(My Original Blog Post: http://www.reddawgguitarnews.com/?p=2321)
This month we are going to put 12 Guitar Tuners to the test.
We issued the challenge and the following companies responded:
For our Guitar Tuner Showdown, we tested each tuner for the following:
1. Quality
2. Ease of Use
3. Accuracy
4. Affordability
When purchasing a tuner, please keep in mind the application that you will be using it for. Some tuners will work just fine for jamming in your bedroom while you may want something with added features if your playing in a club or recording in a studio.
When it comes to testing accuracy we did not have equipment to measure the accuracy of these tuners, we went on the manufacturers claims and how they compared to other tuners in the same price range.
One of the most important factors when making a purchase may be how much you can afford to spend. The are alot of good affordable tuners out there on the market that get the job done without punching a hole in your wallet.
Planet Waves SOS Strobe Pick Tuner
Price: $14.99
Description:
The revolutionary Planet Waves S.O.S. Guitar Tuner pulses two out-of-phase LED light beams directly onto the vibrating string. When the string is out of tune, the two lights will visually dance on the string being tuned. As you approach in-tune status, the movement slows down and eventually stops when you are perfectly in tune. This revolutionary visual tuning system enables precision tuning in silent or noisy environments, with the need for audible sound or sensing of any kind.
- Ergonomic pick-sized design
- Light Based Tuning
- Precisely tune in dark or noisy environments
Editors Note:
This Guitar Tuner is a little different than a traditional tuner, the lights dance until your string comes into tune. It works well in the dark and in lit places. It took a little getting used to but after a little practice, it was easy to use.
Compared to the other tuners we tested, we found this tuner to be very accurate. Works great in a lit room or in the dark.
This is a nice little tuner that takes up very little space and easily gets the jobs done.
Qwik Tune QT-11 Auto Chromatic Guitar Tuner
Price: $14.99
Description:
The Qwik Tune QT11 Guitar and Bass Tuner was designed for simplicity, featuring anelectronic pitchpipethat plays each guitar strings pitch.Its also a highly precise automatic tuner for guitar and bass. Ideal for the beginner, its Off Meter tuning tells you which string your trying to tune and shows you whether your flat or sharp. Its built in high sensitivity microphone and fast metering make this the affordable tuner for the Next Generation. Batteries included.
Editors Note:
This tuner has a needle on the display that as you adjust the tuners of your guitar it moves flat or sharp. Once you have the needle centered your guitar is in tune.
We found this tuner to be fairly accurate compared to the other tuners, it took a little bit of time to get used to this tuner, knowing how much of an adjustment to make to get the needle headed in the right direction.
This is a nice compact tuner at an affordable price.
Planet Waves PW-CT-09 Universal II Chromatic Tuner
Price: $19.99
Description:
The Universal Chromatic II Tuner precisely tunes guitars, basses, and other stringed, woodwind and brass instruments. Features both LED and bold LCD displays for tuning in well-lit or dark environments, and built-in microphone for acoustic and 1/4″ input for electriconic instruments. The compact, sleek design makes it extremely portable and convenient to store in instrument cases.
Editors Note:
This is a nice little compact tuner that looks pretty sharp. There are several features that we really liked. Instead of a sweeping needle, the display shows the note in the form of a letter and has both colored LED lights and a sweeping display to indicate once you are in tune.
One of the things we like about this tuner was that it gives you a better indication of how close you are to being in tune so that you can alter your adjustments so that you do not overshoot the sweet spot.
This is a great little compact tuner that is very accurate and affordable.
Korg GA-40 Electronic Guitar and Bass Tuner
Price: $19.99
Description:
Korg GA-40 – The Electric Guitar and Bass Tuner with Superior Tuning Abilities!
With superior features like a large, easy-to-see, LCD needle-style display, the Korg GA-40 is a dedicated electric guitar tuner with a great value!
Features:
* A compact guitar and bass tuner designed specifically for guitar and bass, with excellent performance and convenient functionality.
* Large, high-precision meter-type display for stable tuning indication
* Quinta-Flat Tuning mode allows dropped tunings from one to five semitones
* Supports tuning of seven-string guitars and six-string basses
* Sound Out function lets you produce a reference tone from the internal speaker
* Bypass function
* Auto Power Off function saves the battery even if you forget to turn off the electric guitar tuner
* Memory Backup function
* Approximately 85 hours of continuous use
Dedicated guitar and bass tuner with large LCD for easy viewing
The Korg GA-40 is a dedicated, easy-to-operate guitar and bass tuner with automatic pitch detection. In Guitar mode it supports seven-string guitars (7B through 1E), and in Bass mode it supports six-string basses (Low-B and Hi-C). With the precision you expect from KORG, the GA-40 indicates the pitch quickly and accurately. The LCD needle-style display provides both the accuracy of an LCD as well as the easy viewing of a needle indicator, and the display has been enlarged for even clearer visibility. You can also use the built-in high-sensitivity microphone to tune an acoustic guitar.
Sound Out function produces a reference tone from the internal speaker
In addition to letting you tune visually using the meter, this electric guitar tuner provides a Sound Out function that plays a reference tone through the internal speaker, letting you tune by ear. Each time you press the Sound switch, the tone will cycle through 7B->6E->5A->4D->3G->2B->1E in Guitar mode, or through LB->4E->3A->2D->1G->HC in Bass mode.
Quinta Flat Tuning mode
To support the dropped tunings used in heavy metal styles and produce a powerfully massive sound, the GA-40 provides a Quinta Flat Tuning mode that lets you detect dropped tunings of one through five semitones. This lets you tune super-long scale guitars that extend below the pitch range of conventional guitars.
Conveniently thin and compact
The GA-40 hand held tuner gives you convenient guitar and bass tuning functionality in a pocket-sized package, making it easy to tune whether you’re on stage or in the studio. An output jack (bypass) has been added, making it easy to check the tuning even while you’re performing. The stand on the back lets you place the tuner on any surface.
Auto Power Off function
The Auto Power Off function of this electric guitar tuner automatically turns the power off after the unit has been left on for twenty minutes, preventing the batteries from running down needlessly.
Approximately 85 hours of continuous use
The GA-40 is designed for long battery life, and allows approximately 85 hours of continuous use (continuous A4 input, Meter mode, zinc-carbon batteries).
*Even if a sound is within the detectable pitch range, detection may be unsuccessful for instrumental sounds that contain a large number of overtones or that decay rapidly. Korg electric guitar tuners purchased from a Korg USA authorized dealer now have a three year warranty.
Editors Note:
This tuner is rugged and very well built. It has a needle that sweeps from side to side to let you know how close you are in tune. We found it to be a little sensitive and overshot the mark on several attempts. It took a little getting used to.
Compared to other tuners in the review, we found this to be very accurate once we were able to get it locked in.
This is a nice little tuner at an affordable price.
Intellitouch PT10 Mini Clip-On Tuner
Price: $29.99
Description:
The Intellitouch® PT10 “Mini” tuner pushes forward the boundaries for small, compact size while still having a large, easy-to-read backlit display.
Features include:
* a needle display
* color-changing backlight
RED = out of tune
GREEN = when in tune
* calibration from 430Hz to 450Hz
* elegantly simple controls
* Limited Lifetime Warranty
A Retail Price of $39.95 and OnBoard Research’s phenomenal “No Questions Asked” Limited Lifetime Warranty will satisfy even the most cost conscious musician. Ideal for everyone, iIts ease of use and reliability is what beginners need and pros want. Intellitouch is quick, accurate and Easy as A-B-C#.
Designed to clip on and tune electric and acoustic guitars, basses, violins, banjos, mandolins and more without interference from ambient room noise, the PT10 “Mini” actually “feels” the instrument’s vibrational energy instead of relying on sound.
Intellitouch® PT10 is available from your favorite music store, as well as direct from OnBoard Research.
Editors Note:
This is a nice little tuner that you clip onto your headstock, pluck the string and make adjustments until you get it into tune.
This is nice little compact tuner that sports an indicator letting you know how close you are are to being in tune. We were impress that not only was the needle dead center but the backlight in the display changes to green to indicate that you are in tune.
We found this tuner to be very accurate and very easy to use. This tuner works great in a lit room or in the dark.
This tuner is a little more expensive that the previous tuners but well worth the extra cash.
Intellitouch PT30 Classic Clip On Tuner
Price: $39.95
Description:
The Intellitouch PT1 changed tuners forever in 1997 when it introduced a new concept of tuner. Intellitouch opened up new possibilities for musicians as the world’s first tuner that clipped onto an instrument and sensed its vibrations, instead of using a microphone or required a cable to plug in.
Now our tuners are doing it again with all-new models, features and functions.
You can count on Intellitouch to be at the innovative edge of tuner design.
Editors Note:
This tuner looks like the big brother of the PT10, it sports a larger display that has arrows that guide you into tune.
It does however lack the red/green backlight that indicates you are in tune but works equally as well as it’s little brother.
We liked that it does allow you to select between Red, Blue and White for the backlight in the display.
This is a great clip-on tuner that is both accurate and affordable.
Artec SE-PTN Big Dots Matrix Pedal Tuner
Price: $59.95
Description:
SE-PTN is specially designed for Stage. This has No Sound Loss by True-Bypass, and when tuning, this blocks the noise perfectly with Low-Impedance Mute output. Guitarist can read the display very easily with Big Size Dot-Matrix. The note flows Left and Right, so it is very easy to recognize tuning. There is no battery loss when bypass.
■■ SPECIFICATION ■■
Power supply: DC9V
Consumption: 28mA(active), 0mA(bypass)
Dimension: 75.5(w) x 115.5(h) x 47.5(d) (mm)
Weight: 290g (include battery)
Editors Note:
This is the first pedal tuner in this review. We were rather impressed with this tuner. It comes in a nice rugged case. The display is made up of large blue dots. The display shows the letter of the note, whether it is flat or sharp and the direction you need to turn the tuner to get it into tune.
As we played a few notes it quickly locked in and displayed the correct note. This works great in a lit room or in the dark.
This is a great pedal tuner offered at a great price.
Planet Waves PW-CT-07 Desktop True Strobe Tuner
Price: $79.99
Description:
The Tru-Strobe Tuner is an extremely accurate pitch measurement device, perfect for settling intonation, recording and live performances where being in tune is of the utmost importance. The tuner’s heavy-duty construction includes a built-in microphone and input jacks for tuning acoustic, as well as electronic instruments. The slightest difference between input frequency and the ideal frequency accumulates over time, and appears as movement on the circular LED interface. Once the movement stops, you are perfectly in tune.
•Accurate to +/- .1 cent
•Features true strobe tuning(not a simulation)
Editors Note:
This is the first strobe tuner of this review. This tuner is a desktop tuner, you could put it on a pedal board and leave it on or off, but it would require that you push a button with your finger because it lacks a stomp switch.
We like the blue backlight of the display and how quickly it would recognize notes as we played them. It took a little bit if getting used to this tuner, but once you figure it out, getting your guitar into tune is a breeze.
This is a very accurate tuner. This tuner would perform well in a lit room or in the dark.
This is great tuner at a great price.
Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Pedal Tuner
Price: $89.99
Description:
Korg Pitchblack – The Precise and Functional Chromatic Pedal Tuner!
The music makers at Korg have set a new standard in pedal tuner capabilities. Announcing the Korg Pitchblack – the chromatic pedal tuner dedicated to precision and functionality.
Features:
* 100% True Bypass output keeps your tone intact
* Choose from four types of display modes: Full Strobe, Half Strobe, Meter Mode, Mirror Mode
* Compact pedal sized guitar/bass pedal tuner that fits in your pedal board
* Large, bright LED meters clearly show any tuning discrepancy
* A broad detection range from E0 (20.60 Hz) to C8 (4186 Hz)
* Calibration is adjustable from 436 — 445 Hz
* A 9 VDC output jack is provided for cascading the power supply to other pedals
* Sleek, black and tough aluminum die cast body for superb durability
A new chromatic pedal tuner with a large LED display makes this the must-have item for the guitarist or bassist
High precision, advanced functionality and sleek style make this new guitar/bass pedal tuner from Korg our most advanced one yet. The Korg Pitchblack is the same size as a compact effect unit, and features a tough aluminum die cast body that will endure hard use on the road or in the studio. While small in size, this strobe tuner boasts a large; easy to read LED meter with a light-emitting surface for excellent visibility in any setting from daylight, to stage light and to no light at all, as well as an extremely smooth eleven-segment LED meter that allows accurate visual tuning from any angle. With a red LED that indicates the tuner’s on/off status, a large note name display, and a tuning guide that indicates whether your instrument is sharp or flat, you’ll always be able to tune quickly and accurately in any situation. The Pitchblack provides a tuning range of E0 (20.60 Hz) to C8 (4,186 Hz), and adjustable calibration between 436 — 445 Hz.
A Strobe Tuner with Four display modes
The Korg Pitchblack’s LED meter can be switched between four display modes including: Meter mode, Full Strobe mode, Half Strobe mode and Mirror mode.
Meter mode
Similar to using a needle meter, tune your instrument with this pedal tuner so that the green LED in the center of the LED display lights and both tuning guide LED’s are lit. The tuning LED’s will be to the right of center if your instrument is sharp, and to the left of the center if it is flat.
Full Strobe mode
Using this pedal tuner, tune your instrument so that the LED meters stop streaming and both tuning guide LED’s are lit. The LED meters will stream from left to right if your instrument is sharp and from right to left if it is flat.
Half Strobe mode
Tune your instrument so that the LED meters stop streaming and only the green LED in the center is lit and both tuning guide LEDs are lit. The LED meters will stream to the right of center if your instrument is sharp, and to the left of center if it is flat. When the pitch is correct, only the center LED will be lit.
Mirror mode
Tune your instrument with this pedal tuner so that the two LEDs on the left and right sides of the center LED meet in the middle and both tuning guide LED’s are lit. The pitch lit LEDs will spread farther apart the more your instrument is out of tune. The left tuning guide will light if your instrument is flat, and the right tuning guide will light if it is sharp.
100% True Bypass output keeps your tone intact.
The Pitchblack mutes the input signal for silent tuning, and when you’re not tuning, the input is passed directly to the output jack without being affected by any circuitry (True Bypass). Therefore, even if you connect the pedal tuner between several of your favorite pedals, the signal will pass without going through the internal buffer amp, ensuring that the sounds you’ve created using your effects will not be colored in any way. The Pitchblack is designed to coexist transparently with other effect pedals.
A perfect fit in your pedal board plus the DC output powers other pedals.
The Pitchblack is designed to fit conveniently into your pedal board system. This pedal tuner provides a DC OUT jack that can supply power to other effect pedals when the optional AC adaptor is used. By connecting optional DC cables, you can supply up to 200 mA of power to multiple effect pedals, simplifying the power connections in your pedal board.
Editors Note:
This is a sturdy, well built tuner. It sports an impressive selection of features.
This tuner is accurate and works well in a lit room or in the dark.
We could not find any specs on the exact accuracy of this tuner but after comparing its performance to other tuners in the same price range, this tuner performed just as well as the other tuners in this class.
This is a tuner that has a reputation of being one of the most popular tuners on the market. What people say about this tuner is true. It is a great tuner at an affordable price.
Planet Waves Tru-Strobe Pedal Tuner
Price: $89.99
Description:
he Planet Waves Tru-Strobe Pedal Tuner is the perfect tool for live performance, recording and setting intonation. The variance between the input frequency and perfect pitch is displayed as motion on the easy-to-read circular LCD interface. When the motion stops you are perfectly in tune to +/- 0.1 of a cent! Get professional tuning accuracy in a rugged, heavy-duty die-cast housing, plus:
- True bypass wiring with quiet switching
- Buzz Feiten ® and drop tuning presets
- Wide calibration range
- Visible in full sunlight and on dark stages
- User Calibration Range from A400Hz to A499hz
- 9V input/output for daisy-chaining effects
Editors Note:
We really liked the desktop model of the Planet Waves Strobe Tuner and were very happy to see that they also offered a Stomp Box version of the pedal.
This tuner has a few impressive features packed under the hood. It is a sturdy well built tuner. This is a very accurate tuner that works well in a lit room or in the dark.
For all the features this tuner has, it is a bargain for the price.
Sonic Research ST-200 Stomp Box Strobe Tuner
Price: $129.99
Description:
*True Strobe Display
Easy to read display instantly shows the slightest difference in pitch of the note played from the indicated note. The ring of LEDs is a true stroboscope, driven directly by the analog input signal and a precision internal frequency reference. This gives zero latency and instantly shows the slightest tuning error.
*True Bypass / Muted Output
The output of the ST-200 is muted when the tuner is on, and when off the input signal is passed directly to the output. It is completely disconnected from all internal circuitry and the tuner puts zero load on the signal.
*Extreme Accuracy
The internal timing generator is calibrated at the factory to maintain a precision of ±.02 cents.
*Chromatic Mode
Permits tuning to any of the 12 notes from C0 to C8, in any temperament.
*Open Tuning Modes
Tunes to preset or user defined tunings. In this mode the tuner only recognizes notes that are defined for the specified tuning. The tuner comes with a number of pre-defined tunings for stringed instruments. These can be edited by the user.
*Power On Restore
The ST-200 remembers the settings for mode, drop tuning and A4 changes. No battery is necessary.
*Flat Tuning
Lowers all pitches up to six semitones.
*Reference Pitch Change
By default, the tuner uses A4=440Hz as the reference pitch. This can be changed in increments of .1Hz, over the range of 300.0 Hz to 599.9 Hz.
*Temperaments
The ST-200 can operate in the equal temperament or any 12 note temperament the user desires. The ST-200 can store a total of 5 different temperaments, in addition to the equal temperament.
*Battery or External 9 Volt Operation
The Turbo Tuner ST-200 can operate for 12 hours continuous from a standard alkaline battery. This is enough for about 1,000 tune ups. It also works with any 9 Volt adapter designed for stomp boxes.
*Low Battery Indication
When there is about a half an hour of battery life remaining, a low battery warning is shown on the note display every 2 minutes.
Editors Note:
This is another nice tuner. The display shows the letter of the note along with spinning lights to indicate how close you are to being in tune.
This tuner is very accurate, it locks in on notes quickly as you strum along and was easy to use once you get used to it.
This tuner works well in a lit room and in the dark. We wish the dots were a little larger, but that is a personal preference that does not affect the performance of the tuner.
This is a great tuner at an affordable price.
Peterson StroboStomp2 Virtual Strobe Pedal Tuner
Price: $199.99
Description:
Small Tuner…LARGE Feature Set
100% True Bypass is accomplished via a rugged 3PDT stomp switch, which allows the player to mute both regular and DI outputs to allow silent tuning with an incredible 0.1 cent accuracy! Open-string Buzz Feiten settings for guitar, bass, and 12-string are included with drop-and capo-tuning transposition and, if all that is not enough, a built-in active DI (with a power saving mode for longer battery life) for acoustic and bass guitarists. The StroboStomp2 is constructed from heavy-duty die-cast aluminum and even has a 9VDC output to power other pedals!
* Peterson Custom Sweetened Tunings Include: Electric Guitar, Bass, Acoustic, 12-String,Steel Guitar, Dobro® and Violin
* Power-Saving DI and True Bypass Modes
* One-Button Access to Favorite Sweeteners
* 4 User-Programmable Sweetener™ Banks
* Metal Neutrik® 1/4” and XLR Jacks
* 100% True Bypass Switching with Heavy Duty 3PDT Stomp Switch for Silent Tuning
* Real-Time Virtual Strobe™ Technology
* Accuracy to 1/10th of a Cent (30 Times More Accurate than LED / Needle Tuners)
* Buzz Feiten Tuning System® Open String Offsets
* Drop/Capo Transposition for All Tunings
* Built-in Mute-able Active DI
* Power-Sharing 9V DC Input / Output or 9V Battery
* Rock Solid Die-Cast Construction
* Ergonomically Designed to Protect LCD and Stomp Switch
Editors Note:
This tuner is sturdy, nice looking tuner that is made of quality components.
This tuner sports a large display, that is easily seen in a lit room or in the dark.
One of the things we really liked the best compared to other strobe tuners is the 3 rotating bars on the display, this allowed us to see how far out of tuner we were and as we got closer the inner bar would stop spinning. This allowed us to slow down how quickly we were adjusting the tuners, bringing the guitar into tune more quickly.
Under the hood it is packed with a bunch of extra features that are described above.
This is a very accurate tuner. This tuner works great in a lit room or in the dark.
For a professional quality tuner, this is a very affordable tuner that packs a bunch of features under the hood.
Now it’s time to announce the winners:
Winners
Best Guitar Tuners
Planet Waves PW-CT-09 Universal II Chromatic Tuner
For a compact, handheld tuner, we really liked this tuner alot. It looks cool, performed very well and was very easy to use.
We feel this is an excellent tuner offered at a very affordable price.
Intellitouch PT10 Mini Clip-On Tuner
We really liked the larger display of the PT-30 but we had to give this tuner extra points for the green/red display that clearly indicates that you are in tune.
This tuner was very simple to use, we found it to be very accurate.
We liked that we could clamp this tuner on and forget about it. Turn it on hit a few notes, make a few adjustments and your in tune. No cables to plug into.
Artec SE-PTN Big Dots Matrix Pedal Tuner
This is a nice little stompbox tuner that sports a cool blue dot display. It was very easy to use and works well in multiple settings.
This tuner is both accurate and offered at an affordable price to the guitar player on a budget.
Korg Pitchblack Chromatic Pedal Tuner
There is not much to say about this tuner that hasn’t already been said numerous times. This is most likely one of the most popular pedal tuners on the market. Korg has a reputation for being one of the best.
Planet Waves Tru-Strobe Pedal Tuner
Planet Waves outdid themselves when they created this tuner, the kicked their desktop tuner up a notch and tossed in some added feature under the hood. This is a very accurate tuner that will not disappoint. It works well in a multiple of settings.
This is a great tuner that is built like a tank and offered at an affordable price.
Peterson StroboStomp2 Virtual Strobe Pedal Tuner
Peterson has been making tuners for 60 years and it is trusted by musicians all over the world. Before this review, I had never used a Peterson tuner before, after setting it up, this tuner was a pure joy to use. Out of the whole batch of tuners that we reviewed, this was the easiest tuner to use. The rotating bars quickly guide you into tune so that you do not overshoot your mark.
This tuner is a little more expensive that the rest of the tuners but considering that it is a professional tuner, it is well worth the investment and peace of mind knowing that your guitar is performing at its best.
You can find these items at one of our fine advertisers listed below:
Disclaimer:
*This review was conducted by Red Dawg Guitar News which is not associated with any of the manufacturers in this review.
The items in this review were reviewed by a panel of 3 people then given to others that were not aware that this article was being written to get their impressions of the product.
After the review was completed some of these guitar tuners were donated to students at local music schools in the area.
Some of the items in this review were provided by the manufacturer and Red Dawg Guitar News was not compensated for doing this review or endorsing these products.
