Snark Tuner Dysfunction

[Dennis D]

[QUOTE=Patrick2;451035]

Sounds like you thought I was being snide. Apologies. That was not my intent. I'm just a typical New Jersey guy with few if any manners. ;-)

Fair enough. Apology accepted.

[MikeConner]

Snark tuners can be bumped "on" while in the case pocket, perhaps touching something else flopping around in there. I cut the bottom part of a disposable little 1 ounce bathroom cup that fits nice over the face of the tuner when stored in the case. Eliminates the random touches that turn it on and drain the battery.

I carry spare batteries (CR2032) in my gig bag just in case. In the USA they can be found as a two-pack at the Walmart camera aisle fairly inexpensive as I recall.

When set on vibration mode rather than microphone, these are really handy in a noisier environment. Pedal tuners mean one more cable and battery to deal with.

//mike

[Woody Sound]

When set on vibration mode rather than microphone, these are really handy in a noisier environment. Pedal tuners mean one more cable and battery to deal with.

//mike

But this is my point exactly . It is that noisy environment that resonates through the neck and thus into the Snark.

[Danny W.]

I have a black "Super Tight" that I keep in my gig bag as an emergency backup and a blue one in my guitar toolbox to help keep from snapping strings when restringing. I like that they lock on easily, hold the note and have a good display, but they have a wide deadband at the top that makes them far inferior to my regular tuners, a Peterson StroboFlip for gigs and an AXe-FX II at home.

I've had one battery needing replacing in three years of very light use--here's a tip about that for which you will thank me:

Don't buy CR2032 or any other kind of watch battery at Walmart or Interstate or any other local place. Look for them online at Amazon or Ebay where they can be had stupid cheap. How cheap? I paid $2.01 for five Maxells at Amazon shipped and you can do even better if you want larger quantities. I've done this with numerous battery numbers and have found that the batteries are just as good as the $5 ones at the local store. The original battery in my Snark blue lasted three months, but the thirty-cent replacement has been fine for the last 33 months.

BTW, although the StroboFlip is big and heavy, especially compared to a clip-on tuner, setting it up at a gig couldn't be easier. I keep a short cable plugged into mine. I sit the box on my amp and plug into my "send out" jack so the guitar signal does not run through the tuner. To tune I press the mute switch on my amp and turn the Flip on. After tuning I unmute and let the auto shutoff turn the Flip off. Once a year I put in a set of three new AA batteries.

You can see it here:



Danny W.

[Dennis D]

..Thanks for the informative replies.....I did buy another.....I got my old one to work as new, by sliding the battery out and then back in every time I want to use it........that'll work 'til it gets old and then I'll pitch that one.....

[Woody Sound]

..Thanks for the informative replies.....I did buy another.....I got my old one to work as new, by sliding the battery out and then back in every time I want to use it........that'll work 'til it gets old and then I'll pitch that one.....

Maybe some contact cleaner will help(?)

[Woody Sound]

BTW, although the StroboFlip is big and heavy, especially compared to a clip-on tuner, setting it up at a gig couldn't be easier. I keep a short cable plugged into mine. I sit the box on my amp and plug into my "send out" jack so the guitar signal does not run through the tuner. To tune I press the mute switch on my amp and turn the Flip on. After tuning I unmute and let the auto shutoff turn the Flip off. Once a year I put in a set of three new AA batteries.

You can see it here:



Danny W.

Hey DW, I've been meaning to ask: It looks like the BB uses you on guitar in lieu of piano. Is that true? Very cool. I've often wanted to comp piano style in a BB *without* the piano being there.

[Danny W.]

Hey DW, I've been meaning to ask: It looks like the BB uses you on guitar in lieu of piano. Is that true? Very cool. I've often wanted to comp piano style in a BB *without* the piano being there.

Although I have done a few big-band gigs sans keys, they have been very rare occurrences. We use four of everything plus an extra sax. In the photo above I sat in the front row because there wasn't enough room on the back riser and i have a dislike of being electrocuted.

Some of our charts are very piano-centric, as is this one from last year:

Danny W.

[Klatu]

I had a situation a while back in which I bought two red Snark tuners and checked them to see if they worked. Once I realized that they were all in good working order, I turned one off and put it back in the box. Once I finally got around to using it, the battery didn't last for more than a month or so. I thought it had broken or had been defective, but I then learned that once the battery is installed, it begins using some of its energy. I was then told to keep the battery out of the unit until it's time to be used.

Most of you probably already know this, but I'm passing it along to those who may have found dead batteries in units that weren't heavily used.