Clip On Tuners

[cfmusic01]

Hi.

Just wanted to see what people thought of these and whether they are good for bass?

If so does which would people recommend?

Cheers

[Dad3353]

Very handy for tuning guitar or bass; I have very good results with the 'Snark' tuner.

[Ou7shined]

They do appear to be emerging as this years must-have-fad accessory. I'm sticking with something stomp-able though.

[lemmywinks]

I have tried a few (all cheapies) and they all struggled with the E and some with the A also. The one i have at home doesn't make a very good connection with the instrument (spring is too weak) and struggles tuning anything without being phisically pressed onto the surface.
Spending more money will probably get you a better product but that kinda defeats the idea for me.

I use a Korg Pitchjack for home playing and practice - handles flat tuning which i need and you can put it in loads of 1/4" sockets besides the bass itself like mixers, line or tuner outs etc.

http://www.korg.co.uk/products/tuners/pitchjack/tu_pj.asp

Also has a little torch!

Edited September 27, 2011 by lemmywinks

[Monckyman]

I use one,and usually leave it on my backup bass which is detuned a half tone.
The clip on has a Flat function that allows for easy drop tuning.
The main benefit though is you can be away from your amp with no cable needed,so I leave my main plugged in (via Boss GT6B with onboard tuner), and the clip does the backup without the hassle of swapping out.
Fits in the smallest pocket also.

[Doddy]

The ones that I've tried haven't been very good at tracking the E and B strings. I don't know if the fancy expensive
ones are any better.

[dave_bass5]

Ive been using a Snark (£12) and a Peterson Stroboclip (£65) for the past year and both work perfectly on my basses, guitar and my mates 5 string Squier, even the low B tracks well.

Seeing as i only need to check my tuning once per gig i take the Snark, as the Peterson is a bit delicate. Its great for doing setups and checking intonation though.

[Len_derby]

I've had a clip-on for about a year. It cost about £7 from Amazon. As said above, it's not too good at tracking the lower frequencies but you can always tune a harmonic note. I've found it very useful for two situations. Firstly when I want to carry a minimum of gear with me. Secondly when I'm playing in a situation where I don't want stuff on the floor (i.e. a tuning pedal).

[uncle psychosis]

I recently got a Snark, I really like it.

Tunes my guitars and basses equally well (sometimes seems a little bit iffy with the low B on my bass but othertimes it works perfectly---suspect I need to find the "sweet spot" for it) and the microphone tuner on it works well too.

If you want a clip-on tuner I'd definitely recommend one.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1317292877' post='1389050']
I recently got a Snark, I really like it.


If you want a clip-on tuner I'd definitely recommend one.
[/quote]

And the display looks great IMO. Very easy to see without being too bright.

[Bilbo]

I have one that I got for double bass so I didn't have to always plug in my Behringer Rack Mounted tuner. I got the Behringer so I could detune accurately in the dark (my eyes are not great and I find the little tuners hard to see in the half light of most stages). I fit the clip on to the bridge of my double bass and it works a treat. Cost £7. Also an aid to accurate intonation in the early stages of practising. I use it with electric on doubling gigs and it works fine for both (I clip it on the headstock on the Wal).

[dave_bass5]

Ive just seen the new Plantet waves mini headstock tuner. Looks pretty good for keeping on the bass during the gig.
Might give it a go.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ09CreTnRw&feature=related[/media]

Edited September 29, 2011 by dave_bass5

[lojo]

I use one at home and at low key rehearsals, the response is a bit slow on the E, very handy to keep in the case and not have to set up pedal tuners etc, but i wouldn't want to use one at a gig though, reliable fast response floor tuner for me

[hillbilly deluxe]

Tune it before you leave home for the gig ?..........................................sorry (old topic)

[Monckyman]

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' timestamp='1317382669' post='1390107']
Tune it before you leave home for the gig ?..........................................sorry (old topic)
[/quote]
I tuned mine before I changed the strings. sounded terrible after.
Revised verdict on my cliptuner. No light until you hit a note makes it bloody hard to select bass mode and then flat mode and takes too long.
If there`s one out there you can set a default on then yay.
Heading for the bin asap.

[Bankai]

I had a £15 one that struggled with the B on my 5 string. It's do-able but not easy.

I now use a stage tuner (TU-3) instead.

[thisnameistaken]

I got one for my double bass, put it in my bag full of stuff to take to gigs, next time I got it out the display had snapped off the clip because it was connected by a tiny, weak plastic joint. Good thing they're cheap.

Mine's now mostly gaffa tape.

[Jondeeman]

I've got a Snark. Handles E and B okay until the battery dies a bit - then it's a bit of a pain. It looks pretty though I tend to use my Boss ME-20B most of the time. It tends to want to tune a teensy little bit flatter than the Snark.

[Monckyman]

Yep, mine has a guitar mode and a bass mode. I suppose the guitar mode would work as well.
Flat mode yes. I only use the clip tuner for my second bass which is tuned down to E flat.
It doesn`t tell me what note I`m playing, just what string so I can`t leave it in normal tuning and calculate from there.Nor do I want to be working it out between songs.
So if I can find one I can setup to that tuning then great. otherwise I`ll do both basses on the GT6 tuner.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I'm in the market for a good clip-on as my normal Boss tuner/metronome is a bit of a pain on the E and B strings.

I'd love some up to date info on anything decent in the £15-20 max bracket, if any of you has had any luck.

Thank you in advance!

[tonybassplayer]

Yes me too. Rehearsal room now provides back line etc so just taking bass and a clip on tuner makes life easy

On another note ( pun very definitely intended ) if the low E struggles can't I just check that it is accurate at the fifth fret as an A or third as a G etc ??

[Silvia Bluejay]

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1355233626' post='1895684']
On another note ( pun very definitely intended ) if the low E struggles can't I just check that it is accurate at the fifth fret as an A or third as a G etc ??
[/quote]

Wouldn't the accuracy of that depend on how good your bass's intonation is? I'd love to know more about that too, although I would still much prefer to find a device that actually checks the tuning on the open strings, as that should be the safest thing to do.

To make things worse, I play 5ers with flatwounds, which means I can forget using the Boss TU-80 for tuning the E and B in a hurry at least...

[Lozz196]

I`ve recently got one of these Planet Waves clip-on tuners. Very good, I now leave my Boss TU2 at home. £11.66 (plus delivery).

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Waves-PW-CT-12-Headstock-Tuner/dp/B005FKF1PY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355237617&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Waves-PW-CT-12-Headstock-Tuner/dp/B005FKF1PY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355237617&sr=8-1[/url]

[tonybassplayer]

That looks good. Think this type of pressie is making a late addition to my Xmas list.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Yup, looks good - what's the accuracy, if stated anywhere?

Edit: anyone tried this one? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0059EUIM2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&smid=A201EI9BO9JGLA"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0059EUIM2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&smid=A201EI9BO9JGLA[/url]

Edited December 11, 2012 by bluejay