Clip-on tuner: Degrading resin panel

Schertler · #1 10-19-2020, 04:15 AM

Hi there,

I have ~10 years old Aria chromatic digital clip-on tuner, it was stored in a wooden box with other stuff for 1-2 years...... took it last week and found its resin panel degrading - unpleasant touching and fingers get black instantly! However, electronics work fine.....

Any experience/recommendations ?? Should I throw it out or it can be fixed ??

Thank you!

rmp · #2 10-19-2020, 04:22 AM

Seems a lot of these tuners do this.

Was this an expensive clip on tuner?

Searches don't seem to support that, but I don't know.

For about 20 bucks, I'd just get a new one and toss that one out.

A lot of us use Snarks, but there's a lot to choose from.

If you want to go with the top end, a Petereson Strobo Clip is about all the tuner a headstock would ever need.

Schertler · #3 10-19-2020, 05:16 AM

Thanks!
This ET-3000 Aria was one of the pioneer tuners that time, I remember I paid $20-25 for it ...... it has a piezo-element and mic built-in too, and selection mode of 4 instruments .....
Perhaps, there are some simple/easy methods to stop the resin degrade, though, found nothing through web-searching .....

EZYPIKINS · #4 10-19-2020, 05:50 AM

Well for one thing I can't see why you'd even ask. For $10.00 I think you could replace it.

pickinray · #5 10-19-2020, 06:54 AM

I'm afraid there isn't much you can do to stop the plastic from degrading once it has started. The best thing to do is buy a new tuner. There are lots of excellent tuners available for under $20. Good luck!

jim1960 · #6 10-19-2020, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

Well for one thing I can't see why you'd even ask.

My first thought as well. Why risk damaging an instrument over a cheap tuner? I'd have tossed that in the trash faster than the OP could have typed out his question.

Rudy4 · #7 10-19-2020, 08:25 AM

I see posts about the Snarks becoming "sticky" sometimes, but I've never had a tuner do that. I have had other plastic items become sticky, and it's always when they have been stored over long periods in a sealed box. I suspect outgassing might be the culprit.

You might try sitting the tuner aside and using another option for a year; it may naturally "dry out". If it still remains the same then you can chalk it up to "won't do that again" and permanantly "retire" it gracefully.

Zigeuner · #8 10-19-2020, 08:33 AM

I guess that tuners are popular. I've tried them in the past but I always go back to the method that I learned many years ago. I sometimes use a tuning fork and sometimes use a pitch pipe on one note, usually A-440.

Then I use harmonics to match the A and also. the typical 5, 5, 5, 4, 5 note-matching method. Then I try a few chords to see how it sounds.

Works for me.

rampix · #9 10-19-2020, 08:48 AM

Hey Schertler, I get why you’re asking...I’m cheap and a fixer of things. It drives my wife crazy. If I can fix something and keep the $10 or $20 in my pocket, I’m a happy camper.

I agree the degradation is likely from outgassing in a confined space. Before I trashed it I’d give it a wipe with alcohol and let it sit out for a few days or weeks. If that didn’t do I would trash it feeling better that I at least tried.

And yes, I have a Snark with the ball joint superglued in the perfect position for my strat.

Twin Six · #10 10-19-2020, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zigeuner

I guess that tuners are popular. I've tried them in the past but I always go back to the method that I learned many years ago. I sometimes use a tuning fork and sometimes use a pitch pipe on one note, usually A-440.

Then I use harmonics to match the A and also. the typical 5, 5, 5, 4, 5 note-matching method. Then I try a few chords to see how it sounds.

Works for me.

Same here. A chromatic pitch pipe always worked fine for sitar and works fine for 12-string. It's also great ear training.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rampix

Hey Schertler, I get why you’re asking...I’m cheap and a fixer of things. It drives my wife crazy. If I can fix something and keep the $10 or $20 in my pocket, I’m a happy camper.

I agree the degradation is likely from outgassing in a confined space. Before I trashed it I’d give it a wipe with alcohol and let it sit out for a few days or weeks. If that didn’t do I would trash it feeling better that I at least tried.

And yes, I have a Snark with the ball joint superglued in the perfect position for my strat.

Careful about using alcohol on plastic. It makes many plastics brittle. I've destroyed several plastic things this way, all luckily easily replaceable.

Schertler · #11 10-19-2020, 09:49 AM

Many thanks for your feedback!

Answering some of your notes "why I posted the question instead of easily/quickly buying the new": Asking the question is all about a knowledge ..... the more you know, the easier and faster you get issues solved! Furthermore, should I/you buy the new piece of trash ?

Special thanks to Rudy4 for the idea of 'drying' the tuner for awhile, if it helps then we will all have the knowledge of a proper storing method for such a plastic housings ..... I got checked with the tuner's manual, its caution says of avoiding extreme sunlight, humidity etc.... though, nothing is about storing method!

Moreover, I do have a good quality photo-camera with lenses and a decent zoom made by Samsung, it has a compact bag and it was stored there for years ..... the camera has a little piece of that similar resin-material on the back and it degrades identically .....

Having on-board pickups, I find a quality pedal-tuner as being a better solution!

Talk to you next year! :-)

pickinray · #12 10-19-2020, 12:46 PM

There have been several references to "outgassing" in this thread. That is not what is happening here. What is happening is the breakdown of the polymer molecules (i.e., the "plastic"), which happens over time and can be accelerated by high temperatures, direct sunlight, etc. Wiping the plastic with alcohol won't help and could make it worse. You could store the tuner in your freezer between uses to slow the degradation, but I think it's easier just to buy a new one.

Schertler · #13 10-19-2020, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickinray

That is not what is happening here. What is happening is the breakdown of the polymer molecules (i.e., the "plastic"), which happens over time

Thanks! Sounds affirmatively, have you read this somewhere within a scientific sources ?? If this is true about those polymer housings, then I would go for something made of metal ......

Actually, only the front-panel around the display is made of that resin, and it is degrading only, not the entire plastic housing; so the plastics are OK!!

There is no risk to the instrument, the tuner can be used in Mic-mode without clipping to the instrument, just putting somewhere nearby .....

Well, all would be just fine being it made 100% of plastic, without that resin panel !!

pickinray · #14 10-19-2020, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schertler

Thanks! Sounds affirmatively, have you read this somewhere within a scientific sources ?? If this is true about those polymer housings, then I would go for something made of metal ......

Actually, only the front-panel around the display is made of that resin, and it is degrading only, not the entire plastic housing; so the plastics are OK!!

There is no risk to the instrument, the tuner can be used in Mic-mode without clipping to the instrument, just putting somewhere nearby .....

Well, all would be just fine being it made 100% of plastic, without that resin panel !!

I have a background in polymer science and chemistry, so yes, there is a scientific basis to my statements.

Looking closer at the picture you posted, it looks like there could be several different types of polymers in use on the tuner. The buttons look like they could be made from a rubbery type of material. On my Fishman FT-1 tuner, the housing is made from a hard plastic but the buttons are rubbery. Is it the buttons or the actual panel that is turning your fingers black?

Schertler · #15 10-19-2020, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickinray

Looking closer at the picture you posted, it looks like there could be several different types of polymers in use on the tuner. The buttons look like they could be made from a rubbery type of material. On my Fishman FT-1 tuner, the housing is made from a hard plastic but the buttons are rubbery. Is it the buttons or the actual panel that is turning your fingers black?

Correct! I have called it Resin and it can also be called Rubber ..... The panel and buttons are made of some rubbery material, softer than tuner's plastic housing.

It is interesting that one of my instruments has on-board B-Band pickup/preamp/tuner system with that rubbery-type buttons, however all is fine, they are as good as they were new!! And that guitar is older than this tuner ......

So, perhaps the rubber material matters !! can one be good, and the other - bad ??

Thanks!!