Tuner 101 Tutorial Needed

[GySgtFTL]

It seems the more I read about guitar tuners, the more confused I get. I've been using a Snark for three years but there has to be something out there with better accuracy for setting the intonation.

I don't play "gigs." As a player, I stink on ice and the only people that will ever hear me play is my wife and kids. Now that aside, I still want my equipment to be in top shape and I want my guitars to be in-tune and properly intonated.

Can someone explain to me the advantages of a pedal tuner vs a clip-on? I'm assuming that with a pedal tuner one must have the guitar plugged in to an amp...?

Also, I keep reading about how "strobe" tuners are the most precise/accurate and honestly I wouldn't know a strobe tuner from my Snark. I've been looking to buy a new tuner but right now I'm using the old "if it costs more it has to be better" method.

Now obviously the best way to get my guitar to sound better is to take lessons or practice or even un-plug it. But I'm still determined to buy a good tuner.

Thanks in advance for the knowledge.

 

[spitfire]

I use a Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. It's an electronic strobe tuner using a ring of LEDs.

I also have Snarks. The pedal tuners require that you plug into them. So they are for electric guitars. But you don't need an amp.

The Turbo Tuner, and I would think all others, block the signal while tuning so it doesn't come through your amp. This is especially import for using at gigs.

Turn it off, and the signal passes through the tuner to your amp.

I really like it and it's spot on. The LEDs rotate with the beat frequency (difference between your guitar and the reference note). The LED pattern rotates clockwise when you're sharp, and counter clockwise when flat. Adjust your guitar until the LEDs stop rotating.

It automatically detects the target note and can be adjusted for alternate tunings.

Not an inexpensive tuner, but I don't see how it could be any better.

Having said all that I would still think you could set intonation just fine with a Snark. Perhaps you're intonation method is flawed. A lot of people make it oddly complicated.

Play the string open, play it at the 12th fret. Adjust until both are the same note.

Some guitars are more finicky than others. For example, nut slots cut poorly, or just plain too high, so fretted notes go a bit sharp. Or your own technique such as too much finger pressure pulls notes sharp. So sometimes you have to fudge the intonation to better fit how and what you play.

 

[GySgtFTL]

Thanks for the info. I've been setting the intonation and tuning correctly (at least I think I have) according to Dan Erlewine's book. I just wasn't sure that my measuring device was good enough. I've never seen a professional luthier using a Snark so I figured I must be missing something.

 

[ElCamino]

This is super cheap and super accurate. I bought one. How can you go wrong for 24 bucks including shipping?

https://reverb.com/item/1099429-planet-waves-true-strobe-pedal-tuner

 

[ARandall]

I can't see why a snark wouldn't work. Its chromatic so will show any note you care to play, it also shows cents too, so you can see how far out you are. All that I see needed for intonation is making sure the various notes read the same.......if a tuner can't do that and is reading the wrong note between one playing and another then you have an issue for tuning as well.

 

[GySgtFTL]

I went to the Peterson website and read through some of their info. They have mechanical Strobe Tuners that cost in excess of seven hundred dollars. Now if a ten dollar Snark can do the same job then I'm still missing something. Anyway, I ended up buying a Peterson Strobo Plus. I guess I'll see what I learn.

Peterson SP-1 StroboPlus HD Chromatic Handheld Strobe Tuner | Sweetwater.com

 

[Razzle]

I had a strobe tuner. Sold it. Didn't need it. Overkill for guitar, Boss tuner works great. I got tuners on my iphone, compter, rack gear, etc.

Snarks are great. If you're playing live, the pedal tuners are great b/c they kill the feed. If you wanna intonate, I'd think a pedal tuner will do just fine.

 

[ScottMarlowe]

The best clip on is the TC Polytune Clip. Watch some comparisons. It's much faster at tracking note changes than anything else, can tune all 6 strings at once, or one at a time, using either strob or regular old LED type tuning. If it could mute my guitar it would be perfect. Which would make it the TC Polytune pedal.

Korg Pitchblack+ and Petersons are a real real real close second.

 

[grayd8]

I went to the Peterson website and read through some of their info. They have mechanical Strobe Tuners that cost in excess of seven hundred dollars. Now if a ten dollar Snark can do the same job then I'm still missing something. Anyway, I ended up buying a Peterson Strobo Plus. I guess I'll see what I learn.

Peterson SP-1 StroboPlus HD Chromatic Handheld Strobe Tuner | Sweetwater.com

If all you want it for is intonation, they have a phone app for $20. It works for both acoustic and electric.

 

[skydog]

If you're just playing at the house, your instrument only has to be tuned to itself. If A=445, or 437, etc., what's it matter? Most recordings aren't a perfect A=440 either. A simple SNARK should be fine.

 

[moreles]

I have D'Addario's Dtune on my phone (and a couple of others) for universal use, and the classic Boss on my pedalboard. Both are OK for intonation -- anything with cents will do. I have wondered if pricier units give faster response, and the phone apps have a bit of lag, but other than that -- and I'm fairly obsessive -- I haven't had difficult intonating with either.

 

[Bill Hicklin]

For an electric, or an acoustic with pickup, Korg makes a plug-in pocket unit for under 30 bucks which I really like because you can manually reset the pitch of each note, if you don't want equal temperament (especially useful for open tunings, as for slide). Remember, equal temperament is a kludge, and guitar tuning is a kludge of a kludge.

 

[JCarno]

This is super cheap and super accurate. I bought one. How can you go wrong for 24 bucks including shipping?

https://reverb.com/item/1099429-planet-waves-true-strobe-pedal-tuner

I have/had one of those fer years. It still works to keep tune but one of the hinges broke so it's unusable unless you want to keep bending over to turn it on and off. After 2 glue attempts I decided to just get a new one. This time I chose the TC poly tune. Great pedal so far.