Tuners

[Colossal]

I am in the market for a new tuner. I am considering the:

Boss TU-3
Sonic Research Turbo Tunber ST-200
TC Electronic Polytune

Any comments, pros/cons, suggestions, and/or experiences?

[NickC]

I have these tuners:

Petersen Strobo Stomp
Petersen V-SAM (not a stomp)
Boss TU-2
Boss TU-3
Sonic Research Turbo Tunber ST-200
Boss TU-12H (not a stomp)

They're all good.

The Boss TU-3 is a great improvement over the TU-2 (which was already pretty good). The new display is much brighter and very easy to see and use. I like it. The Bosses have buffer circuits and are not "true-bypass" if that matters to you. Maybe not.

The Strobo-stomp is excellent. Very accurate and easy to use. The footprint is larger than the Boss. It is "true bypass" approved, has an active XLR DI out, and can be used with a daisy chain to power other 9VDC pedals. Great quality. It stays home in the studio.

The Petersen V-SAM isn't a stomp, so it's form factor isn't compatible with a pedal board. But it does some things the stomps don't do. I use it for set-ups mostly. Very accurate. Excellent display. I pass it around at rehearsals. Has a built-in metronome that helps you win arguments with drummers.

The Sonic Research Turbo Tuner is on my main pedal board. It is highly accurate, small footprint, easy to see on a darkened stage, but not as bright on an outdoor full-sunlight stage as the Boss TU-3. True bypass. Great build quality.

The Boss TU-12H form factor can be pedal board friendly. Not true-bypass. Small display that's hard to see for stage use. Built in mic for tuning acoustics. Works fine, but I don't use it much anymore. Also have a Seiko in the same form factor. Both are accurate, but a little long-in-the-tooth technology wise.

I can't speak to battery life on the Bosses or ST-200. I use regulated 9VDC from Voodoo Labs Pedal Power units.

Hope this helps.

[Leo_Gnardo]

For a quick n dirty tuning I've found the old Boss TU-2 works fine for me in strobe mode. Haven't encountered the TU-3 yet. I'd recommend you check out the Petersen tuners. And Snark seems to be the up-and-coming brand. When working as a guitar tech I'd put a TU-2 on the output of my Petersen ol' fashioned strobe tuner just as a double-check. But that shouldn't be necessary for stage use. Audition whatever you can, and pick the one that works best for you.

[John_P_WI]

Colossal,

I use the Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-122 (not a "stomp box" tuner). It is very good and delivers as expected / advertised.

That being said, I am sure the others are fine tuners as well.

[xtian]

I like the Korg Pitchblack.

[Colossal]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Much appreciated. I have an old TU-2 stomp that has seen better days and the needle on my old TU-12 has recently decided to start sticking so figured it was time to upgrade.

John: I am leaning towards the Sonic Research because it's fancy schmancy and purportedly very accurate.

Leo: Petersens are great stuff! Always seemed like the creme de la creme.

NickC: Thanks for the write up, very helpful! I would be using regulated 9V with the tuner on a loop/mute.

Xtian: Cool tip on the Korg. Haven't looked at their offerings yet but will check it out.

[billyz]

The Boss tuner has a terrible buffer, you can hear it anywhere you place the tuner in your chain. The other two are very good and true bypass . Of those two I would and have used the SR pedal. But I prefer the Korg Pitch
Black for its visual display and true bypass. I do use a Sonic a Research bench model for guitar setup work.

[randalp3000]

I've had both the Peterson's and they worked great except they were huge and weighed a ton. I switched to the Turbo a couple years ago and have been very happy. The Turbo can be a bit touchy and can be annoying to some.

Just for kicks here's some specs on accuracy +/- cent
Turbo .02
Peterson 0.1
Polytune 2 0.1 strobe mode, 0.5 chromatic or poly modes
Polytune Classic and Mini 0.5
Pitchblack + 0.1
Pitchblack and Picthlack Poly 1.0

[eniam rognab]

how about one of those evertune systems, or a gibson robot?

ill shut up now

[Structo]

I like my Peterson StoboStomp2.

I have tried a couple others (Pitch Black, Boss) but the Peterson is easier to use and is quite accurate.

[sliberty]

I liked the Boss TU tuners when I had them, and I like the Polytune tuners now. But truth is I have given up on floor tuners for the most part, and use the little clip on variety now mostly. I have two types - the Snark, and the Planet Waves mini tuner. Both get the job done nicely. The Snark is easier to position, but sticks out like a sore thumb. The Planet Waves is much smaller, but you need to spend some time deciding where to put it. Also the Snark seems to eat batteries a bit.

[skyboltone]

I always have enjoyed the Sansui slide rule tuners from back when. I use a TU-217 in the garage system.

[img:991:353]http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/TU-217later.jpg[/img]

They went up from there to the TU-417 and Tu-517. These aren't just good at separation, selectivity and rejection but they also have pretty good analog signal paths and just "sound" right.

[img:537:228]http://classichifi.info/JPEGs/TU-417_front_1.JPG[/img]

[img::]http://www.hifiengine.com/images/model/ ... _tuner.jpg[/img]

If you want the best though you have to step up to the TU-X1 but you'll have to sell off a couple of guitars to get one. They regularly test in double blind testing at the tuner group as the very best ever made; technically and sonically.

[img:639:426]http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/5/509 ... 8_2_21.JPG[/img]

I'm pretty much full of shit tonight eh?

[Colossal]

Gonna put one of those in the rack or on the pedal board.

[Deric]

With the bad rap the Boss buffer always gets (especially the TU-2) I found this video interesting. Fast forward to 07:30...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhboYQHDRI4

[johnnyreece]

I like my Turbo Tuner, but I don't use the stompbox version. I bought it more to assist with setup/intonation, rather than stage use.