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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 851
Location: Canada | I will be getting my first ukulele from e-bay soon, and also have an older 12 string balladeer without built in tuner, so I think it's time to get a clip-on. Snark SN-8 looks interesting, but I'm also considering Korg Pitchclip or d'Addario NS Microtuner. Has anyone tried all three and can provide some comments on comparison? |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | I would rather play out of tune than hang a tuner on the end of my headstock |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I've got several clip on tuners, but rarely use them any more. I've got an app on my iPhone that I use mostly ... it's called PolyTune and works real well. But if I'm playing out, that's not an option. I have a pedal tuner that I use, but if it's a real short set like an open mic I'll keep a clip-on in my pocket. I have a couple of Red Snarks and they are my least favorite. The Peterson Strobe is real good but kinda pricey. I've got a couple of others that I don't know the brands, but they are small and fit nicely in my pocket ... like Al, I don't like capos or tuners hanging out on my headstocks so I keep 'em in my back pocket when I'm playing and pull them out when needed.
Tuning a 12 string is an interesting thing altogether. Unless your guitar has perfect intonation (and I've never met a 12 that does), you've got to tune it by ear relative to itself depending on where you mostly play. Sure, you can tune the open strings and get them right, but then play a C#m and 99 times out of 100 it's going to be out of tune across the strings, especially the octaves.
Tuning by ear is a lost art. Most cheap tuners are not all that accurate and players that rely on them and only tune to open strings wind up out of relative tune when they play. And worse, they can't hear it or think it must be right because the tuner said it was and they play anyway. I think all guitarists (and ukeists) need to start with a tuning fork and learn how to tune from that.
I think this is where I'm supposed to say "Get off my lawn".
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3625
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Very educational. I guess I will keep using my cheap-o Korg GA-20, for the next 20 years, to open-string-tuning, & never change the battery, cuz I'm such a sh***y player. Not being sarcastic, just realistic. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I have tried most of them and still have some Snarks, Intellitunes, and NS Microtuners laying around.
I like the NS Microtuners best because they are fairly accurate, easy to see/read, and sit so low on the headstock that I have had people play my guitar for 1/2 hour before they even realize it is on the headstock.
The Microtuner even works on my various basses which the others won't reliably do. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | my iPhone has been the best stand alone tuner I've ever owned... mostly because it's always there, and it's really accurate. I use the Guitar Toolkit app.
Like Bobbo, I have a pedal in the mix when I'm plugged in. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15668
Location: SoCal | Damn, after reading Bobbo's ideas, I gotta get rid of my Adamas 12. It tunes perfectly with a clip on tuner and is tune no matter where I play o the neck...... |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6201
Location: Phoenix AZ | I've got a Snark and a Korg DTR-2 rack mount tuner. The difference is price is about $175.
Ran the following experiment on multiple guitars using the Snark clipped to headstock and the guitar plugged into the Korg. Guess what? THEY ARE SPOT-ON IDENTICAL, up and down the fretboard. Doesn't mean either of them is RIGHT. But they are without question the SAME. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Standingovation - 2014-04-20 2:38 PM
Doesn't mean either of them is RIGHT. But they are without question the SAME.
So long as everybody in the room uses the same tuna, everything will be gravy. 
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Got a blue Snark for Christmas and really like it. It's become my favorite tuner. |
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Joined:
March 2014
Posts: 51
Location: Halifax, nova scotia | I use the snark super tight tuner which was about 8$ from an online string store, and i like it a lot.
I would love to have one of the clip on Peterson strobo tuners with the sweetened tunings, but the thing is too dang pricey for my poor self. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | hand a tuner a capo, an extra set of stings, a bandana, a cigarette a strap an extra pair of shoes, etc from the headstock
oh so attractive |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I guess I am fortunate that no one cares what I look like, but I still take the Snark off as soon as I am done tuning, just in case an audience suddenly appears in the basement. They would probably notice the popcorn, potato chips and beer cans on the floor before they noticed the Snark. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | Al, you forgot picks |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | yes those glue on pick holders how many of them I have taken off of guitars and thrown in the trash |
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Snark clip-ons.
