Best clip-on tuner?

[jellodog]

Circling back to this thread: I've had the Polytune clip for over 9 years and I still love it.

I agree with @Eagle that the "poly" part of the functionality isn't really needed, so no doubt the "uni" version of it is excellent.

 

[gergohajer]

I picked up a Peterson Stroboclip HD from Thomann's sale earlier this year and I've liked it, but wonder if something better is out there.

Things I don't like about the Stroboclip is I fear the arm on it might be flimsy over time, and the buttons are pretty tiny to turn it on/off.

I'd like to get another tuner like this just to have around or carry with me where needed so I can leave the other one at home. I find them very convenient when you don't always have something with a tuner plugged in.

What's your favorite clip on tuner, and why?

I'm using the Korg Pitchclip 2+ and I love it a lot. It handles the very low tunings as well. Back in the day I used the rack version of the Pitchclip and it really got my attention because it worked flawlessly. This is why I purchased the Pitchclip 2+ when I needed a clip on tuner and I'm fully satisfied with it even on bass as well.

 

[Eagle]

I'm using the Korg Pitchclip 2+ and I love it a lot. It handles the very low tunings as well. Back in the day I used the rack version of the Pitchclip and it really got my attention because it worked flawlessly. This is why I purchased the Pitchclip 2+ when I needed a clip on tuner and I'm fully satisfied with it even on bass as well.

That’s the best value one I’ve seen.

 

[Eagle]

I want one that is rechargeable with a decent metal clip. Come on sonic research I’m waiting.

 

[eric.chambers]

I'd love to see Sonic Research do a high quality clip on, but for now I think the Peterson is the most accurate as far as headstock tuners go. I know it's much better than Snark, but it's a bit cheap and flimsy feeling just like rest of them.

 

[The-Kid]

Any of them are pretty good.......



I just take them off after tuning as feel it does affect attack and response, tracing and tracking but overall can't go wrong with a Snark to be honest or some tuners on the phone/apps aren't bad.



Short of that a Sonic Research Turbo Tuner is the best and what I use.

 

[The-Kid]

I'd love to see Sonic Research do a high quality clip on, but for now I think the Peterson is the most accurate as far as headstock tuners go. I know it's much better than Snark, but it's a bit cheap and flimsy feeling just like rest of them.

I think where they could improve on it in a practical way is possibly have a 1/8 inch jack if they did make one.



This way you could plug straight into it when needed and just plug out when done or use on the headstock like you normally would and either or.



You'd also probably get better tuning when plugged in. With smd and modular parts it wouldn't be too nuts and could probably offer a nicer tuner aside from what Turbo Tuners usually bring and relative to others in the market regardless.

 

[david57strat]

I'd love to see Sonic Research do a high quality clip on, but for now I think the Peterson is the most accurate as far as headstock tuners go. I know it's much better than Snark, but it's a bit cheap and flimsy feeling just like rest of them.

I hear what you're saying.

If Sonic Research ever develop a clip-on tuner, I'll buy one immediately. It would probably still see rare use, because I prefer pedal tuners, but it'd be a nice one to have, when I need to use a clip-on.

The ST-300 and ST-300 Mini are incredible pedal tuners. They're my favorites, for nice display, dead accuracy, and speed of tracking (They're blazing fast).

For pedal tuners, aside from the two Turbo Tuners, I have a tc electronic polytune 2 Noir, a Peterson Strobostomp HD, and just picked up a Walrus Canvas Tuner.

The Sonic Research tuners smoke all the rest of them, in my opinion. The Strobostomp had some nice, fancy features, like the sweetened tunings, adjustable color display, etc. But, for me, the display, while beautiful, is not as clear as that on the Turbo Tuners - unless you're right in the sweet spot of vision, pretty much standing over the tuner, itself. For me, the display seems kind of dim, if off-axis.

I'm not crazy about clip-on tuners for several reasons. Up until recent years, they've never been all that accurate.

The one quirk that drives me the most bonkers is the battery saving feature on the tc Polytune clip.

The tuner automatically shuts off after I think about three minutes. I'm so used to have an always-on tuner

I don't want to have to repeatedly turn a tuner on just to continue using it - especially when I'm doing the stretch and tune deal with new strings. Takes me about 15-20 minutes to have new strings behaving themselves (staying in tune), after re-stringing - except with classical strings.

Those take forever to stabilize.

On my boards, I have the tuners, not in the guitar signal flow, so the tuners are always always tracking - until finally shut off.. I like that...a lot :-).

In instances where I've had to use a clip-on, I've used the tc polytune or unitune Clip.

This is the polytune. I later got a unitune, and it's just as good.

For me, the polytune feature (simultaneous tuning status of all six strings) is kind of gimmicky and really not necessary. i only ever tune strings one at a time. I don't need to see the tuning status of six strings simultaneously, ever. I know it looks cute - but..why???

This picture was taken several years ago, back when I was using it in needle mode.

In that mode, it's only accurate to within .5 cents. That's not too spectacular, by today's standards.

But, in strobe mode, the accuracy goes to within .02 cents, which is incredible. As far as I know, this beats out all other clip-on tuners, for accuracy. Maybe something newer has coma along that's more accurate? The Turbo Tuners are the only pedal tuners I know of, with that same .02 cent accuracy.

Your ear gets spoiled, once you become accustomed that kind of accuracy.

The Peterson clip-on has a very beautiful display, but doesn't look very robust, and seems really clunky. Even if it was just as accurate as the polytune or unitune, I'm not sure how comfortable I'd feel, having it clipped onto a guitar.

Some people don't like strobe tuners because they feel the display is too finicky, never quite landing on being totally still. But, once you get used to it, it can be way more accurate, and (for me, at least) is worth the extra trouble. People argue that it takes too long to be locked-in, but I don't agree. It's an adjustment, but once you've made it, the results speak for themselves.

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

How accurate is my (Peterson) StroboClip? Your StroboClip is accurate to 0.1 cent (1/1000th of a semitone). It's important to note, that unlike other tuners which list the detection accuracy as the main specification, the StroboClip detection AND display accuracy is 0.1 cent due to its high definition display.

 

[the-trooper]

I don't need to see the tuning status of six strings simultaneously, ever. I know it looks cute - but..why???

Me neither, but those who do, say they use it to instantly see which string is out of tune, just strum then all.

 

[Eagle]

My problem is the only tuner that I feel is properly in tune and I don’t feel the need to tweak is my turbo. Only the old bench top Petersons did that as well. I have a few clip on ones but I usually still need to adjust slightly. This is true for me with all other pedal tuners too.

 

[laxu]

Some people don't like strobe tuners because they feel the display is too finicky, never quite landing on being totally still. But, once you get used to it, it can be way more accurate, and (for me, at least) is worth the extra trouble. People argue that it takes too long to be locked-in, but I don't agree. It's an adjustment, but once you've made it, the results speak for themselves.

There's really a whole world in how tuners can display their results.

Even without going into strobe tuners, you have those +/- scale tuners with very variable display accuracy. Some don't have the granularity to really let you hone in note, but most are still good enough for just getting your guitar in tune for playing, rather than e.g setting intonation where you want that accuracy.

Some will track very fast, even too fast where it feels difficult to get them to settle as even slight variance in pitch makes them bounce around. Others feel a bit more relaxed where it's easy to get the "in tune" state.

Strobe tuners can have this same issue, for example I find that it's harder to get the Turbo Tuner to stop compared to the Peterson Stroboclip. This doesn't mean one is more accurate than the other, this can just mean that the way they display the data is different, where the Peterson is set to be a bit slower response to make it feel more comfortable.

I find both are about equally fast for tuning. Haven't tried the Peterson for intonation.

Obviously you still want to always listen and not just trust the readings. I'm not saying I have particularly good ear for tuning, but enough that I can tell when it's close to right and the tuner just verifies that.

 

[Eagle]

There's really a whole world in how tuners can display their results.

Even without going into strobe tuners, you have those +/- scale tuners with very variable display accuracy. Some don't have the granularity to really let you hone in note, but most are still good enough for just getting your guitar in tune for playing, rather than e.g setting intonation where you want that accuracy.

Some will track very fast, even too fast where it feels difficult to get them to settle as even slight variance in pitch makes them bounce around. Others feel a bit more relaxed where it's easy to get the "in tune" state.

Strobe tuners can have this same issue, for example I find that it's harder to get the Turbo Tuner to stop compared to the Peterson Stroboclip. This doesn't mean one is more accurate than the other, this can just mean that the way they display the data is different, where the Peterson is set to be a bit slower response to make it feel more comfortable.

I find both are about equally fast for tuning. Haven't tried the Peterson for intonation.

Obviously you still want to always listen and not just trust the readings. I'm not saying I have particularly good ear for tuning, but enough that I can tell when it's close to right and the tuner just verifies that.

The strobe effect displays is just that on Peterson these days fake strobe.
The Turbo is a whole different level.

 

[laxu]

The strobe effect displays is just that on Peterson these days fake strobe.
The Turbo is a whole different level.

IMO it doesn't matter if it's a real strobe or an LCD doing the same thing. The result is the same, a display that depends on how we sense movement to help us get the guitar in tune.

 

[newholland]

haha.. man i use snarks cause theyre cheap and big enough to read. i tried the tiny d'addario and theyre fine too on guitars, kinda suck on banjos.

 

[Eagle]

IMO it doesn't matter if it's a real strobe or an LCD doing the same thing. The result is the same, a display that depends on how we sense movement to help us get the guitar in tune.

Also the turbo is actually “ in tune”.

 

[Eagle]

haha.. man i use snarks cause theyre cheap and big enough to read. i tried the tiny d'addario and theyre fine too on guitars, kinda suck on banjos.

So do strings

 

[newholland]

quit it, you.

not bluegrass. those enamelbreakers i'm inclined to agree.