Which clip on tuner for acoustics??

[chazzan]

What are you thoughts/ experiences with clip on tuners for acoustic guitar.

I have an intellitouch bare bone (for 3 1/2 years), but I think the intellitouch is a litle lacking IQ wise (to make a bad pun) I have used it with 12 strings 6 strings and classicals- no matter where I place it on the headstock, it is slow to pick up the note, and often the note will freeze, meaning whether I play the string or not the note and the pitch arrows will all light up. It also does not respond quickly to pitch when I turn the tuning key, and the strings do not hang up in the nut.

Also the handle that atatches the clip to the tuner body is hard to turn and maybe that interferes with the vibration transfer- this problem cannot be fixed in my tuner and also FYI the batteries are in good condition. As far as I cna remember the tuner was always lacking. I had a Sabine stand alone tuner and it also was giving me false readings. Using harmonics helps to a degree.

I have tried three friend's tuners the bare bone and the intellitouch delux model and there is an improvement. Before I replace the tuner I would like to see what else is on the market and what others experiences are.

thanks

 

[cjd-player]

A fellow over on the Acoustic Guitar Forum did a review of several clip-ons about 4 or 5 months ago. He ranked the Intellitouch pretty high, but also had good results with several others.

Based on his results, I bought one of these. A Tune Tech TT-500.
http://www.instrumentalley.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=IMT-500&click=35

I think I found mine on-line for about $15.
Very cheap, but works well. I've had it for about 2 months. Picks up the low E or even a low D without needing harmonics. Has some quirks like not always changing the note letter being displayed; but tune wise it's been right on all the time.

 

[jgmaute]

I just got the new Planet Waves Headstock Tuner; it's great! One of the things I like is that the entire screen turns green when it's in tune rather than just a little LED. Only challenge was getting the battery (included) installed, it's behind the clip so you have to hold the clip open while you twist the little top of the battery compartment. I jam every Saturday and play on the beach Tuesdays with 6-10 other players...believe me getting and staying in tune is important and this tuner does the trick faster and more accurately than my others. I've used it on all my guitars with equal success. It was just released at the NAMM show in January Release Blurb the cheapest place I found it on line was 1 Stop Clarinet which was $24.95, about $5 cheaper than anywhere else. I've had it about 3 weeks now and really like it. jgm
just went to the links and it's interesting that the photos just show the A in green, the entire screen is green when it's in tune and red when it isn't.

 

[Jeff]

What are you thoughts/ experiences with clip on tuners for acoustic guitar.

I have an intellitouch bare bone ...I think the intellitouch is a litle lacking IQ wise (to make a bad pun) I have used it with 12 strings 6 strings and classicals- no matter where I place it on the headstock, it is slow to pick up the note, and often the note will freeze, meaning whether I play the string or not the note and the pitch arrows will all light up. It also does not respond quickly to pitch when I turn the tuning key, and the strings do not hang up in the nut.

Also the handle that atatches the clip to the tuner body is hard to turn and maybe that interferes with the vibration transfer- this problem cannot be fixed in my tuner and also FYI the batteries are in good condition.

Much the same experience as yours with my intellitouch. I've had two, chromatic models. The 1st one was stiff like you say & often required both hands to rotate it on the pivot, it died after about a year, The 2nd unit seems to have been mechanically re engineered & pivots effortlessly, pitchwise it's no different from the 1st. Irritatingly the readout hangs up on a pitch & won't move up or down. Sometimes if I'm in a hurry I cycle the on/off switch to clear the screen.

Another student gave Smitty an E note tuner. 1st impression was positive, readout turns steady green when it's close & I wanted one. Something's haywire with it, when Smitty tunes his guitar with the E note & I do mine with the Intellitouch they're not right. I recently bought a Korg Pitchblack pedal tuner & used it at yesterday's lesson. Same thing happened, Smitty's E Note tuner was flat,... or mine is sharp, but so far the E note is down zero/two.

http://cgi.ebay.com/eNote-CHROMATIC-GUI ... C294%3A200

 

[dreadnut]

Hi, sorry to hear about the bad luck with the Intellitouch. I have the deluxe model and I love it for a couple reasons - the red backlighting is great for a dark or semi-dark stage when tuning, and I can tune without my friends playing affecting it.

It is a bit picky about where it's placed, but I've also found it likes harmonics better than the open string, especially on the low "E", so I usually tune by using the harmonics on the 12th fret.
Also, it seems to work best when I pick the string once clearly and just let it sustain while I tune the key. Good luck!

 

[Steelpickin']

Hey Jeff,
A lot of tuners will not match each other even though you would think
"A"=440 should be the same but its not. Slight diferences in manufacturing technics I supose....anyway a long time ago I learned
when playing in bands you will have a lot better time if you all use the same tuner. Not just the same model but the same one!


....Discliamer....
I never listen to me...why should you?

 

[Qvart]

What are you thoughts/ experiences with clip on tuners for acoustic guitar.

None/none.

But now you all have me interested.

Not a clip on tuner, but have any of you tried one of these SOS (Strobe on String) things?

 

[MarkRobertD225]

I also bought two of the Tune Tech TT-500. Cheap enough to have one in each case. Works well enough, but not perfect.

 

[chazzan]

Thanks- it is good food for thought.

I would be curious what other members have to say about their favorite tuner. Even if it is the same mode, people's experiences are different.

A longwinded way of plugging for some more info................

 

[Graham]

I use the Intellitouch P1.

Good enough for me.

 

[West R Lee]

I use an Intelli Chromatic IMT 500, whatever that is. I always end up tweeking it just a tad after I use it though. It's probably perfect before I start jacking with it.

West

 

[killdeer43]

I use two Korgs--a GA-30 and a CA-10. My clip-on is the Intellitouch PT-2 (not a big fan). I sometimes like to line 'em up side by side to see if they all agree. And they do!
Where were these 40 years ago when I really could have used them? :lol:

Stay in tune,
Joe

 

[Brad Little]

I used a high end a=440 tuning fork (Sheffield steel) for at least 25 years, then I was playing with a chorus and found the noise backstage was too loud to hear accurately. One of the chorus members had an electronic tuner (not clip on). I bought one the next day, not sure which brand, but still relied mostly on my fork. A few years back I bought an Intellitouch and found it convenient, but still tweaked it a bit after tuning. Somehow misplaced it and haven't seen it in months. I now use the Peterson Stroboflip, not really a clip on tuner, although it has a clip for the headstock. It needs to clamp to a music stand or mike stand. It also takes some getting used to if you've never used a strobe before. More expensive by far, but I like it a lot more than any other tuner I've used, except probably the fork.
Brad

 

[solenoid lopez]

Intelli IMT500, then tweak by ear. No tuner alone is going to get any guitar bang on without a tweak because no guitar can be perfectly tuned. One way I've found to get a good compromised tuning is to tune the D string to pitch with a tuner, then tune the fretted D note on each string (wherever those positions may be) to the 12th fret harmonic D note. This is the best way I've found of getting a good overall tuning in 25+ years of playing.

 

[JTMartin]

I use an Intelli IMT 900 and am happy with it although I usually have to tune the low E on the 12th fret harmonic.

 

[Jeff]

I recently purchased a Korg Pitchblack pedal tuner. So far I'm liking it better than the others. By far it's the most sensitive tuner I've used (I've never used one of the high end Pedersons).

It has a menu with 4 (maybe 8) choices of readout. It's pretty cool & for what it does, I think, reasonably priced, about $80.00 at the local shop with a 10% email discount coupon.

Calibration is adjustble & it works well with a clip on adapter cord.



http://www.korg.com/product.aspx?&pd=295

 

[kostask]

It looks like the cheapest and most accurate tuner is going to end up being the iPhone 3G/3GS with the Peterson iStrobosoft application ($9.95), with the optional 1/4" adaptor ($12.99, if needed for an acoustic/electric, pure electric, or for things like clip on pickups (TP-2 ($16.95)), or if desired, the add-on microphone (Mini-capsule Microphone ($11.99)). Peterson says that the iStrobosoft has the same accuracy as the rest of their other tuners (1/10 of a cent). This of course assumes that there is an iPhone 3G/3GS around, or is to be purchased.

The standalone Peterson tuners end up costing $150 and up, this sounds like a nice substitute, and its getting great reviews on the iTunes app store as well (many are pointing out some sort of sound isolation feature).

Kostas

PS. All of the above are from Peterson's web site online store. The iStrobosoft application is on the App Store.

 

[Scratch]

I have several tuners as most of us do. This is my very fave; great for six and/or twelve string use; very accurate... http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... 210074#new

 

[marcellis]

I just bought one of these for $20 from Stew-Mac.

It is the most responsive & accurate tuner I've ever used.
I'm never using anything but clip-ons from now on. It comes with the battery - $19.95.

Fantastic bargain.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Accessories ... Tuner.html

 

[chazzan]

Thanks! That was a wealth of information. I plan on going to the music store tomorrow and buying a Tune Tech/ Fazone (last post) tuner- they are made by the same company in China. I have heard good things about these tuners.

Will bring the intellitouch to the store and will put it on sale for 10-$15 for a student to buy- no need for 2 tuners................... can't say that about guitars though........... 1 is the lonliest #