think that you discovered it in yours.

[Johnny60]

Ok, quick update as promised. The new PW NS micro headstock tuner arrived today. So far, I'm very pleased. It seems to be very accurate and easy to read. And it's incredibly small!

Will test it out tomorrow night at a jam.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

[Phil Goodson]

They are great for clipping to the bridge of an upright bass too. I have had one clipped on for several years. Unobtrusive & works great.

Had some finish damage when left on a varnished mando for hours.
Have another on a 'catalyzed varnish' finish with no damage after over 5 years without removal.

[MikeEdgerton]

It should be noted that most tuners can possibly leave a mark when left clipped on your instrument for extended periods of time. We have threads regarding this going back years.

[Johnny60]

Ok guys, final post from me on this topic. Took it to a jam last night. Quite a dark room. No problems with seeing the tuner display, zero problems with accuracy of tuning, and no issues with other instruments "throwing" the tuner off course. Very nice!

[McIrish]

I picked up two of these the other day. I was surprised at how small it is. You really don't get the reality of it till you get the package. So far, I like it. Super small and fairly accurate. It doesn't get in the way like my Snark tuners do. I may pick up a couple more. Pretty handy to have around.

[Rob Meldrum]

After reading this thread I bought a 2-pack of the micro tuners. While I like the small size, I don't like the way you put them on the instrument. The sliding/locking setup does not feel as secure as the spring-loaded Snark. I also don't like the display and it does not seem as accurate as my Snarks. They're OK, but I prefer the Snark tuners.