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Thread: Snark tuner

  1. #1
    Registered User Billy Packard's Avatar
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    Default Snark tuner

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    The Snark tuner I have just broke--one of the tongs on the back that hold it to the clamp section just folded outward and the whole tuner part fell off.
    I'm not a hammer hand, BTW.

    Billy
    Last edited by Billy Packard; Jul-16-2017 at 12:54pm.
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    Registered User pit lenz's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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...

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  4. #3
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    If you touch it anywhere on the instrument it will still work. I would JB weld it back together. That stuff is quite strong.
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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

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    Registered User mandobassman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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.

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  9. #6
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by mandobassman View Post
    ...That stem on the Snark is a weak point in the design.
    +1.
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  11. #7

    Default Re: Snark tuner

    In summary,

    New Snark is $10
    JB Weld is $5
    Zip ties cost a few pennies if bought in quantity....

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  13. #8
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by mandobassman View Post
    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.
    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.
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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.
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  17. #10

    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by almeriastrings View Post
    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.
    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.

  18. #11
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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 ?,
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  20. #12
    Registered User almeriastrings's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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....
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  22. #13
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Zip ties

  23. #14
    Registered User Billy Packard's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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
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  24. #15

    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Packard View Post
    Which tuners are preferred by y'all?
    Planet Waves NS Micro and their folding model, and Pano Tuner on the iThings. I'm thinking about dropping $9.99 on the Peterson Strobe app.
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  26. #16
    Registered User TheMandoKit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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.

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  28. #17
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Packard View Post
    Which tuners are preferred by y'all?
    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

  29. #18
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    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

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  30. #19

    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Packard View Post
    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	159199What a DRAG!

    The Snark tuner I have just broke--one of the tongs on the back that hold it to the clamp section just folded outward and the whole tuner part fell off.
    I'm not a hammer hand, BTW.

    Billy
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  32. #20
    Registered User mandobassman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by Ivan Kelsall View Post
    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 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.
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
    I would JB weld it back together.
    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?

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  35. #22

    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by Ron McMillan View Post
    The one I had turned to putty - the surface of the red plastic softened and came off in my hand.
    One of mine is starting to do this but otherwise works fine. Most odd...
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  36. #23
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Packard View Post
    Which tuners are preferred by y'all?
    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.

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  38. #24

    Default Re: Snark tuner

    (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......

  39. #25
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    Default Re: Snark tuner

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    Do we really expect a $10 plastic tuner to provide a lifetime of service?
    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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