Dronny Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 (Not sure if this should be in the "gear" section?) A simple question really, are those tuners that clip onto the head of the guitar/bass/whatever any good? eBay is full of 'em but there seems something inherently dodgy about the whole idea to me... dunno why. cheers Dronny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveO Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I got one for the classical guitar. It doesn't work unless I take it off and hold it near the soundhole, which kinda defeats the object. can't remember the make as it's in the bin ages ago. It was abut a tenner from thomann if that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I have one which I bought to clips handily onto the stand mount of my NS CR5M upright. Its not very good for locking onto the pitch of the B string as I have to put it into chromatic mode - the Bass mode only does E-A-D-G. It gets there in the end, but is slow & frustrating to use as the virtual needle jumps about all over the place. The Planet Waves SOS tuner on the other hand enables me to tune all the strings in seconds visually in seconds, is good for B-E-A-D-G-C and works with my CR5M & ashborys as well as it does with 'normal basses'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 [quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='633125' date='Oct 22 2009, 07:50 AM']I have one which I bought to clips handily onto the stand mount of my NS CR5M upright. Its not very good for locking onto the pitch of the B string as I have to put it into chromatic mode - the Bass mode only does E-A-D-G. It gets there in the end, but is slow & frustrating to use as the virtual needle jumps about all over the place.[/quote] The clip-on one will work much better if clipped onto the instrument so it picks up the vibrations more strongly. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='633141' date='Oct 22 2009, 08:23 AM']The clip-on one will work much better if clipped onto the instrument so it picks up the vibrations more strongly. Alex[/quote] There's nowhere else to clip it on an NS upright. It does clip to the headstock of my Peavey 5er, but it isn't easy to tune the B properly on that either. Maybe one with a 'bass' mode that can accommodate a low B would give better results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I have one that will only pick up the E string if you hold it really tight to the headstock Works fine on my classical but struggles with a bass. You can have it if you want, i've got a good tuner on my phone which works fine If you want a good portable tuner the Seiko keyring ones work really well and aren't too cumbersome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 My dad has one for his acoustic and it seems to pretty darn accurate. I haven't tried it on the bass but i can this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 I have a "Joyo JT-11", bought off ebay for £3, or something. Good as a back-up tuner to keep in your gigbag. Struggles a bit to recognise E string, other strings fine. Not as accurate or fast-responding as my Seiko, but small, handy, cheap and cheerful. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dronny Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Wow, lot's of ideas there, thanks everyone so far. Somehow I think I'll stick with a wired one, it's interesting to see that no-one's saying "yeah they are the greatest thing since..." cheers Dronny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray5 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Well, sorry if this goes against the trend here, but for the most part I've had pretty good experience of these clip-on tuners. I've used them mostly for my acoustic instruments (classical guitar, acoustic bass guitar, etc) as the direct connection is a whole lot better, but they've worked just as well with electric instruments including low B on the bass. For any tuner, make sure you 'clear' the previous tuned note before going on to the next one. I will say that there are some cheaper bits of crap out there but there's some pretty decent stuff too. Check out the Intelli-Touch brand. For the best of both worlds, I bought one of these off ebay which will work with any tuner (in my case, a little Boss TU-80) -- job done! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400001966735"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=400001966735[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitchy64 Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 This is off topic a bit, but I have an in line foot peddle tuner. A Behringer TU300 off ebay for £5, it's been fantastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Protium Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 Tried one, was OK for a fiver. Picked up the E string best using the 12th fret harmonic, the other strings were fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 [quote name='hitchy64' post='633839' date='Oct 22 2009, 09:00 PM']This is off topic a bit, but I have an in line foot peddle tuner. A Behringer TU300 off ebay for £5, [b]it's been fantastic[/b] [/quote] So far! The behringer pedals are notorious for sudden mid-gig death. Our old guitarist's didn't make it through it's first gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 They are great on acoustic instruments & I see them almost universally used in folk & blugrass. I use them on my mandolin & banjo but I sometimes have to reposition it a few times when tuning the double bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwbassman Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I've got a couple of eno - ET-3000's (approx £15 a piece if memory serves) and have had no issues - very handy for 'silent' tuning whilst the MD addresses the audience. The low B sometimes needs a moment to settle but other than that they're great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmybass Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) +1 to the intellitouch tuners. great units, dependable and accurate. i always have two - one in the office / teaching space, and one in the teaching bag! TBH most of the cheapy ones are just that! i have also used the ENO brand. As long as the battery is good, you'll have no issues (as long as you make sure the only string vibrating is the one being tuned) all this obviously IME. YMMV of course! Edited October 23, 2009 by dudewheresmybass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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