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Thread: Man I need a good tuner...

  1. #76

    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Quote Originally Posted by b381 View Post
    trying to find a good head stock tuner. I had a snark, which was good but the arm attachment broke with use. Got a few d'addario's like in the picture i took. Also have the reverb, just pay shipping freebie.

    The d'addario's are about 6 months old and are developing issues and becoming unreliable. The freebie works but is inconsistent with readings.

    Recommend a good one for me.
    well, on my guitars, the vibration sensing tuners work fine. On my banjo, they are borderline at best and on the mando, they are a waste of time. I wound up using an ap on my phone for the mando and banjo. Its called,. Da tuner lite. And it works great on anything.

  2. #77
    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Quote Originally Posted by cformony View Post
    well, on my guitars, the vibration sensing tuners work fine. On my banjo, they are borderline at best and on the mando, they are a waste of time. I wound up using an ap on my phone for the mando and banjo. Its called,. Da tuner lite. And it works great on anything.
    I think your experience is different from most of us with mandolins.
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  4. #78
    Registered User Elliot Luber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    I've been investigating these. The polymode makes no sense when you're dealing with courses, so I'm between the TC Unitune and the Peterson Strobeclip. It was hard to use the D'addario clip because, it was tough to get both before and after lights to go on at the same time to show you're in tune. Both Unitune and Strobeclip seem to be bright and accurate, my question is about whether it's harder or easier to tune with the strobe function. I get that it can be most accurate, but when you're between songs and have a minute to tweak the tuning, is it just as easy? I have no hands-on with the Peterson. I know they have a lot of fans.

  5. #79
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Stroboclip has been great for me. Have to use it properly though; it’s a sensitive instrument. Somebody mentioned it wouldn’t read one course of strings ... for instance, striking hard with a pick can create overtones strong enough to compete with the fundamental. Also, striking a string too closely to the bridge can do that. Best reading is to use fingertips near 12th fret; a good compromise is to pluck softly in the “sweet spot” near the end of fingerboard. Very reliable, very accurate, easy to use on my instruments when done that way
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  6. #80
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gunter View Post
    Stroboclip has been great for me. Have to use it properly though; it’s a sensitive instrument. Somebody mentioned it wouldn’t read one course of strings ... for instance, striking hard with a pick can create overtones strong enough to compete with the fundamental. Also, striking a string too closely to the bridge can do that. Best reading is to use fingertips near 12th fret; a good compromise is to pluck softly in the “sweet spot” near the end of fingerboard. Very reliable, very accurate, easy to use on my instruments when done that way
    That was me, on my Oval hole mando the E doesn't like to read unless I pick fairly firmly one High E, if its light it just doesn't catch it. I might try placing the clip on the other side of the headstock to see if that helps. All other instruments work just fine with a finger nail or very light pick stroke on the string.
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    my question is about whether it's harder or easier to tune with the strobe function
    One of the nice options on the Unitune is that it can be used in either normal or strobe mode. I'm not sure if the Peterson does anything but strobe. I've also come to appreciate that the Unitune only has the one single-direction hinge, pretty much the only moving part except for the spring clip. Hard to imagine breaking it. Lastly, the Unitune is significantly less expensive than the Peterson.
    Mitch Russell

  8. #82
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    The Unitune in strobe is harder to read than the Peterson. The Peterson is very easy IMHO. The strobe on the Unitune is much smaller and in a flat line and look like it is going backwards sometimes. Could be my old eyes too. In regular mode it is still very accurate, fast and easy. Low battery usage which is another thing i like. I carry a spare battery, but after a year of using it daily I still haven't used it.
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  9. #83

    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    So many choices out there. One of my favorite tuners is made by Fender. It's called Fender California tuner. It has a really huge, bright display and sells for less than $10.

    M&M

  10. #84
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Man, I haven't been on in a year and a half, maybe two, and right back into the thick of it with a "what's the best" discussion. Good to be back. I've used my buddies Polytune an Stroboclips. I personally use a Snark for the past 6 years. I leaning towards a Peterson Strobo HD because of the sweetened tunings for mando.

    I play bluegrass folk, hot club, swing - in crowded jams, alone, and on stage - acoustic and electric - so there's that. Can anyone share their experience with these HD's and the mando tuning?
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  11. #85
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Quote Originally Posted by John Bertotti View Post
    That was me, on my Oval hole mando the E doesn't like to read unless I pick fairly firmly one High E, if its light it just doesn't catch it. I might try placing the clip on the other side of the headstock to see if that helps. All other instruments work just fine with a finger nail or very light pick stroke on the string.
    Just an update, I was clipping onto the bass side of the head stock but once I slips the clip closer to the high e side I found that a normal pick of the string registers quick and true.
    My avatar is of my OldWave Oval A

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  13. #86
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Ears

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    Registered User Elliot Luber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    I was not happy with the D'Addario low-profile clip-on I bought, but I'm really liking the TC UniTune clip-on model. It works much better ($29 at Sweetwater.com -- no financial interest here). Exceptional service too.

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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Great question, but you didn't tell us the level at which you and your buddies play, or the environment in which you play.

    I'm a porch picker of limited skills, just making fun the way they used to before anyone had electricity. Of course, I happily make an exception for electronic tuners.

    My hearing is not that sophisticated yet, and neither is the level at which we play.

    Recently read tuner reviews and comments for a couple of hours from who-knows-how-many websites. For everyday music making (not pro), one review gave the KLIK UberTuner an edge of two models of the ubiquitous Snark family. So, bought one for my wife, who has never made music before and just took up lap dulcimer.

    Figure UberTuner is precise enough for many of us amateurs. Also, we are very pleased for unconventional reasons. First, it's display is bright and easy to read ... no bifocals needed, and it could be read easily at any light level down to pitch black. Nice big screen. Colors that don't befuddle my red-green-color-blind eyeballs, too.

    Mind you, it's bulkier than a Snark ... partly because its huge clip can easily span the 1 5/8" scroll on her dulcimer.

    UberTuner is not the Maserati of tuners ... but this country boy wouldn't know what to do with a Maserati, anyway ...

    ;-)
    Last edited by DiegoInSeneca; Jul-29-2019 at 4:15pm. Reason: wordsmithing

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  18. #89
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    I had used an A-440 htz tuning fork for a very long time.. then tuned the others relative to the A
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    Registered User double E's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    I have had a bunch of tuners over the years. The newest Peterson clip on strobe is the best/most accurate in my opinion. They do have a little learning curve to them. I still have the older silver one. It has always ate batteries since I bought it new. I contacted Peterson several time with no reply back. I swore Id never buy another one because of that, but I did. The old one still works but I have to always remove the battery from it or it kills it. Wish I could brag on their customer service, but I cant. I like the newer version better. I use it on my dobro, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Tunes all of them great. Just hope i dont need any customer service.

  20. #91
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    Quote Originally Posted by double E View Post
    I have had a bunch of tuners over the years. The newest Peterson clip on strobe is the best/most accurate in my opinion. They do have a little learning curve to them. I still have the older silver one. It has always ate batteries since I bought it new. I contacted Peterson several time with no reply back. I swore Id never buy another one because of that, but I did. The old one still works but I have to always remove the battery from it or it kills it. Wish I could brag on their customer service, but I cant. I like the newer version better. I use it on my dobro, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Tunes all of them great. Just hope i dont need any customer service.
    I wonder what happened with you contacting Peterson. I have had multiple emails with them over the years and never had any issues with their customer service. I don’t think I ever waited more then a day for a reply and recently I sent an email with some questions and got the reply by the end of the day and it was a weekend holiday. The 4th and I know they were closed. So my experience is completely opposite. Now KORG on the other hand I have waited weeks upon weeks for CS to answer some questions not found in their faqs area and that wasn’t for a tuner but a flagship workstation. I generally give the benefit of the doubt at first because Corp emails systems are notoriously weighted with filters that can cause all kinds of issues.
    My avatar is of my OldWave Oval A

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  21. #92
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    just to say it took a week and they say it could take five business day but KORG did get back to me. So they worked within their states limits.
    My avatar is of my OldWave Oval A

    Creativity is just doing something wierd and finding out others like it.

  22. #93

    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    I have a bunch of the D'Addario microtuners and for the most part they live on each one of my acoustic instruments. Yes, a fresh battery is needed more often than you'd think, so you have to stay on top of things. I find them accurate enough for almost any situation I'm in. The Petersen strobes are great in any flavor, love the older fliptop, and the iPhone app is really wonderful.

    Also, don't forget that each instrument has its differences as to how it responds to tuning. We'd all love to just tune to open strings or harmonics and be done with it, but a lot of guitars like to be tuned to, i.e., fingered notes at the 3rd fret or something similar. Sometimes a guitar can be tuned to open strings, but the low E string needs to be tuned to its 3rd fret G, etc...there are a lot of variations among guitars and mandolins, and if you spend time with them you'll learn their quirks.

    Just food for thought...
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  23. #94
    Mando-Afflicted lflngpicker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Man I need a good tuner...

    I did get the StroboClip HD for my BD, and am using it religiously. It is so accurate, but it is a skill building exercise. Getting used to it and becoming accustomed to the forward and backward motion increases the accuracy of the string's pitch. The part I had to get used to was striking the string less frequently and being more observant of the reduced or increased motion of the strobe effect, while waiting for it to stop on the pitch. The sweeteners for the mandolin, electric guitar and acoustic guitar are very useful and I have more confidence in the accuracy that I am able to achieve with my instruments. I know this is delayed, but thanks to the OP for the thread!
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