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Tuner Dilemma...


steve_man

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Okay, this almost seems like a goofy dilemma, but a dilemma, it is...

 

Years ago, i bought a Boss TU-2 tuner. Been a workhorse for more than 15 years. Still works, and is on my bass pedalboard right now. I also purchased a Polytune 2 several months ago, which gets the most use on my acoustic pedalboard. Been pretty happy with the setup, but I have been thinking about getting a different tuner to put in my bass setup. Maybe something a bit newer and a bit more precise. Anyways, I was in GC yesterday and picked up a used Boss TU-3 for just over half the price of a new one. Brought it home, and i gotta say... it's pretty awesome. Tracks notes extremely well, and tunes quickly. Strobe mode works well, too.

 

Well, at first I got it to put on my bass board, but now I'm wondering if I should try it out on my acoustic board. I've heard tales of "tone-suck" from the TU-3, but have not tried it through an amp or anything. Is that true, or just web fiction?

 

I really like the Polytene 2, however I do not find that the "poly" mode to be all that accurate, and I rarely even use it. However, the strobe mode works pretty good. On my electric, it locks in on a note quickly and without any issues. On my acoustics, I can't really use a pick when tuning, as that seems to give it a hard time. So, I just pluck the note with my thumb, which works. Anybody else have this experience with the Polytune?

 

I also own a Polytune clip, and it is really great, but I don't like using clip-ons on stage if I can have a pedal tuner. Just less stuff on my guitar when I'm playing. I have owned tons of tuners over the years, but the pedals seem to be my "go-to."

 

Thoughts?

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Not sure how much tone suck there would be or if it would even be noticeable. I think most Boss pedals are buffered, not true bypass. They use the buffer to maintain signal integrity. The pedal does have a bypass output so you could just use that if needed. It may not mute the signal when you tune but you could always use a volume pedal or just tune with the amp turned down/off.

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A polytune clip on has the same accuracy of .02 cents. You get a free DAW version with the clip on and I ran both together and they matched exactly.

 

I have a Planet waves "strobe" pedal (as well as many others) that is similar to that Turbo. They are both copies of the Peterson which are noted as being the best in the industry for over 50 years.

 

Any pedal that has an LED readout that claims to be a strobe is false advertisement. They are simply virtual copies and not the real thing.

 

There is only one true strobe tuner called "strobescopes" and they use a very different technology for tuning. They consist of a spinning motor, and Neon lamp that shines on or through a marked disk.

The instrument signal varies the AC lamp rate which creates the strobe effect.

 

Transistorized tuners including the Virtual Strobes all use crystal clocks for tuning. The problem with these clocks is they aren't always accurate and that can be susceptible to temp changes.

 

Still it can still be better then many musicians ears who never learned how to tune by ear. Its unfortunate but true. Guitar is one instrument that cant be tuned to perfect pitch and produce all its notes in tune. You often have to intentionally under tune some strings to get relatively good pitch across the entire fret board.

The best a tuner can do is maybe get the open and octaves in tune.

 

You want it any better you have to use your ears and "compromise" making one note a little sharp so another isn't overly flat. This is the way of the instrument.

 

The only real innovations for the inherent issues with string distance and stretch are the compensated nut and compensated fret instruments being made now.

 

I've been down the road using compensated nuts and for me they only introduced another can or worms. Unless string manufacturers change their gauges as well, thin strings are not helped by these nuts.

 

I haven't tried the compensated fret guitars. I'd think they'd suck for bending notes so you'd have to deal with using a whammy bar which isn't may favorite tool to use.

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I haven't used a tuner that I have liked better than the Turbo all factors considered. I also haven't ever been too offput by the tuning issues inherent to guitars. I generally just use the tuner to tune it up and play. I figure this method has generally been good enough for most of the guitar greats over the years so probably fine for me.

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