Last edited by Billy Packard; Jul-16-2017 at 12:54pm.
Billy Packard
Gilchrist A3, 1993
Stiver Fern, 1990
Weber Fern, 2007
Gibson F4 Hybrid #1, D. Harvey 2009
Gibson 1923 A2
Numerous wonderful guitars
I think the only way to get it back to use is either superglue it back on the clamp (in the right angled position) or even use some two component epoxy to strengthen the broken joint.
Even though a new Snark is not very expensive, I hate to throw away things that basically still work...
If you touch it anywhere on the instrument it will still work. I would JB weld it back together. That stuff is quite strong.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
I've repaired a number of Snarks by carefully folding the broken prong back in place and then tightly securing a small zip tie or 2 around the whole housing with the ball joint of the tuner already in place. I actually do this with a Snark as soon as I get it to help protect it. I like the product/price point enough to live with the design flaw.
Steve
That's why I stopped using the Snark tuners. After my second one broke in the same way I started using the D'Addario Micro tuner. Works just as good as the Snark but stays on the mandolin all the time. That stem on the Snark is a weak point in the design.
In summary,
New Snark is $10
JB Weld is $5
Zip ties cost a few pennies if bought in quantity....
I'm with mandobassman. I still have a few Snarks lying about the house but for off-site musicking I use the different variants of the Planet Waves/D'Addario tuners: universal for mandolin, violin for (guess?) and I just got a guitar soundhole for one of my flattop guitars. They work nicely and I don't have the big old lollypop sticking out.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
I have had a couple do that... before I stopped using them. I also a teach a group, and several students have had the same problem. Zip ties and/or superglue will fix it - but you lose the swivel capability. A design weak-point.
Gibson F5 'Harvey' Fern, Gibson F5 'Derrington' Fern
Distressed Silverangel F 'Esmerelda' aka 'Maxx'
Northfield Big Mon #127
Ellis F5 Special #288
'39 & '45 D-18's, 1950 D-28.
All that, and they are over-sized and ugly as sin itself. I have no idea why anyone buys them. The one I had turned to putty - the surface of the red plastic softened and came off in my hand. Communications with the makers came to precisely nothing, despite a promise to replace it.
I've owned 2 Red Snarks for over 4 years. They're in 100% perfect condition. I use them & put them back in the mandolin case,that's the reason they've never had even a chance to get damaged. Remember,they're perfectly fine until we damage them. I've never heard of one ''self destructing'' !.
From Ron McMillan - "...the surface of the red plastic softened and came off in my hand.". Not good Ron - but think of the problems you've recently had with another item - maybe the Thai climate ?,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
They are the one and only tuner I have ever had simply 'break' in perfectly normal use. Both times at the same spot- the plastic ball joint. All the others I have seen that have broken have also been in this exact same place. I have some tuners lying around that have had very heavy use for years (used in classes, loaned to students, gigs, all kinds of things) and they are good as new, including Intelli-touch, Korg, TC Electronic and Planet Waves. No breaks - ever. Just do a google search for 'broken snark tuner'..... literally pages of complaints come up from banjo, uke, mandolin, guitar and fiddle forums....
Gibson F5 'Harvey' Fern, Gibson F5 'Derrington' Fern
Distressed Silverangel F 'Esmerelda' aka 'Maxx'
Northfield Big Mon #127
Ellis F5 Special #288
'39 & '45 D-18's, 1950 D-28.
Zip ties
Well, this is very interesting indeed.
With this many people having the exact same problem it is a product issue. I hardly ever used the one I have and yet it just folded with almost no pressure from me.
I sent an email to the company but I have yet to hear back. I'll post their reply if I get one.
Meanwhile I'll buy some other kind of clip on tuner. The Weber Fern I use stays amazingly in tune so I don't use the tuner much. The one on my iPhone is very cool because it ALSO includes a numerical frequency read out to the first decimal point.
Which tuners are preferred by y'all?
Billy
Billy Packard
Gilchrist A3, 1993
Stiver Fern, 1990
Weber Fern, 2007
Gibson F4 Hybrid #1, D. Harvey 2009
Gibson 1923 A2
Numerous wonderful guitars
Soliver arm rested and Tone-Garded Northfield Model M with D’Addario NB 11.5-41, picked with a Wegen Bluegrass 1.4
I bought a handful of the original red ones when they first came out and someone had them on sale. The only breakage I have seen was the clip of one. I emailed the company and they sent a replacement clip.
That said, I now mostly use the Planet Waves/D'addario/NS micro clip on tuners just because of the size and the unobtrusiveness. Their new micro sound hole tuners work well for flat top guitar and oval hole mandolin. Although now I have to stop and think whether to look at the headstock or the soundhole when tuning. The old Snarks are mostly in cases of instruments I don't play much.
A black polytune would be a nice treat. Put it in BASS mode - strobe to use with mandolin.
I left my polytune at home last jam and used my (popular brand) backup. Felt like I tuned all night and was never quite happy with being in tune. Some of that was on me not being used to it. Mandolin tuning may drift in minutes when playing out but getting the matched pairs dialed the first time w/o guessing is kinda nice
I have a Snark (maybe two) but I couldn't tell you where they are. I use the Planet Waves on virtually everything.
David Hopkins
2001 Gibson F-5L mandolin
Breedlove Legacy FF mandolin; Breedlove Quartz FF mandolin
Gibson F-4 mandolin (1916); Blevins f-style Octave mandolin, 2018
McCormick Oval Sound Hole "Reinhardt" Mandolin
McCormick Solid Body F-Style Electric Mandolin; Slingerland Songster Guitar (c. 1939)
The older I get, the less tolerant I am of political correctness, incompetence and stupidity.
I hear ya, but one of mine broke after about two months' use. The other broke the very first time I put it on my mandolin. I put it on the headstock, turned it toward me and the mount broke in my hand. I wasn't about to give a third one a try. I superglued one of them back together and only use it at home. The other reason I don't like Snark is they are nearly impossible to read outside.
The DA micro tuner is so much easier easier to deal with. It stays in the same place on the instrument and, with the exception of touching the power button, my hands never touch it.
Larry Hunsberger
2013 J Bovier A5 Special w/ToneGard
D'Addario FW-74 flatwound strings
1909 Weymann&Sons bowlback
1919 Weymann&Sons mandolute
Ibanez PF5
1993 Oriente HO-20 hybrid double bass
3/4 guitar converted to octave mandolin
I’d spend that effort researching a better tuner that I don’t have to field repair.
Personally, I like the more expensive PolyTune clip, but I keep a Planet Waves/d’addario micro in every instrument case: as equally affordable as the Snark and not nearly as delicate. One of these days I’ll remember to give my Snark away to someone that likes them. Anyone in the Seattle area that likes Snarks going to Darrington this weekend?
This board is rife with such discussions, and I think it’s a personal thing (look at how many have said they actually like Snarks), but in no particular order:
TC PolyTune clip in strobe mode. Has fewer fiddly bits, looks like you’d have to involve a hammer to break it. Accurate, a bit pricey. My go-to for most scenarios. Folds up and packs small.
Korg Sledgehammer Pro: strobe mode, bright and large display. It would be my go-to if it didn’t have a delicate-looking ball joint like the Snark, and though smaller than Snark it packs a bit big in a tight case pocket. But for $20, it’s affordable. I use it a lot around the house.
D’addario Micro: small, inexpensive, sturdy, and accurate enough for most cases. Not a bright display, not good outdoors. I keep one in every instrument case as a backup.
I’ve also got a Peterson clip and the big rechargeable one for home use. They do a good job, but I fail to see the value for the additional cost.
(again) what am I missing? Do we really expect a $10 plastic tuner to provide a lifetime of service? OTOH, I do have a Boss, an Arion, and a Yamaha pedal type tuner that have all lasted over 25 years and still continue to work well -- of course, they cost more than $10, even back then. Manufacturers used to call the concept "planned obsolescence" meaning it was meant to last a certain amount of time and then break (on purpose) so you could be a repeat customer. It sounds mean, but that's how stuff is designed these days at that price point. I really don't expect a pair of flip-flops I bought for the beach to last more than one summer, do I? Same with your car, certain parts, alternator, starter, water pump, battery, etc. have a life expectancy -- 100,000 miles, whatever -- usually not an issue with "normal" people who trade cars often -- everything is still working 5-6 years later -- only an issue for cheapskates like me who want to drive a car for 20+ years......
Depends on whether or not other $10 tuners provide a lifetime of service. In the late 70s American car makers asked a similar question: “do you really expect a $4000 car to provide a lifetime of service?” Honda and Toyota said, “well, maybe not a lifetime, but we’re willing to see how close to that we can get.” Meanwhile, the 1980 Chevy Citation my parents had barely made it off the assembly line under its own power.
For $10 I don’t expect a lifetime of service, but I do expect it to be fit for its intended purpose, and that is to be used as a tuner without plastic bits breaking off under normal use. Just like I expect a 1980 Chevy to last more than a few years before the paint literally falls off (those expectations were not met, BTW). One is free to buy what one likes, but I have found better tuners to spend my ten dollars on. Just like how the cheap compact car we drive is made by Toyota and not Chevy.
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