PSA polytune sale

[Lillis]

Thanks. I probably didn’t “need” one but I ordered the Poly. Has features my others don’t.

[mattwood]

Is there any other advantage of the polytune over the unitune other than being able to tune all the strings at once?

[woodbox]

And as long as we are asking questions,
why are either of these preferable to a Snark product?

[buddyhu]

Thanks for thr heads up. Bought one for me, and one for my godson who is just learning to play.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by woodbox

And as long as we are asking questions,
why are either of these preferable to a Snark product?

I own a Unitune, and it seems more accurate to me than any Snark I have used. And The Snarks go through batteries much more quikcly than a Unitune does (they each use same size battery).

[woodbox]

Thank you buddyhu.

This is a simple example of AGF at its best.

[dnf777]

Originally Posted by woodbox

And as long as we are asking questions,
why are either of these preferable to a Snark product?

I have broken a few snarks with what I would consider “normal use”. I also find the display format of the poly or unituners more intuitive. They both will also display a strobe-type display if you prefer.

The poly and uni are identical, except the polytune will give a bar graph display of all 6 strings, with in-tune strings in green, and sharp and flat strings in red, above or below the baseline. Honestly, I thought it was a gimmick and never used it at first. But it displays automatically if you just strum all strings when its on. If you pick a single string, it automatically switches to a single display (either a needle type meter or strobe, whichever you select). After a while, I grew to like the quick, all-in-one display.

One more thing I find superior, is easy to see display in all lighting. No having to tilt and change viewing angles to see the LEDs like snarks require with less than new batteries. All JMHO, but they are all I use now.

[lowrider]

I just ordered two Unitunes.

[emtsteve]

I just ordered two uni's as well. I find them more accurate and responsive than Snarks and the batteries last longer. Plus they fit better in the in the guitar case. Great product and a steal at $16.

[jjbigfly]

You have caused me to buy two of the poly tunes.
You can expect a call from the wife…..

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by woodbox

And as long as we are asking questions,
why are either of these preferable to a Snark product?

I own a few different electronic tuners (everything from the Korg C10 to a Peterson desktop strobe tuner...) and have probably used a Snark more than any of the others. (I still have the first red one and have never experienced the breakage that so many complain about.)

I pick up tuners to try out when I see them on sale because it always seems like I'm running into brand new players who need a tuner to help them out initially.

I used a Snark SN-8 up until picking up one of the Snark Napoleon N5 tuners. The Napoleon is almost unique in it's simplicity and large easy to see display, not a bad thing for "older" eyesight. It's been clipped to my music stand and I find it's quite adequate for quickly tuning to pitch. I kind of like simplicity as I get older, so a simple tuner like the Napoleon is kind of refreshing to use.

I picked up one of these sale-priced black Unitunes last week, so my impressions, based on my familiarity with several brands:

First, I like the solid build. It has good padding in the right places and fits well on the headstocks of my instruments. The normal display functions well and I like how quickly it locks on to the note being tuned. That's where it really excels, as it's almost instantaneous in response. This means it's quick to touch up all six strings, and when you get done it sounds good.

You may still need to sweeten a string to align with the key you're playing, but that's a function of temperament and has nothing to do with the tuner's accuracy.

What I don't like?

The buttons aren't easy to actuate, and the combination of difficulty in using the buttons and a bit of a "wonky" selection process when toggling between "standard" and "strobe" mode doesn't make this the easiest tuner to use.

The strobe mode is a bit gimmicky and WAY too "busy". I personally don't think there's a need for it, so luckily, once you select the "standard" mode then normal use will be relatively easy. I'm surprised there's not a "medical warning" for those who have problems with bright flickering displays.

I find its easiest to press the off-on button with my thumb while holding the front of the headstock with my middle finger. This will become clear once you use the tuner.

The use of rows of green AND red LEDs when the tuner shows the reference pitch is also less than "attractive" and a bit disconcerting. Luckily, most users won't be changing the reference pitch very often, so you won't have to see the garish "Christmas lights" frequency display.

With all that said, this is a very nice tuner, with a lightening fast response, and easy to use, once you lock in to using the 440 standard pitch reference and standard tuning display... and figuring out an easy way to actuate the power on button!

The "perfect" Unitune for most users would have the power off-on button and nothing else. Very few users use anything other than 440 hz as a reference pitch and the "standard" mode of operation is the only mode that would be chosen by the majority of users.

Time will tell if it becomes my new favorite tuner to keep on my stand or headstock or join the others as they wait to be passed on to a new player.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I find its easiest to press the off-on button with my thumb while holding the front of the headstock with my middle finger. This will become clear once you use the tuner.

My work around is to turn the tuner on before I put it on the headstock.

[woodbox]

Big THANKS to dnf777 and Rudy4, and to buddyhu previously.

Wow, more than expected guys, but again I say,
THIS is what makes the AGF so cool.. helping each other along the trail.

I guess I’ll go check ‘em out.
Maybe then I won’t need to continue babying my Snarks?
I carry them in a little plastic case robbed from the kitchen to try to prevent the chronic breakage.

Anyway, thanks for the initial PSA and the following education.

[davidd]

I bought both the polytune and unitune.

[woodbox]

And of course,
with the new tuner on sale, I ended up spending about $100 on other things.

The old marketing ploy of “get them in the door, they’ll buy more” worked again.

Thanks again... (i think)