Best Stage Tuner

[guitarman2]

I'd like to hear some recommendations on good tuners for stage. I don't prefer pedal style as I don't like to run the tuner in the chain. I run it off one of the outputs from a stereo chorus and like it to be able sit in the top of my BCB 60 case and using one of the 9 volt plugs. I purchased the Boss TU12H last night but I'm going to return it as the accuracy seemed way off. I was thinking of trying a TU15 but would like to hear other recomendations.

[Milkman]

Well the Plane Waves (yes it IS a pedal) is true bypass and works very well. It's also very god in dim or bright light and it's bult like a tank.
It mutes your signal while you use it. It also will provide DC power to other pedals
I had one when I was using a conventional amp and pedals and had no problems with it at all.

[Jeff Flowerday]

The best or is there a budget?

The best is the strobostomp but it's expensive.

[Milkman]

The best or is there a budget?

The best is the strobostomp but it's expensive.

Best? Most accurate maybe, but it's a bit erratic (maybe too accurate for stage).

[Paul]

The best tuner for stage use is the Gibson Robot Guitar.

I have Planet Waves that the little plastic battery door clip broke on. As it has on almost all the PW tuner pedals I have held in my grubby little hands.

I have a Peterson VSII that is accurate, not at all fidgety or erratic, and sits on an amp quite nicely. I've never used the pedal version, but I get the best, most consistent tuning from the Peterson.

The strobo rack would fit in your case, and the V-Sam would sit upon it, not unlike my VS-II.

When tuning matters most, Peterson is the best.

[Baconator]

The best tuner for stage use is the Gibson Robot Guitar.

I have Planet Waves that the little plastic battery door clip broke on. As it has on almost all the PW tuner pedals I have held in my grubby little hands.

I have a Peterson VSII that is accurate, not at all fidgety or erratic, and sits on an amp quite nicely. I've never used the pedal version, but I get the best, most consistent tuning from the Peterson.

The strobo rack would fit in your case, and the V-Sam would sit upon it, not unlike my VS-II.

When tuning matters most, Peterson is the best.

+1 with a caveat. I think my strobostomp 2 is the one tuner I've ever used that benefits from a reading of the manual. I got better results when I tried plucking the strings lightly with my thumb over the twelfth fret as they suggest, but I've never needed to resort to their other suggestions of using the neck pickup with the volume turned down a bit. Once you get used to it I find that it's faster to tune with it than other 'twitchy' tuners.

[Milkman]

The best tuner for stage use is the Gibson Robot Guitar.

I have Planet Waves that the little plastic battery door clip broke on. As it has on almost all the PW tuner pedals I have held in my grubby little hands.

I have a Peterson VSII that is accurate, not at all fidgety or erratic, and sits on an amp quite nicely. I've never used the pedal version, but I get the best, most consistent tuning from the Peterson.

The strobo rack would fit in your case, and the V-Sam would sit upon it, not unlike my VS-II.

When tuning matters most, Peterson is the best.

Stop using batteries?


Again, I've used Petersons, including some older ones as well as Conn Strobos. Yes they are the most accurate. NO they are not the best IMO for live use as they tend to be jerky and are so accurate that tiny, and basically imperceptable tuning variances slow down the process. What you use on the bench and what you use in a show aren't necessarily the same.

Tuning on stage should be quick and easy.

I do agree on the Gibson robo tuner

[allthumbs56]

Call me silly but running from one side of a chorus might not give you the best signal to work with ....

[Milkman]

It may be relevant to consider what you do on stage.

If you're a guitarist only or at least, not fronting the show, you can afford to be more finicky about getting the guitar bang on even if that takes close scrutiny to the tuner and takes a few seconds longer. After all, someone else is distracting the audience while you do it.

If you're front and centre it's a better idea to be extra studious in terms of preparation (important for all of us but even more vital when you're dong a lot of lead vocals and Mc'ing). For someone like this, something quick and stable is preferrable to something extra accurate.

[Paul]

Stop using batteries?

The battery cover is the foot switch.....it's a lousy design for a latch.

[Paul]

+1 with a caveat. I think my strobostomp 2 is the one tuner I've ever used that benefits from a reading of the manual. I got better results when I tried plucking the strings lightly with my thumb over the twelfth fret as they suggest, but I've never needed to resort to their other suggestions of using the neck pickup with the volume turned down a bit. Once you get used to it I find that it's faster to tune with it than other 'twitchy' tuners.


The manual opens up the options available with the tuner, including the different temperments. I read lots about "getting used to the Peterson", and I have to say I don't understand that. It took longer to open up the box than it did to figure out how to tune a guitar.

For the folks that find the Peterson difficult to use, (and I'm not referring to you, Baconator), perhaps playing in tune isn't something those folks should concern themselves with.

[guitarman2]

Call me silly but running from one side of a chorus might not give you the best signal to work with ....


My old boss tuner that died on the weekend jumped around quite a bit and I thought it might have been where I had it plugged but it does the same thing at home when I'm direct in to it. Half the night it would give me problems. I'd hit an open low e and it would register a b or some other random note. If I lightly kicked it then it would start working perfectly for a while again. Probably why it eventually died. I went out and bought a Boss TU 12H and it is doing the same thing. Also not very accurate. Strings aren't perfectly in tune. And I just had the guitar set up professionally.

[guitarman2]

The manual opens up the options available with the tuner, including the different temperments. I read lots about "getting used to the Peterson", and I have to say I don't understand that. It took longer to open up the box than it did to figure out how to tune a guitar.

For the folks that find the Peterson difficult to use, (and I'm not referring to you, Baconator), perhaps playing in tune isn't something those folks should concern themselves with.

I quickly looked at the Peterson last night at L&M and I didn't exactly understand it right away either. Never read the manual though. $240 is a lot of money but I have no problem if its the best tuner for stage. However, when I got home I jumped on line and read the reviews and the Peterson strobostomp gets a very low rating for reliability.

[Greg Ellis]

Call me silly but running from one side of a chorus might not give you the best signal to work with ....

Depends on the pedal.

Some "stereo" chorus units send a dry signal to the secondary output. This should work fine.

And if the chorus is switched off, it ought to be a decent signal.

You're right though - if it's an "effected" signal, it might not be the best spot to plug in.

[guitarman2]

Depends on the pedal.

Some "stereo" chorus units send a dry signal to the secondary output. This should work fine.

And if the chorus is switched off, it ought to be a decent signal.

You're right though - if it's an "effected" signal, it might not be the best spot to plug in.


Its a Diamond Halo Chorus. True bypass. And the thing is almost never on. Certainly not while tuning. I don't have many pedals down in front of me and all of them are true bypass. Only the keeley compressor is on all the time unless I'm in a room that allows me to crank my Stangray.

[Paul]

My old boss tuner that died on the weekend jumped around quite a bit and I thought it might have been where I had it plugged but it does the same thing at home when I'm direct in to it. Half the night it would give me problems. I'd hit an open low e and it would register a b or some other random note. If I lightly kicked it then it would start working perfectly for a while again. Probably why it eventually died. I went out and bought a Boss TU 12H and it is doing the same thing. Also not very accurate. Strings aren't perfectly in tune. And I just had the guitar set up professionally.

I find a lot of less expensive tuners have problems with the low E. Part of the reason for that problem that is that the overtones generated from a typical low E on a guitar are NOT pure. For the simplicity of the math, let us agree that the low E on a guitar is approx. 80 Hz. The first overtone, in a perfect world, should be 160 Hz. It ain't, it's sharp, prolly closer to 165 Hz.

The next part of that challenge with a guitar, and especially with a bass guitar, is that the first overtone is almost as strong as the fundamental. So the tuner really isn't sure what to listen to. Add a mix of p'ups too close to the strings so that the magnetic pull actually interferes with the free vibration of the string, and strangeness happens.

If I know the guitar is well intonated, with strings in good shape, (and if it is my guitar I do know that), then I will often tune the low E to the 7th fret harmonic when using a less expensive tuner. I get better results that way.

The idea behind rolling off the tone is that you filter out the high, distracting to the tuner, overtones, and hopefully get a more stable fundamental to detect. We all know that picking at the bridge gives you a brighter sound. That brightness is because of the presence of more higher overtones. Picking at the 12th fret on an open string will give you the minimum level of overtones.

[Milkman]

The battery cover is the foot switch.....it's a lousy design for a latch.

You broke one of these?
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Planet-Waves-Chromatic-Pedal-Tuner?sku=210064

I'm curious as to how. I used it for a year, sold it to someone else who has had it for almost that long and neither of us has had to open it (we use adaptors when using pedals)

[allthumbs56]

Its a Diamond Halo Chorus. True bypass. And the thing is almost never on. Certainly not while tuning. I don't have many pedals down in front of me and all of them are true bypass. Only the keeley compressor is on all the time unless I'm in a room that allows me to crank my Stangray.

I just read through the manual. I would not run a tuner off this pedal and expect it to be "out of the loop".

[Paul]

You broke one of these?
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Planet-Waves-Chromatic-Pedal-Tuner?sku=210064

I'm curious as to how. I used it for a year, sold it to someone else who has had it for almost that long and neither of us has had to open it (we use adaptors when using pedals)

Yup. One was broken in the store when I bought mine, (I shoulda seen this coming), and I've held two others in my hand with the same failure. It's just a little slide latch plastic thingy, the least substantial part of the whole damn pedal. The weakest link, as it were.

I like the pedal for onstage tuning. It's bright enough, accurate enough, and stable enough. I still use it as is.

[guitarman2]

I just read through the manual. I would not run a tuner off this pedal and expect it to be "out of the loop".

Why would you say that? There is only a cable going from out of chorus and input of tuner. Nothing from output of tuner and through the chain. The tone is absolutely no different with or with out the tuner. The tuner works as good or as bad whether coming out of the Chorus or the guitar is directly in to the tuner. The tuner that died on me has been in use this way for the last 8 months.

[guitarman2]

Yup. One was broken in the store when I bought mine, (I shoulda seen this coming), and I've held two others in my hand with the same failure. It's just a little slide latch plastic thingy, the least substantial part of the whole damn pedal. The weakest link, as it were.

I like the pedal for onstage tuning. It's bright enough, accurate enough, and stable enough. I still use it as is.

Would you say that the planet waves tuner is more accurate or better over all then the Boss tuners?

[Milkman]

Would you say that the planet waves tuner is more accurate or better over all then the Boss tuners?

I'm sure Paul will respond, but in the mean time, I would say that they're easier to read at a glance while standing, BIG FONT, nice bright LED green and Red to guide you in.

I think it's much better.

[allthumbs56]

Why would you say that? There is only a cable going from out of chorus and input of tuner. Nothing from output of tuner and through the chain. The tone is absolutely no different with or with out the tuner. The tuner works as good or as bad whether coming out of the Chorus or the guitar is directly in to the tuner. The tuner that died on me has been in use this way for the last 8 months.

Maybe I'm just suffering from some hump-day fuzziheadedness but if your chorus is in your loop how can there be only one cable coming out (to the tuner). If there are two cables coming out then the chorus is operating in stereo with one "channel" (dry or wet) going to the tuner. Or are you using stereo "In"s and "Outs" somehow?

Help me here - I'm not making sense of this.

[Paul]

Would you say that the planet waves tuner is more accurate or better over all then the Boss tuners?

Let us be careful with our choice of words. As far as I can tell, both the typical boss needle or stompbox tuners, and the Planet Waves tuner, are just as precise as each other. I'm going on memory here, but they are likely +/- 3 cents at A=440Hz.

Accuracy is a different word than precision. I find that when I tune with the Planet Waves, and then double check with my Peterson that I will have to sweeten one or two strings to be "in tune" with the Peterson. It is not always the same two strings. I am comparing apples to apples here, I use the equal temperment setting on the Peterson when making this comparison. I typically tune with the "sweetend for guitar" temperment when using the Peterson. It sounds better to my ear when I do that.

If I tune with the Peterson first, and then double check with Planet Waves, the PW will read in tune for all 6 strings, no sweetening or tweaking required. That tells me that both the Peterson and the Planet Waves are pretty much in sync for A440 actually calibrated to A=440.

I'm a big fan of every body in the group using the same tuner to tune. A typical less expensive tuner like a Planet Waves is precise to +/- 3 or 5 cents. If my tuner is on the + side, and yours is on the - side, we can both read in tune on our tuners, and be in tune with ourselves, but horribly out of tune with each other.

You are welcome to borrow my PW if you like. The Peterson stays with me.

[bleedingfingers]

I'm really diggin my Korg pitchblack
decent price
easy to read in any light
chains through for powering other pedals
small footprint on pedalboard also sits nice on top of amp.
real true bypass switching
looks cool

Only bad thing is they're hard to find .
I ordered mine from L+M

cheers B.

[boomer]

http://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no=DTR2000

I use this one in a rack...

excellent all around.

[guitarman2]

http://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no=DTR2000

I use this one in a rack...

excellent all around.


I looked at the DTR 1000. Not really convenient for me as I don't have a rack to put it in. Can't really put it on top of my amp as half the top is ventilation for my tubes.

[guitarman2]

Thanks for all the advice and recommendations. I'm going to go with the Planet Waves tuner for now.

[Paul]

Thanks for all the advice and recommendations. I'm going to go with the Planet Waves tuner for now.

Let us all know how you like it. Let ME know if the battery cover latch plastic thingy breaks.

[pattste]

I'd like to hear some recommendations on good tuners for stage.

You might want to try the Intellitouch PT-1 (seriously):

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u65/pattste/IntellitouchPT1.jpg

I love mine. It attaches to the headstock and works using the vibration of your guitar. It is precise and stable, once you know how to use it. They have a list of endorsers (mostly jazzers) a mile long including some of the world's top players like Jimmy Bruno and Bill Frisell. It costs about $50 and is made in the USA.

But it is not for everyone... you cannot tune while the band is playing as the vibration produced by the loud music around you will throw it off.

[KHINGPYNN]

Planet Waves strobe pedal tuner is by far the best one I've found... I've had one for two years now... great tuner... easy to see and read.