Soundhole tuners

phydaux · #1 10-18-2021, 11:57 AM

Does anyone here use soundhole clip-in guitar tuners? If so, how are they compared to headstock clip-on tuners?

Bob from Brooklyn · #2 10-18-2021, 12:05 PM

Well they work just fine.

KevinH · #3 10-18-2021, 12:35 PM

I use the D'Addario NS Micro Sound Hole Tuners on about half my guitars. I've found that, sometimes on some guitars they have a hard time locking onto the E and D strings. Not all the time. And when that happens I use the harmonic on the 12th fret to tune. So not a big deal. I know some people have said they found them to leave a blemish in the finish if left for a long time. I haven't found that to be the case. But it probably depends on the type of finish.

RussellHawaii · #4 10-18-2021, 12:36 PM

They work just fine. If you leave it on long enough it leaves a permanent mark on the finish of the guitar. Thus, after installing them in several guitars, after a few months I threw them all away. It’s not worth marks on the guitar. I realize only some finishes will react, probably some won’t…I won’t be taking that chance again tho.

Rosewood99 · #5 10-18-2021, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussellHawaii

They work just fine. If you leave it on long enough it leaves a permanent mark on the finish of the guitar. Thus, after installing them in several guitars, after a few moths I threw them all away. It’s not worth marks on the guitar. I realize only some finishes will react, probably some won’t…I won’t be taking that chance again tho.

My answer to that is to never take them off. If there’s a mark that you can never see, then it’s not a problem. But if you’re really worried, you can break off the clip part and Velcro it to underside. I was forced to do that on one of my guitars, where the lip of the sound hole was too thick.

Goat Mick · #6 10-18-2021, 12:50 PM

I use one on my LG1. It works fine, but on some of my other guitars with thinner tops the things fall inside the soundhole whenever I hit the button to turn them off and on. That's annoying at a gig. I really prefer the ones that mount to the back of the headstock using a tuner screw.

KevinH · #7 10-18-2021, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussellHawaii

...If you leave it on long enough it leaves a permanent mark on the finish of the guitar...

Out of curiosity, I just checked my guitars that have the tuner on them. They've been on for over a year. Here's what I found:

Taylor 522ce: no detectable blemish
Martin 00-18V: no detectable blemish
Larrive 00-40R: no detectable blemish
Breedlove Concertina: visible lighter color (see photo)

I'm not sure if the tuner itself produced the mark on the Breedlove, or if it shaded that area while the rest of the top darkened. In any case, I'll probably leave them all off. I tend to use my phone or a clip on as the tuner anyway.

IMG_0037.jpg

RussellHawaii · #8 10-18-2021, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinH

Out of curiosity, I just checked my guitars that have the tuner on them. They've been on for over a year. Here's what I found:

Taylor 522ce: no detectable blemish

Martin 00-18V: no detectable blemish

Larrive 00-40R: no detectable blemish

Breedlove Concertina: visible lighter color (see photo)

I'm not sure if the tuner itself produced the mark on the Breedlove, or if it shaded that area while the rest of the top darkened. In any case, I'll probably leave them all off. I tend to use my phone or a clip on as the tuner anyway.

Attachment 63675

I stand corrected. I should’ve said ‘on some guitars’ depending on finish. Once I saw discoloration on one, and it wasn’t merely a tan-line, I stopped the experiment.
I don’t mind honest nicks and scratches, but this seemed artificial.

raysachs · #9 10-19-2021, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussellHawaii

I stand corrected. I should’ve said ‘on some guitars’ depending on finish. Once I saw discoloration on one, and it wasn’t merely a tan-line, I stopped the experiment.
I don’t mind honest nicks and scratches, but this seemed artificial.

To each their own, but “honest nicks and scratches” don’t serve a purpose as they scar the finish. These soundhole tuners DO serve a purpose as they might or might not scar the finish. I don’t really get the “artificial” distinction. I mean, however you want to treat your guitars is obviously up to you, totally your preference. But I’d rather have a small mark on a guitar’s finish from a useful item than just based on my own clumsiness…

-Ray

hubcapsc · #10 10-19-2021, 05:25 AM

I've used both. I moved from the headstock ones to
the soundhole ones on a couple of guitars. The wood
around the soundhole of my basket-case J-35 looks
fragile enough that I use one of the headstock
tuners on it. Until I rustled up the old headstock tuner
I used an old Snark.

I like 'em both better than the Snark, and the soundhole
one I like the best... it is the most invisible and yet
"right there" too.

I would hate having a guitar whose top was aging to a
nice pumpkin color and find that the color wasn't
changing under the tuner's tab...

Maybe they should make the tab out of clear plastic?

-Mike

fartamis · #11 10-19-2021, 05:32 AM

I own the Korg Rimpitch-C2 sound hole tuner on my three guitars, they are as precise and work as well as my other two clip-on tuners, a Korg PitchCrow-G and a Boss TU-03. My three guitars have all been purchased within the last six or seven months so no signs of wear yet.

Mike McLenison · #12 10-19-2021, 05:38 AM

I'm not a fan of anything touching or clamping the sound hole or headstock. I did some surgery on my clamp-on Snark and added a magnet. Works great and hides very well behind the headstock.

stokes1971 · #13 10-19-2021, 06:16 AM

I've got one on my Breedlove and my D'Angelico for 1 yr and 2 yrs with no finish marring.I like them fine.Only "issue" I find is that they are a a little slow to respond and I sometimes have the problem like Kevin said, the low E not responding with the D'Angelico, but thats no big deal.

Rosewood99 · #14 10-19-2021, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

I've used both. I moved from the headstock ones to
the soundhole ones on a couple of guitars. The wood
around the soundhole of my basket-case J-35 looks
fragile enough that I use one of the headstock
tuners on it. Until I rustled up the old headstock tuner
I used an old Snark.

I like 'em both better than the Snark, and the soundhole
one I like the best... it is the most invisible and yet
"right there" too.

I would hate having a guitar whose top was aging to a
nice pumpkin color and find that the color wasn't
changing under the tuner's tab...

Maybe they should make the tab out of clear plastic?

-Mike

Again, you can use Velcro and attach it to the underside of the sound hole and it will work fine.

RussellHawaii · #15 10-20-2021, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike McLenison

I'm not a fan of anything touching or clamping the sound hole or headstock. I did some surgery on my clamp-on Snark and added a magnet. Works great and hides very well behind the headstock.

That is interesting! Questions if you don’t mind…
Is the Snark with magnet clinging to the tuning machine?
Does it stay on?
What are those devices on the E-strings tuners?
Thanks!