Clip-On Tuners

[anodyne]

Have a bunch ... always grab the Peterson Stroboclip HD.

[HeyMikey]

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 both the Peterson Strobo $60 and TCE UniTune $30 from Sweetwater. The Peterson is extremely accurate and has many excellent features but is more difficult to use. I often accidentally hit some setting I didn’t want and then I have to futz around to get back to where I want to be. The TCE is accurate, very intuitive, easy to operate and easy to read. So much so that I don’t even use the Peterson any longer.

[Glennwillow]

Hi BT,

I have both the TC Electronics Polytune and the Peterson Stroboclip. I also have a pile of other tuners. I use 3 tuners out of the pile of tuners I have: Snark SN-8, plus the TC Electronics Polytune and Peterson Stroboclip. The latter two are more accurate than the Snark SN-8.

I think for most people the TC Electronics Polytune would be easier to use, but since I am used to the Peterson Stroboclip it's a tossup for me. I use the Peterson in my studio and the TC Electronics Polytune in the house. I think I get slightly better tuning with the Stroboclip. It might be the sweetened tunings, but it could also just be wishful thinking, too. Who knows...

I think these are both excellent tuners. If I had to do it again, I would buy them both again. They are so much better than any other tuners I have used.

Outside my house and studio, I generally use the Snark SN-8 since if I lose it it's not that big of a deal. And it gets me pretty close.

- Glenn

[pattste]

I own the Polytune and have used the Peterson. If the strobe mode is important to you, I think the Peterson is a much better tuner because I find the display more informative and usable. Otherwise the Polytune does a good job. If I were buying again I would buy the Peterson.

[B. Adams]

I had a Polytune, but I didn't love it so sold it to a friend of mine. The Polytune mode didn't work well, it seemed a little slow, and I didn't really like the LED display in strobe mode, which is the only way I could get it accurate enough to work.

I have several Stroboclip HD's, and I can't think of anything I'd rather have in a clip on tuner. They're fast, accurate, and easy to read. The sweetened tunings are also nice. I've used strobe tuners for years, so it didn't take any getting used to.

[Oleif]

Could someone please fabricate an adapter to make the polytune (or any clip on tuner really) less obnoxious looking on the headstock? I love the polytune just wish it didn't stick so far off the end.

[jim1960]

I have the Peterson and the Polytune. I prefer the Peterson. I like the strobe and the Peterson is easier to get in a position you like.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by pattste

I own the Polytune and have used the Peterson. If the strobe mode is important to you, I think the Peterson is a much better tuner because I find the display more informative and usable. Otherwise the Polytune does a good job. If I were buying again I would buy the Peterson.

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

[raysachs]

One more Polytune user. I have others, I really like the little D’Addario sounhoke tuner but I don’t have any guitars with a sound hole it’ll fit in at the moment. But the Polytune has the poly function which is a nice quick check to make sure you’re still in tune after you’ve tunes up, the normal chromatic mode is great for tuning up, and the strobe mode is accurate enough for checking / adjusting intonation. I have a clip-on version on my X20 and a Polytune 3 pedal on my pedalboard... I have the Polytune app in my iPhone too, which works well in a pinch...

[JayBee1404]

I have several Snarks, two Korgs, three PW soundhole tuners, three PW NS Micros, a Fender, an Intellitouch, a TC Electronics PolyClip, a Peterson StroboClip (original version) and a Peterson StroboClip HD.

The Best for playing at home is the Peterson StroboClip HD. It's a tad 'twitchy' in use, but its sweetened tunings are excellent. Its 'twitchiness', and the fact that it is affected by extraneous noise (presumably because it is extremely sensitive, and picks up vibrations in the instrument caused by external sounds), make it #2 for playing out at gigs, sessions, open-mics etc. AFAIC.

The Best for playing out is the TC Electronics Polytune. Fast, clear, accurate, far less 'twitchy' or affected by outside noise than the Peterson, it's my absolute go-to to take out with me.

The rest all fall into the **OK** or 'meh' categories in comparison with those two.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[Twolefthands]

Great post and debate which has lead me to look into Peterson tuners a firm I knew nothing about.
Thank You for the education with the current V class bracing debate perfect pitch has never seemed more important.

[Silly Moustache]

Confused. Surely a tuner is a tuner. If it has some sorter of technology that identifies frequencies it will be accurate ...no?

The only difference I perceive in different tuners is hte speed in which they identify the frequencies, and the accuracy of the led display.

I have a red snark - initially I bought three , the first one died when someone picked it up and broke it. The second lasted about two weeks and the third is in my tool box, obviously not suitable for performance work but works adequately when I restring etc.

All of my guitars have : Planet Waves PW-CT-12 NS Micro Headstock Tuners (I copied that - as the title is bigger than the tuner).


They work well, and live on the headstocks (No damage has occurred in years).

Like everytyhing I've tried they are accurate, but that doesn't mean that the notes will be accurate all the way up the board if you use a capo or press down hard etc.

Why would a tuner be ...inaccurate?

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Confused. Surely a tuner is a tuner. If it has some sorter of technology that identifies frequencies it will be accurate ...no?

The only difference I perceive in different tuners is hte speed in which they identify the frequencies, and the accuracy of the led display.

I have a red snark - initially I bought three , the first one died when someone picked it up and broke it. The second lasted about two weeks and the third is in my tool box, obviously not suitable for performance work but works adequately when I restring etc.

All of my guitars have : Planet Waves PW-CT-12 NS Micro Headstock Tuners (I copied that - as the title is bigger than the tuner).


They work well, and live on the headstocks (No damage has occurred in years).

Like everytyhing I've tried they are accurate, but that doesn't mean that the notes will be accurate all the way up the board if you use a capo or press down hard etc.

Why would a tuner be ...inaccurate?

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!

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

I have several Snarks, two Korgs, three PW soundhole tuners, three PW NS Micros, a Fender, an Intellitouch, a TC Electronics PolyClip, a Peterson StroboClip (original version) and a Peterson StroboClip HD.

The Best for playing at home is the Peterson StroboClip HD. It's a tad 'twitchy' in use, but its sweetened tunings are excellent. Its 'twitchiness', and the fact that it is affected by extraneous noise (presumably because it is extremely sensitive, and picks up vibrations in the instrument caused by external sounds), make it #2 for playing out at gigs, sessions, open-mics etc. AFAIC.

The Best for playing out is the TC Electronics Polytune. Fast, clear, accurate, far less 'twitchy' or affected by outside noise than the Peterson, it's my absolute go-to to take out with me.

The rest all fall into the **OK** or 'meh' categories in comparison with those two.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

Based on this post, I am going to buy a Polytune.

I have had the same experience with my Stroboclip: wonderfully accurate at home, wonky in jams (especially with the low E, but on other strings too, depending upon what is happening in the room).

I had slightly better results with an older Korg tuner that I lost a few months back. Didn't find the PW sound hole tuner to be very effective....and I really wanted it to be, because it was great to have something so unobtrusive. And everyone knows the story of the Snarks: a cheap tool to get you close.

[Goodallboy]

Another firm vote of confidence for the Peterson.

Accurately tuning a guitar is a bit more involved than “getting it close”.