Clip-on tuner tip

[DeepEnd]

You guys probably know about this already but it was a revelation to me. About a month ago, I bought a pair of Eno ET-33 clip-on tuners on eBay, one for me and one to give to a friend. They work fine on guitars and on my old Alvarez bass but not so well on the Mexi Jazz Bass at church. I can't even tune the 4th string using harmonics. For whatever reason, the tuner won't pick up the vibrations adequately no matter where I position it on the headstock. Today, I had an inspiration (what better place to be inspired than church?) and clipped the tuner to the 4th string bridge saddle. Success! It reads the string perfectly and the other three as well.

[isaac42]

Never thought about it, but, then, my clip-ons have always worked on my headstocks. Sounds like a good solution, though.

[DeepEnd]

From what I know, you have a stable of Rickenbackers, a Carvin LB75, and an Ovation acoustic. If there's a Fender in the mix, I've forgotten it. Anyway, I wonder if it might be something to do with headstock shape/mass? Not mine but here's a pic of the headstock of a bass like mine:

Not as much wood/mass as a Fender headstock and a 'way different shape. Not an inline design. AFAIK, none of yours are inline either. Any of those could be a factor but I clip the tuner in the area indicated by the circle so I wouldn't expect the length of the headstock or whether it was inline to matter:

Anyway, I solved an annoying problem and perhaps someone else can benefit. Maybe not so much experienced bassists or folks with much better tuners but noobs and part time noodlers like me.

[isaac42]

You're right, no Fender. Never have been a fan. I had a Fender Jazz, way back when (mid-70's), but I traded it in for my first Ric. The Carvin, though, is inline. The "hockey stick" headstock.

[DeepEnd]

Ah. I was thinking the Carvin had the newer headstock like this:

But if I understand you, yours is like this one:

Either way, I'm sure it's a teriffic bass.

[isaac42]

But if I understand you, yours is like this one:

Either way, I'm sure it's a teriffic bass.

 

Yes, just like that, except for the color. Mine's a dark purple metal flake.

[WRGKMC]

If its a bolt on neck, make sure the screws are tight.

 

I'm not surprised a clip on may fail to pick up a string on a bass. If the tuner was made for guitar it may not have the range or sensitivity but you did get it to work on other basses.

 

The challenge with a clip on deals involves body resonance. You succeeded with it on the bridge because it picked up more of the string tone.

Picking up the sound off the headstock is like listening through a reverb spring. The body and neck may be producing freak resonances that confuse the tuner or it may be the note pitch fails to properly cause the body or neck to properly resonate. This is commonly referred to as a dead note.

 

I suppose some acoustic scientist could more clearly describe it but every body has a resonant pitch, much like speaker cabs have resonant pitches. If the note of the string is at just the right pitch it can be out of phase with the body and produce a null wood tone. I've seen it happen many times and its usually caused when the instrument is out of specs. You can usually get it back with the proper setup.

 

You can also get a clip on to fail, if the strings between the tuner and nut oscillate, or the other strings aren't being dampened. Next time you get a chance to try it, put a piece of cloth over the headstock or wedge a rolled up paper towel under the strings by the tuners. This should absorb any vibrations that get past the nut and cause conflicting string resonances from getting to the tuner.

[DeepEnd]

If its a bolt on neck, make sure the screws are tight.

 

I'm not surprised a clip on may fail to pick up a string on a bass. If the tuner was made for guitar it may not have the range or sensitivity but you did get it to work on other basses. . . .

It's a few years old with minimal playing time and it's been taken care of. I strongly doubt the neck screws are loose. The tuner is a universal one, with modes for Chromatic, Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, and Violin. And, as noted, it does work just fine on a different bass. I'm thinking the signal path from the string to the saddle is relatively short compared to the path from the string to the nut to the headstock. There may also be body resonance involved though. Either way, it works and I'm happy.

[patco]

Ah. I was thinking the Carvin had the newer headstock like this:

But if I understand you, yours is like this one:

Either way, I'm sure it's a teriffic bass.

 

 

Great point btw. Nice images too!