Does everyone use those clamp-on, plastic tuners now?

[Jp267]

My Peterson VS-1 Virtual Strobe Tuner is the best two hundred bucks I ever borrowed. I do need to re-supply on Snarks, as I have lent them all out. I prefer giving people tuners to hearing them play without them.

I have a Snark that gets me in the ballpark, but it's never dead on. I started using one of the Korg pedals with a strobe function and that is pretty close to dead on. When I quit playing 10 years ago they didn't have these clip on tuners. The first new guitar I went to try, they gave me a clip on, I was so confused. I embarrassingly had to ask the guy in the guitar department what the heck I was supposed to do with it.

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[73Fender]

My Peterson VS-1 Virtual Strobe Tuner is the best two hundred bucks I ever borrowed. I do need to re-supply on Snarks, as I have lent them all out. I prefer giving people tuners to hearing them play without them.

Someone mentioned a strobe tuner app. Is that an option? I don't use a pedal board at this time.I agree about the Snark not being perfect but it's good for the ballpark setting then go from there when your ears agree.

[mwcarr]

I have unbalanced hearing so any background noise is a killer for me. The clip on tuner is a lifesaver for me when I'm gigging. In the peace and quiet of home I'm pretty competent with just my ear and the aid of an A 440 tuning fork to get one string dialed in.

[citizenk74]

Someone mentioned a strobe tuner app. Is that an option? I don't use a pedal board at this time.I agree about the Snark not being perfect but it's good for the ballpark setting then go from there when your ears agree.

I believe there are, yes. I don't have a "smartphone" but I do keep my last tuning fork (where do they go? To the land of odd socks and mic stands?) in the case of my brass-bodied resonator. I'm sure they (the apps) work well. I prefer the relative discretion of plugging in and tuning silently. The VS-1 can be left in-line (and off) and just switched on as needed. Of course, that's one of the advantages of the clip-ons.

[vinlander]

Exclusively using a Snark ST-8 since the last couple years, enough in the ballpark for my needs, a little bit draining on the CR 2032, though...
I remove it as soon as the guitar is back in tune because I am not too keen on letting anything rubbery on the nitro finish.
Probably not as good as a strobe tuner for intonation setup however, I might consider getting something better in the future.

[rlrhett]

Yes. Petersons have an app and a clip on that connects to the headphone jack of your phone. It’s called iStrobosoft. Not as convenient as a Snark but very accurate. I use it at home and at jams, but it’s a little less convenient at a gig.


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[sgosnell]

The Peterson cllpon isn't convenient, with the wire running to the phone, but like everything, there is compromise. It's very accurate, albeit inconvenient. Using the phone's mic is more convenient, and perhaps more accurate, but that doesn't work well in a noisy environment. A clipon like the Snark is very convenient, and works very well in a noisy environment, but isn't as accurate. I use whichever works best at the time. I tend to use my phone more often than the others, but sometimes it's just not the best choice.

[BigMikeinNJ]

Clip ons sure aren't for me. Don't need to have some thing attached to the end of the headstock to tell me my guitar is sort of in tune. I use an old Korg, the thing is still humming along after 15 years. And I don't mar the headstock if I forgot to remove the clip on before putting the guitar back in the case...

No thank you

[rabbit]

I do need to re-supply on Snarks, as I have lent them all out. I prefer giving people tuners to hearing them play without them.

This!!

Were it only that such useful fixes could be found for the many vexing issues of
of our fellow "great thinkers'" ideas & actions.

[stillshaded]

weird that you guys don't want to use them on gigs.

to me it's like, if I'm playing well, who's going to care if there's something on my headstock? I like to use it to check in between songs some times. One of my guitars goes out of tune constantly and it's not always appropriate to turn up the volume and play open strings.. to me that comes off as more unprofessional than having a tuner.

[Thumpalumpacus]

That’s what I like about the strobe mode on the Polytune clip - it doesn’t have that margin of error. I tune by ear whenever possible but in between tunes at a gig it is extremely useful to be able to tune silently with that thing and know I can trust it particularly early on if the guitar hasn’t warmed up and is still adjusting.


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Yeah, I've been meaning to upgrade, but I'm not gigging, just doing the occasional open-mic, so it's not a matter of urgency to me. I've heard great things about the PT, though.

When I do return to gigging, I'll likely go with a pedal-tuner, though.

[wengr]

weird that you guys don't want to use them on gigs.

to me it's like, if I'm playing well, who's going to care if there's something on my headstock? I like to use it to check in between songs some times. One of my guitars goes out of tune constantly and it's not always appropriate to turn up the volume and play open strings.. to me that comes off as more unprofessional than having a tuner.

Imo, a pedal is better. I usually use a korg pitchblack. I step on it to silently tune , I have to believe it's more accurate, and I don't lose my volume setting on the instrument.

[QAman]

I've used a couple of Snark H.Z. for a few years. One is in my gigbag, one at home. They are inexpensive and accurate enough for me. I find them more practical than any other tuner i had, but after tuning i immediately take them off the guitar, unless i forget, which has happened a few times so far.

As with JazzNote - I use the snark and always remove it after use.

[Cunamara]

I use mine on gigs, bUT it is only on the headstock in between sets, never while playing.

Why?

[feet]

to me it's like, if I'm playing well, who's going to care if there's something on my headstock? I like to use it to check in between songs some times. One of my guitars goes out of tune constantly and it's not always appropriate to turn up the volume and play open strings.. to me that comes off as more unprofessional than having a tuner.

i can't begin to tell you how many shows i've walked out on because the performer had the temerity to be in tune and perform well.

[sgcim]

The only time I used one on a gig was when I had to double on banjo for a Cole Porter show I recently played. It was a disaster. It wouldn't register half the time, but I had to use it because I was playing acoustically.
I wound up tuning to my guitar, which I used a Pitchblack Plus pedal on.

[mrcee]

I wonder if it would be possible to design one that screwed into a threaded receptacle set in the back of the headstock.

[sgosnell]

Possible, certainly. Lucrative, maybe not.

[Boston Joe]

I see a lot of guitarists with those clamp-on plastic tuners. Is this now a must-have item for most guitarists?

The great thing about them, apart from the fact that they're cheap, is that they don't have a mic. They use the vibration from the clamp part to sense the frequency. That means you can use them in a noisy environment. They're also in a great position for quick tuning during a song if something sounds off to you.

Sure, my Peterson virtual strobe tuner* is more accurate, but that's a pedal and then I start getting into pedalboard stuff, and it just gets out of control. Trying to keep the rig small and portable.

(My Peterson REAL strobe tuner is more accurate still, but is way too bulky to carry around.)

[AlsoRan]

My two D'Addario clip tuners came in today. In a different thread, they were recommend because they are unobtrusive. I do like having them, especially if I am playing a Blues song and have to do a lot of string-bending.

Thanks.

[sgcim]

The great thing about them, apart from the fact that they're cheap, is that they don't have a mic. They use the vibration from the clamp part to sense the frequency. That means you can use them in a noisy environment. They're also in a great position for quick tuning during a song if something sounds off to you.

Sure, my Peterson virtual strobe tuner* is more accurate, but that's a pedal and then I start getting into pedalboard stuff, and it just gets out of control. Trying to keep the rig small and portable.

(My Peterson REAL strobe tuner is more accurate still, but is way too bulky to carry around.)

Actually, they are difficult to use in a noisy environment, especially with other instruments that vibrate through an archtop.
You also can't tune silently because there's no bypass on them. Lousy for gigs.

[rio]

Actually, they are difficult to use in a noisy environment, especially with other instruments that vibrate through an archtop.
You also can't tune silently because there's no bypass on them. Lousy for gigs.

I’ve never had that experience but then again in between tunes I don’t have people slamming away on their instruments so it’s not an issue and if for some reason I need to tune in the middle of a song I can do it by ear. The clip on, if accurate like the Polytune, is a huge help tuning silently on the bandstand and saying that’s not tuning silently because there isn’t a bypass is just semantics and not what happens practically (which is literally tuning silently). Even with other instruments playing, maybe before a gig if it is a pit band or something where people are warming up while I’m tuning I don’t have an issue - the tuner will pick up the vibration from other instruments but as soon as I play it locks onto the note I’m playing, even with something like the Polytune that can show all of the strings pitches at once where you’d think it would start to show more than just the string you’re playing. Perhaps different brands have different reactions and I have not used Snarks or other cheaper clip ons because of not liking their accuracy and that is why I haven’t had issues, I don’t know.


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[rpjazzguitar]

Actually, they are difficult to use in a noisy environment, especially with other instruments that vibrate through an archtop.
You also can't tune silently because there's no bypass on them. Lousy for gigs.

Last time I tried one, I was in a noisy rehearsal trying to tune and the clipon tuner was responding to other sounds in the room.

I didn't try any others. I just decided to always play with my pedalboard, which has an adequate tuner.

[christianm77]

Saves a pedal but I keep losing the fuckers

[Ray175]

At home I almost always tune by ear.

In a noisy environment or if plugged in and needing to keep amp silence I have one in my pedal chain