Hi boys and girl (not much more than 1 girl here i bet)



Any advice on good guitar/bass tuners, both rackmount and pedals?
I'm upgrading my crappy Sabine guitar tuner, and I don't feel like investing in a tuner later on, so I want to get the best.

My definition of a good tuner:
- Acurate (more than 3 lights on it.. something with 7-8 lights at least)
- Rapid (some tuners take a second to figure out the note... it's annoying!)


Let's hear it!

its probably not the best, but i have some korg DTR2000 tuners and they are great

try this:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...4&src=3SOSWXXA

The Peterson Virtual Strobe tuners are excellent.

I'll second that. Excellent choice.

Another vote for the Strobostomp. I own one and I couldn't imagine using any other tuner.

I gotta be loyal to what works and Vote for :

KORG DTR-2000 (or) DTR-1000


However I gotta admit that Peterson StroboStomp Looks Excellent as far as non-rackmount goes.

PETERSON!

I like the Boss floor tuner. The white one, GT2 maybe? Regardless, I have used it for years and you can also use it as a mute on stage, so its good stuff.

If you're going for a no-pedal guitar-->amp sound but using the Boss tuner, put it after the amp (DI out or line out from amp) -- you lose the mute function, but the Boss pedals often deteriorate the sound (even if switched off), esp. with passive pickups.

Or use an A/B box with the tuner on one side & amp on the other.

If I have the choice, I'll basically always have the line out/DI out of an amp patched into a tuner -- just hook it up when you're cutting & check in between takes. Additionally, it helps to be aware of intonation on fretted notes -- tension & bad form can cause bass notes to go sharp. Having the tuner on helps you confirm intonation, esp. if the rest of the track isn't cut (no intonation reference). If the bass player is pulling notes sharp & you don't catch it early on, it can turn the rest of the recording/mixing of that song into a difficult experience. Auto-Tune bass can help this to an extent.

Korg DTR's are great. I like the Boss TU-12 better than anything else in the lower price range. Got mine at Future Music cheap.

I have a feeling that the virtual strobe thing isn't working on the same principles as the real strobe tuner. I'd bet it's just a digital tuner dressed up to sorta act like a real strobe tuner.

Not putting down the Peterson. It's great.

I think 9 of every 10 guitarists will tell you to get the StroboStomp. I'm a Stick player, not a guitar player. I tried the Strobo and did not like it. I had some bad luck and got one with three (3) defects right out of the box. All three are known defects that other folks have found. For $200, I was expecting much better. Most folks have had little or no trouble with theirs, so take my bad experience as the exception rather than the rule.

My bad luck aside, the Strobo and the other Petersons are by far the most accurate. They are not quick, though, until you learn how to use them. Once you get the hang of them, they are quick. And they are 30 times as accurate as a Boss TU2.

What I ended up with was a Korg DT-10 pedal tuner. It's not as accurate as a Peterson, though it's more accurate than a TU2. Best of all, the build quality is much better than that of the Strobo. I found the Korg to be the best compromise for acceptable accuracy and good build quality.

Now, if Peterson would start building the Strobo the way Korg builds the DT-10, that would be the best tuner around.

Peterson. No doubt.

We use the Boss TU-2 on everything. My brother Kurt (guitar tech for Godsmack, Weezer, Silvertide, et al) bought one for the Curve Lab, because he uses them for his touring work and swears by its usefulness. But he also strobe-tunes the intonation on all the axes with Peterson strobe tuners, so that's a factor. The Boss TU-2 should work just fine so long as the axe is well intonated, and I've never detected any sonic artifacts from it in the chain in bypass.

I'm kind of a tuner nerd, so I have a bunch and regularly use several others. If you only own one guitar tuner, get the strobostomp. Super accurate, great on stage, easy to use, etc. etc. It just kicks ass. A lot of guys still use the TU-2, which is fine, but the strobo is better...

I'm a big peterson fan but I have several artists that have used mine in the studio and hate it....and sometimes me for pulling it out so.....accuracy isn't for everyone

The most important feature not yet mentioned is "true bypass"....tuners can be tone suckers and sometimes introduce a ghost tone or noise....if your doesn't, you are luckier than me. So I'd say; "let's not hear it" For what it's worth, Peterson's stomp version is true bypass.

Back when I was gigging (sellin' beer), I'd mod my TU-12 so that the mic wasn't working because it's in parallel and the disco's subs would skew the tuner or make it jump around and freak out (disco can do that but that's a whole other topic).

Andy

If using DAW software, I would strongly recommend a plugin tuner. Not because they are free or cheap, but because they are more accurate - relative to your DAW and your A/D converter clock.

You need one good tuner for all instruments. More than one, and you will get discrepancies between different tuners. If using virtual instruments, they will be getting their timing/tuning from your A/D converter. It's a good idea to check the tuning of virtual instruments, because various modulation routings can offset tuning and you may be off.

I often use virtual instruments to create a guide track, and that sets the tuning for the project. So it's wise to use a plugin tuner that can check virtual instruments. Usually, I find VSTi are perfectly tuned according to a plugin meter.

Guitars can be tuned with the same plugin, before you start the take.

I know that nobody here uses autotune, but imagine that if you did, the vocals will be pulled towards the tuning reference of your DAW, so it makes good sense to use nothing else but a plugin tuner.

You can fine tune Autotune.

.

To clairfy, I am using the Peterson VSII.

I used to have various Korg rackmount tuners (all worked fine) but after I bought a guitar with the Buzz Feiten tuning system, which requires a special tuning, the Peterson looked to be the best choice for my uses.

Yes, it can slightly intimidate people who are not used to a strobe style tuning display but it's very easy to get used to and far more accurate in my opinion.

I use my Eventide. It has a wonderful tuning algorithm that pitch shifts your guitar to concert pitch even if it is out of tune without a glitch. You just tell it what key you are in and boom! Done. Get one and you won't have to bother with constantly tuning and re-tuning, plus you get a really great effects processor and some decent A/D convertors to boot.

Peterson's are popular.

katsura shareware strobe tuner -- incredible tool- right on your screen- it reads right off your converters. 10 bucks. very accurate for intonation as well. no brainer since you don't have it in your signal chain and don't have to unplug to get to it.
aside from that i keep 3 tu-12s around the studio . always within reach.
david lawrence

Peterson strobe tuner. Don't get the strobostomp one unless you are on the load a lot. Just get the normal bench one that looks about the size of an osciliscope.

I just checked and the Strobe Center 5000 and the 590 seem to be the best ones.

Call me crazy, but since using a Strobostomp my guitars have sounded better!!!

They ring like I've never heard before.

Cheers,

Recky

Yep, I noticed that too. Try using a Peterson on a Buzz Feiten equipped guitar and it's the same effect, but taken even further. Almost too perfect for thick rock tracks, but you can always take it a little out of tune to get that pitch width back.

I use my Korg DT-10 everyday.. solid and at the same time a guitarsplitbox.. u can use the bypass and the output at the same time, great for recording DI-tracks from guitars or biamping.

cheers

oh yeah.. and its 90$ and no sounddegradation recoginized so far

I use the peterson strobostomp too. thumbsup

Doesn't everyone use a TU-2 or TU12..?? heh

The peterson strobostomp looks way cool.
Gotta look into 1..

Petersons are great, but I like the older models.
The new ones have too many features for me.
I like Korg, its what I use in my studio and they work great.
Good enough to intonate your instrument with.
i would personally stay away from boss. They don't seemed alligned with other tuners.

I had the korg dtr1000 rack mount which was awesome if a tad pricey and the Boss TU2. The boss is indestructable, easy to read, cheap and is a mute switch.

If i wanted to get one again I'd get the boss! Not sure about their allignment with other tuners but I'm sure they are adjustable from and around 440.

Ian

Peterson StroboSoft Deluxe.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned their software version yet.

Same virtual strobe technology but with more features and a lower price. Perfect for the DAW crowd, unless you need the portability of StroboStomp or VS II.