Best clip-on tuner?

[dcburn]

Have you ever tuned a guitar “ in tune “ with a tuner and your ears still say no? That’s a lot of tuners and if I test them against my Turbo it shows a discrepancy. The Turbo is one of the very few that sounds perfectly “ in “ to me.

I've settled on close enough many times.
I think theres something to it though, and your ears and hearing pitch?
Kinda like fretting to hard and going out of tune and the ability to hear and correct the pitch...

 

[dcburn]

It would be great if somebody made an all metal clip and articulated part connected to a high quality rechargeable tuner

That would be fantastic!

 

[JiveTurkey]

Korg pitch clip 2 for cheap is unbeatable and I have checked it against my strobe.
View attachment 35213
Other than that I like the TC for the metal clip;
View attachment 35214
I think the uni is better than the poly for accuracy ( according to my strobe).
And the poly thing is a bs gimmick anyway.
None of the others I have tried are better than these and many cost more for no reason.
My no 1 is the TC uni.

The poly mode is actually irritating. I wish I could disable it (and maybe you can but I'm lazy?)

 

[iaresee]

But whatever Trey has been using for the last year or so. He loves his headstock tuner.

 

[the-trooper]

I've settled on close enough many times.

When it comes to tuning, guitar as an instrument (along with all other fretted instruments) is "close enough" no matter how precise of a tuner you use and how much you're tuning it. It will never be in tune.

 

[JasonE]

I have an old OG Intellitouch clip on that I bought many, many years ago when I was playing in a bluegrass band where I was playing guitar and mandolin. It worked for that purpose and was the best clip on you could buy back then. In any other situation besides strictly acoustic instruments, I find clip on tuners useless. I tried to use the one I have on my acoustic guitar when playing in a full band. It was useless. If anyone plays their electric instrument while you are trying to tune, the body of your guitar vibrates and the tuner can't do it's job. I stick to pedals for tuning, unless I am working on a guitar then I use my Peterson mechanical strobe tuner.

 

[Eagle]

I have an old OG Intellitouch clip on that I bought many, many years ago when I was playing in a bluegrass band where I was playing guitar and mandolin. It worked for that purpose and was the best clip on you could buy back then. In any other situation besides strictly acoustic instruments, I find clip on tuners useless. I tried to use the one I have on my acoustic guitar when playing in a full band. It was useless. If anyone plays their electric instrument while you are trying to tune, the body of your guitar vibrates and the tuner can't do it's job. I stick to pedals for tuning, unless I am working on a guitar then I use my Peterson mechanical strobe tuner.

The only Peterson worth it.

 

[dronerstone]

Korg pitch clip 2 for cheap is unbeatable and I have checked it against my strobe.
View attachment 35213

I currently have three of them floating about wherever I keep my gear - at home, in different rehearsal spaces, at bandmates places, etc.

A touring pro among my friends recommended the KORG when they came out, and I've never had to rethink the decision.

1) unbeatable price
2) accurate
3) good battery lifespan
4) stolen? -> see first point

Seriously, the Pitch Clips are pretty awesome!

 

[dbagchee]

I’ve been super happy with the Boss TU-05. It has a super bright easy to read display, rechargeable and charge seems to last forever. My other clip ons would always be dead if I used them after a short while. I like the flexibility of positioning as well, it handles all the various headstocks.

BOSS - TU-05 | Clip-On Tuner

TU-05: Clip-On Tuner - Large Color Display and Rechargeable Convenience

www.boss.info

 

[Eagle]

I’ve been super happy with the Boss TU-05. It has a super bright easy to read display, rechargeable and charge seems to last forever. My other clip ons would always be dead if I used them after a short while. I like the flexibility of positioning as well, it handles all the various headstocks.

BOSS - TU-05 | Clip-On Tuner

TU-05: Clip-On Tuner - Large Color Display and Rechargeable Convenience

www.boss.info

That looks great. I must try it.

 

[dronerstone]

That looks great. I must try it.

Wow, it sure does! And 25€ is decent enough to at least give it a try - maybe if I'm all out of KORG tuners some day.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Anything that sticks out and is connected by a swivel cup/arm is a no-no in my book. I'm no fan of extra dongles on my guitars but I'd spring for a uni-tune because it can sit flush

 

[maguchi]

Polytune

^^^I gotta concur. I tried a shitload of tuners over the last 40 or so years. Snarks, D'Addarios, even a Peterson clip on, but wasn't a big fan of any of 'em. When I got my 1st TC Electronic Polytune clip on 8 or 9 years ago I knew I found the tuner that I was gonna use from then on. Since that I got another one and a couple Unitunes which are the little brother of the Polytune. Accurate, fast and easy. The battery seems to last forever.

The poly mode is actually irritating. I wish I could disable it (and maybe you can but I'm lazy?)

I don't know if there's anything to disable or not. I just took the Polytune out of the box and used it, and if I play only one string and mute the other strings the tuner only shows one pitch. Stone simple, fast and accurate. The tuner doesn't waver like some others. I never tried playing all the strings with the tuner on before yet. I'll try it tonight.

P.S. Oh wow, just tried it, way cool! It shows all the strings as green or red indicating which are in tune or not. Yeah I can see it coming in handy I guess. I always been checking each string individually when I tune. Maybe I'll start using this feature though.

 

[Dave Lewis]

The free Boss and Fender tuners on my iPhone and iPad work great.

 

[joebloggs]

I've had a TC Polytune for years. A couple of years ago I picked up a Petersen Strobo... If I had to choose one... It's the Polytune every day.

 

[Frankencat]

It would be great if somebody made an all metal clip and articulated part connected to a high quality rechargeable tuner but there isn’t one really. Because you can get things like the Korg for £15 I doubt anyone will ever think it viable.

I use the Peterson TP-3 clip on pickup with my tuners in the shop and it works great for me with a variety of instruments.

My main tuner is the Korg GA Custom Guitar Tuner - the newer version of what used to be the DT-1 Digital. I have been using these for at least 25 years now. The little cassette sized one. They are very accurate and reliable.

 

[laxu]

I've had a TC Polytune for years. A couple of years ago I picked up a Petersen Strobo... If I had to choose one... It's the Polytune every day.

How would you compare the two?

 

[joebloggs]

How would you compare the two?

I find that it takes me longer(and we are talking seconds here) to tune up using the Strobo. Maybe because I have been using the Polytune for so long now, it's just so quick to tune. The displays being different, I guess I just prefer the layout of the Polytune. Both are accurate. I also prefer the clip on the Polytune over the Peterson, as it feels sturdier. I only bought the Strobo because I was out of town and needed a tuner. The store didn't have a Polytune in stock.