Digital Tuner ???

Thinking of getting a digital tuner for setting up intonation and just wondered from the collective experience if anyone has found a particularly reliable/stable one at an affordable price (ish).

Someone recently mentioned they used a Korg DT-10 which they found very good. I don't use one of these modern phones with the ability to download apps so that is not an option.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated, cheers

The most accurate tuner I've used is the one included in GuitarRig by Native Instruments on pc,  other than that my main one is a korg ga10 iirc,  lcd needle affair, very accurate as far as I can tell.

Korg Pitchblack is my main one, with a few Boss TU-12s lurking about.

Correction: mine is a korg ga-1

Thank you guys for sharing your kit experience, will check out the reviews and make a decision accordingly. As this is purely for bench work and not live playing, stability and accuracy is core vrs fitting into a rig..cheers for now

Well, if you've got the wherewithal, a Peterson strobe tuner is right up there, especially on the bench!

That Peterson looks very good indeed, a tad over the intended spend but I guess, buy well, buy once...many thanks again

.99p and works as good as any others I have.

These days, pretty much all tuners sold (at least at the retail level) are "digital", and in my experience, all are accurate. About the only place you'll see strobe type equipment is on the bench since it ain't exactly sumthin' you'd take on stage wif yer bad self.

You could divide tuners into two main categories: electronic and headstock. Damian's above is an example of the latter. There are countless variations on these, but they all rely on acoustic vibration through the neck, so it's very much a mechanical/physical function and you can use them on either acoustic or electric instruments.

Headstock tuners are very quick handy to use and some are so small you can even leave them attached with the display resting on the back of the headstock facing the player. The big advantage to these is the nice clear readout of the string note coupled usually with a colour change.

Electronic tuners are used on guitars which have pickups and connect with a standard 1/4" jack connector wire. They normally emulate an analog meter readout, but they too are actually digital. The advantage to these is more accuracy when doing alternate tunings or something other than standard 440 pitch, and they often have an optional audible tone feature, as well as a built in mic which can be used to tune acoustically. (Not so good in a noisy environment though)

I use both on my bench, but I generally prefer the electronic Korg's which I also use acoustically by tucking the mic portion under the back of the guitar as it sits on the neck rest. Works fine as long as nobody's "shredding" through a large Marshall at the same time, then it's back to the headstock tuner.

Thanks for the comments guys, very comprehensive Barry and makes total sense...total bonus....just saved dipping into the Gas funds

Nice prècis of tuner tech, Barry!!

Yeah, those little clip on things are pretty bloody good; I bought one in Jersey for pennies 'cause I didn't have anything else over there and the things still going strong!
I confess to using the Pitchblack infrequently because its on one of my pedal boards thus having an old, battered Boss TU 12 screwed to the underneath of a shelf over my workbench!!
I love the look of a strobe tuner, but figure they're for much more precision than I'll ever need; I just thought Si should have ALL the facts at his disposal....

The TC Electronic polytune has just been released as a clip on,  the pedal variant (and the apple app)  are meant to be superb,  just a thought.

Of course the overriding problem with tuning is that no matter you do, given the ambient humidity yer likely to be out-of-tune again, sooner rather than later, especially on acoustics and acoustic-electrics.

Wood is "organic" and sucks up and gives off water vapour with distressing regularity. Happened to me all the time on gigs with my Gibson ES330. The heat and sweat from my body made the poor thing expand and I was always re-tuning. Eventually left her at home and played my Ovation and, of course, the Westone Spectrum ST!

Barry wrote:Works fine as long as nobody's "shredding" through a large Marshall at the same time, then it's back to the headstock tuner.

Indeedy!

A conversation is not conducive..

Shoot, lost my post. I hate retyping these things...

Hey meadows,

This has been my experience. The first rule is to never stop ear tuning. You need it, even with a strobe, IMO.

I've been using a Peterson for 20 years until about a year and a half ago when I switched to an app on the shop iPad. It's a Peterson app, and the convenience of having it on the iPad is fantastic since i always have it at hand, and the Petersons take up real space. I've also been trying out another app, Miso Tuner, and think it may also have its place.

Once you get away from that type of setup, the tuners I've had the best experience with both as floor pedals and for intonation are the Boss TU series. Indestructible and accurate. I currently have a TU-2 & TU-3. I use the TU-3 when playing out (brighter), and use the TU-2 for most of my other tuning needs. I've used both for setting intonation, and for what they are they're quite good. You can find used TU-2s these days for a pretty nice price.

For the first 25 years I used my ears and one tuning fork, though after the first few years I bought a whole set. I still temper by ear, check the variation on the strobe, and go through the cycle again. I know it sounds excessive, but that's what works for me. You can buy second gen iPads for 250US or less depending on features, but the cheapest one works fine for this stuff, and keeping records, schematics, et cetera.

I do not work for Apple or Peterson.

Man, things sure have changed in the shop. I did so much, with so little, for so long. I'm sure most here have had the same experience. There is life without Stew Mac (though they have their place).

BTW, I'm quite jealous. I wish I had a drummer named Spike!

CRC

PS. Peterson has a clip on tuner, I've never used on, but you might check it out.

METESKY wrote:...Man, things sure have changed in the shop. I did so much, with so little, for so long. I'm sure most here have had the same experience...

Sadly, yes. Retail has been hit very hard this past year, and the music business in particular. We've been "economizing" until it hurts. it makes you resourceful, but I'd still love to have Dan Erliwine's shop and all it's tools.

Metesky, thank you taking the time to retype (what a pain!!!) and share your knowledge and experience. I would love to spend a day in a luthier's shop just observing the techniques and tricks you guys use to make instruments realise their full potential. I'm sure some of the work could be a bit production line in process but hopefully every once in a while a real gem must fall into your hands that reminds you why you still get up in the morning

I will have a look at the TU series and also the new TC mini clip-on (thanks Pete) and also bug Mrs Meadows to let me download an app on her face ache pad (thing!!!) and see how I get on.

As you say, above and beyond, use one's ears, which is why we know the intonation has slipped in the first instance. Many thanks again