Clip-On Tuners

[Purfle Haze]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

Snarks can be as much as 12 cents off in either direction.

12 Cents?!? Vin, that number seems a little much. I clipped on a red Snark just now to test it. At first I tried to measure the Snark against the Peterson iStrobosoft on an iPhone, but that was very jumpy, so I used the Airyware Tuner app, which I learned about from you. Great app!

I tuned both E strings to a solid green on the Snark, and checked it against the tuner app.

The Snark was plus or minus 1 cent against the tuner app. So I moved the tuning machine just a little, to try to maintain a green reading on the Snark, and the worst I could get from the Snark was minus 1 cent flat, and plus 3 cents sharp, before the Snark showed out of tune. This was just a quick and casual test, but the Snark was not 12 cents off in either direction.

However, if a player would like to be 12 cents flat in a precise way, he or she could get a Peterson Stroboclip and set it to ACU, the Sweetened Baby James setting. This puts the low E string 12 cents flat, very accurately!

[BrunoBlack]

I have way too many tuners. I’m a sucker to try a new one and seem to have a big collection of seldom used tuners. However my 2 favorites are Peterson StroboClip HD (an improvement over the older stroboclip imo) and the TC Electronics Polytune. I seem to use the TC Polytune much more often than the Peterson. It is simple, easy, fast and accurate. Tough to beat for my use.

[Mrbirdog]

Originally Posted by BT55

I have a few Snark, D’Addario and Fender models and they’re OK but I’m not happy with any of them. I’m looking at the TC Electronic Polytune or Peterson Stroboclip HD tuners. Any recommendations?

I have the poly and strobe...if I could have only one it would be the poly....so easy and fast to tune with easy to see display...
Mrbirdog

[pattste]

Originally Posted by robj144

The Polytune has a strobe mode too. I always have it in strobe mode.

I know. My point about the display on the Polytune refered to using it in strobe mode. The display is fine when the Polytune is in needle mode. I should have been more clear, my fault. On a side-note, the polyphonic mode almost always tells me the low-E and A strings are out of tune.

[geelinus]

Tuning your guitar exponentially increases the odds of listeners noticing when you hit a wrong note.

[Nymuso]

I just use a Snark. It gets me close and that's all I need because my ears are the ultimate arbiters of final tuning.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by pattste

I know. My point about the display on the Polytune refered to using it in strobe mode. The display is fine when the Polytune is in needle mode. I should have been more clear, my fault. On a side-note, the polyphonic mode almost always tells me the low-E and A strings are out of tune.

It tells me the low E is out of tune (usually a touch flat) sometimes, but I find it all of the other strings are in tune, the low E always is too if I actually check it. So if it's the ONLY string that shows out of tune, I don't check it anymore. If more than just the low E shows as out of tune, I just check all six and fine tune them.

I find the needle display more than accurate enough on the polytune that the only time I use the strobe is when I'm adjusting intonation on one of my electric guitars (I leave that to a tech with acoustics). For tuning up while playing, I stick with the needle display.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by BT55

I have a few Snark, D’Addario and Fender models and they’re OK but I’m not happy with any of them. I’m looking at the TC Electronic Polytune or Peterson Stroboclip HD tuners. Any recommendations?

Hi BT55

I own Peterson, Polytune Clip, Korg Sledgehammer for high end tuners, and I prefer the Polytune for acoustics (I run it behind the head) and Sledgehammer tuner for my Strat and Tele.

Both will work for me to tweak tuning in the middle of the band in the middle of a song. And the displays are quick and accurate…and subtle (for shading tunings) when needed.

[paulp1960]

Another happy Polytune owner here. I love it.

[kaos]

I have never used the polytune. The peterson is a waste of money in my opinion. Works well in a quiet environment, but horrible at a gig. The point of a clipon is to use vibration to tune so noise is not an issue. And for quiet rooms you can get a cell phone app the is just as accurate. So I sold my peterson.

[Johann]

I've been casually considering a TC Polytune clip tuner, solely because it sounds like it has a mode where you can see the tuning of all 6 strings at once in standard tuning instead of having to try the strings one by one. THAT sounds very appealing. I haven't however seen many people in this thread commenting on it, including those who own both the Polytune and the Stroboclip.

Overrated feature?

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by Johann

I've been casually considering a clip tuner. I was leaning toward the TC Polytune because it sounds like it has a mode where you can see the tuning of all 6 strings at once in standard model instead of having to try the strings one by one. THAT sounds very appealing. I haven't however seen many people in this thread commenting on it, including those who own both the Polytune and the Stroboclip.

Overrated feature?

It's a bit less precise than the other methods, so a lot of people find it useless, but I find it great for a quick check. It will often read the low E string as a bit flat even when it's perfectly in tune. But my rule is if everything appears to be in tune except for the low E, everything is in tune, including the low E. If more than the low E shows sharp or flat, I go through and use the needle display to check and tune each string. To me, it's useful because if it shows everything or all but the low E in tune, I don't have to mess with tuning anything so it's a time saver that way in the middle of a session of playing. It's not really useful for tuning up the guitar (since as soon as you pluck an individual string it switches to the needle or strobe mode, depending on what you have it set to use), just a quick check to see if things are still where they need to be.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

I can only speak for myself, Andy, but.....

I don't leave anything on my guitar when I'm playing that isn't in active use, so that rules out the PW NS Micro (too fiddly to be on and off with between tunings). Also, I've never found a decent place to clip them - they always seem to foul a tuner in some way (maybe I'm just a bit dense, but...!). FWIW, I don't leave stirrup-type capos behind the nut either - if I'm not actually capoing, off it comes.

I find the PW soundhole tuners don't grab the low E string note, so no good for playing out. Also, the clip doesn't fit my Lowden due to the strengthening ring inside the soundhole (it's a cedar top). Similar problems with the Korg soundhole tuners.

Every tuner I've ever owned has required me to tweak the 2nd and 6th strings by ear. The Petersons and TC StroboClip are the exceptions, and are the only ones I've found that don't seem to need a tweak to the tuner-tuned note on those strings.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Hi Jaybee, thanks for your opinion on this. Obviously it is each to his own.

I understand that some are concerned about having clip on units fitted to the headstock on a semi permanent basis - but I leave them clipped on and never experienced any issues.
I have them with the clip outermost (which partially obscures the logo, but the actual tuner part underneath, I find them perfectly easy to usev on my slotted headstock and my three slabheads.
I bought one of their soundhole tuners and don't like it at all so, in the drawer with the other guitar related bits and pieces.

I read here a lot of enthusiasm for Paterson and HC tuners. These don't seem to be eradily avaiable in the UK although there is a Paterson tuner on amazon for over £50. that would be quite an investment to buy one for each of my guitars!
Regarding "Sweetening the tuning - this might be of interest: (btw - I hope that you can understand my speaking - when I recorded this my mouth and palette were still quite damaged from my cancer treatment.

[TJNies]

Originally Posted by 4-string

I have both.

In general I prefer the poly clip. It’s an amazing little tuner.

The Peterson HD is also very, very good. A bit bulkier than the TC, but still small enough to keep it on.

If sweetened tunings are important the Peterson is the way to go. If not, I would recommend poly clip.

IMO.

Having both myself, I agree entirely. In my case the sweetened tunings are important, so I tend towards the Peterson.
I will say I like the tc's ability to tune using a capo - it does make a difference.

[Blind Dog]

+1 Peterson (I don't actually like the little 'rocker' piece part of the clamp -- but the tuner functions well, and has survived several drops to hardwood.)