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Thread: Guitar tuners

  1. #26
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    Good point about damping the other strings. It may be a stupid question, but do people use open strings or harmonics (like the 12th fret)? Also as the string is struck it will move sharp but settle. Sometimes don't know how long I should be waiting. Seems on most basses and guitars I have are always slightly sharper on the 12th string harmonic than the open strings.

  2. #27
    Member nosebone's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fictionmusic View Post
    I hate outdoor gigs for pedal use. I can never see ANY of the leds. I like the TU-2 well enough though and the mute function is handy.

    I don't know if anyone else does this, but I tend to go through pedal phases (and phase pedals for that matter) where I have a dozen or so and then times when I don't use any. It usually starts with one pedal, then a few more until I have a huge pedal board. Then I chuck it all in the studio and just go back to plain guitar. Right now I am using a guitar, a cable and an amp and I LOVE it. I don't even use my tuner anymore (it really isn't that hard to tune by ear although being onstage and tuning out load isn't all that cool either).
    So true.
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  3. #28
    Member davis's Avatar
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    I should've started learning guitar 30 years ago.

  4. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by markowitz View Post
    Good point about damping the other strings. It may be a stupid question, but do people use open strings or harmonics (like the 12th fret)? Also as the string is struck it will move sharp but settle. Sometimes don't know how long I should be waiting. Seems on most basses and guitars I have are always slightly sharper on the 12th string harmonic than the open strings.
    The "experts" say that you're supposed to use the initial reading to go by, since that's usually what you hear (instead of long sustained open notes). I don't damp open strings, because all of my electrics have floating vibratos. Damping them could cause the tuning to be slightly off, because of the pressure on the bridge.
    Gnish-gnosh borble wiff, shlauuffin oople tirk.

  5. #30
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    Thanks for the info, Mikhael.

  6. #31
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    Over the years, you drift into habits that work for you.
    Acoustics: I've got an A=440 tuning fork somewhere, but I'm lazy. Most of the time I use a Snark clip-on tuner on the headstock and tune to the 12th fret harmonic. It seems more reliable than the open strings and doesn't fluctuate as much.
    Electrics: As above, but on my pedal board I've got a Korg Pitchblack tuning pedal fed from the tuner output of my Volume pedal. Nice big display for my middle-aged eyes! It's hard to tune by ear at performance level volumes and it's easier if everyone in the band tunes to the same reference point.... One day, check everyone's tuners are set the same way - especially those pesky keyboards!

    N

  7. #32
    Member davis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rapidfirerob View Post
    Boss TU-3. More accurate than the TU-2 and more importantly it can be seen better in bright sunlight.
    Nothing wrong with the TU-2. I sold it to a friend of mine.
    Which one? --> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ords=boss+tu-3

  8. #33
    I'm a big fan of the Korg Pitchblack. I run it from the tuner out of my volume pedal, that way it's not in my signal chain. It's very accurate.
    Sometimes when I'm just running out to a jam or playing around the house, I'll use the Planet Waves SOS LED tuner. Nice and small: http://www.zzounds.com/item--PTWPWCT06

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by davis View Post
    They're all the same except for some come with cables or cables and power supply.

  10. #35
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    When our cash flow becomes more abundant than is currently is I'll purchase one of the much appreciated suggestions. There's just no point in trying to tune my bass with the $5 Korg thing I got with it.

  11. #36
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    I have one of those little $15 Korg tuners that has a setting for guitar/bass, lets you change the reference up or down a half step at a time, etc. It's worked really well for years. Lately I've thought about getting a pedal for the convenience of staying in tune throughout an entire set.

    I've also done some of my own intonation work on both guitars and basses. For this I ended up plugging into my recording interface and using the tuner that comes with Logic. It was very "jumpy" though...so I wasn't always confident in its accuracy (despite the fact that, to my ears, I've made significant improvement to the intonation on my guitars and basses).

    Has anyone found a decent tuner that made this process easier and didn't break the bank? Years ago I remember hearing that only a strobe tuner would do for this job...

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plasmatopia View Post

    Has anyone found a decent tuner that made this process easier and didn't break the bank? Years ago I remember hearing that only a strobe tuner would do for this job...
    The new Peterson "strobe" tuners are an order of magnitude more accurate than most every other tuner on the market, and the stompbox/clip on versions aren't that expensive, compared to the cost of big strobe tuners of the past/present (you can still pay $3500 for a tuner!). The clipon is $70, and the stompbox version is about $190. I have a clipon, and I use it to set the intonation on my instruments.
    Gnish-gnosh borble wiff, shlauuffin oople tirk.

  13. #38
    I was thinking of getting a clip-on tuner. I have a semi-hollow body and I am trying to avoid plugging into anything these days. Thanks for the info.

  14. #39
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    Thanks, Mikhael - I will take a look at those. Do they work equally well with basses and guitars?

  15. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plasmatopia View Post
    Thanks, Mikhael - I will take a look at those. Do they work equally well with basses and guitars?
    In my experience most clipons have some trouble with a bass. You have to find the right place to clip them on, it seems.
    Gnish-gnosh borble wiff, shlauuffin oople tirk.

  16. #41
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    Good to know, thanks. I'd probably go for the stomp box version.

  17. #42
    F&^k tuning. Everyone else tunes to me. I'm the guitar player and I just go BWWWWAAAAAAAANNNNNGGGG.

    Seriously, I used a TU2 for years. Accurate enough for rock and roll, bomb proof, bright enough to see even in the sun and it had that nifty mute feature so no one could hear me when the wedding band I was in was playing something I didn't really know. (oh, I've said too much...)
    For the last ten years I've been using the tuner in whatever Line6 thing I'm plugged into at the time. Works well enough. I have a Fender PT 100(?) rack tuner which is just silly. It's the most inaccurate thing I've ever seen. At least it was free...and I guess I know why.

  18. #43
    By the way...As I was typing that last bit, I realized that my guitar rig has been EXACTLY the same for almost 12 years with the exception of the cabinets (I went from 2x12s to 4x12s and now I'm back to the original 2x12s and kicking myself for ever changing). I think change is a'comin'. Somebody tell my wife.

  19. #44
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    TU- 2 works great, and I love the ability to mute between songs. Fun fact- I was talking to Jorma before the soundcheck a few months ago, and I looked down to see his tuner, with three inch high display.

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by everythingtoexcess View Post
    By the way...As I was typing that last bit, I realized that my guitar rig has been EXACTLY the same for almost 12 years with the exception of the cabinets (I went from 2x12s to 4x12s and now I'm back to the original 2x12s and kicking myself for ever changing). I think change is a'comin'. Somebody tell my wife.
    I thought all guitarists had GAS.

  21. #46
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    My boy uses a BOSS TU-2 in line on his board and uses a selection Korgs and other stuff for his bag and acoustic.

  22. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by rapidfirerob View Post
    Ernie summed it up. Wireless or cable from your instrument, it makes no difference. If you have no effects and don't want
    to use just one pedal, then a stompbox is not for you. Otherwise, just stick it in with the other pedals on your pedal board. It's the only stompbox I use currently as I'm in an Allman Bros. tribute band and no effects for that music. I have a full pedal board sitting in the closet at present.
    So, since I'm just starting out w/a Squier and have no effects pedals but intend to acquire some later, the Tu 2 or 3 would be a a good choice.

  23. #48
    Has anyone tried any of the lower priced Korg tuners? There's a couple on Amazon priced at around 10 or 12 bucks. Anyone have any experience with the GA-1 or GA-40:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
    http://www.amazon.com/Korg-GA-40-Lar...ref=pd_cp_MI_2

  24. #49
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    I have one of those little $15 Korg tuners that has a setting for guitar/bass, lets you change the reference up or down a half step at a time, etc. It's worked really well for years. Lately I've thought about getting a pedal for the convenience of staying in tune throughout an entire set.
    My parents bought me one of those a few years back, and it's come in really handy for sets where I'm moving between electric and acoustic guitar. As I use a lot of altered tunings on acoustic, I connect that up to my Korg chromatic tuner, and use the little credit card-sized one in my electric rig, as I only ever play electric guitar in standard tuning. Works a treat!

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