Intellitouch PT1 Tuner? Just clip it to your headstock?

[red|dragon]

What's the deal with this thing? Does it really work? Who here uses it? What's your opinion?

[guitapick]

I've heard some naysayers...but I can only go by my own experience:

 

It's a lifesaver in a noisy or getting noisy club. Have to find the sweetspot to put it on the headstock. Different guits have different spots. And you pick the string, preferrably, with your fingertip, near the neck.

 

Sometimes takes a moment to find, say, a dropped "D". Nothing serious.

 

Have to pluck a bit harder if you put on a capo to get the note. Nothing serious, again.

 

I've heard there are better ones out there. But I really like mine. Nice unit.

[denvertrakker]

If you need it in a noisy club, it's a good idea. Otherwise, I've found it to be a royal PITA. Touchy, hard to read, sometimes works and sometimes refuses to - I'm sure it has its uses but for me, no way. Plain old Qwik Tune works just fine.

[daklander]

 

Originally posted by red|dragon What's the deal with this thing? Does it really work? Who here uses it? What's your opinion?

 

 

Yes, it really works.

I use it. It's my primary tuner.

I like it.

 

I have 4 tuners of various makes and models and the Intellitouch is the one I use most times.

It can be touchy but that's, IMO, due to it's not being clipped to the "sweet spot" of the headstock. That sweet spot can, and will, vary on different guitars.

Once you've learned where that spot is on your guitar it is as quick and sensitive as any of my other tuners, more so, in reality. It works great on my six and 12 string guitars and works well with my bass, mandolin and banjo. Haven't tried it on a fiddle yet.

 

Though it is better than a microphone type tuner in many noisy environments it also will not work in many noisy environments. If there's talking and that type of noise it will be usually work fine. If the noise is loud music you're going to be out of luck. The better recourse there would be an inline tuner.

 

I use it and recommend it.

[VengefulTikiGod]

Originally posted by denvertrakker If you need it in a noisy club, it's a good idea. Otherwise, I've found it to be a royal PITA. Touchy, hard to read, sometimes works and sometimes refuses to - I'm sure it has its uses but for me, no way. Plain old Qwik Tune works just fine.

Pretty much my experience, but I'm stuck with it.

[zb0430]

Well, I'm a staunch believer of pedal tuners for performance uses. It's just a good idea to use something with the capability to mute while tuning and to easily read, and accurately tune your strings in any environment.

 

I own the PT1, and it's a great unit for home use. Pretty accurate. It's just that my Planet Waves, as well as the good ol' Boss TU-2 are more accurate tuners (I believe, not totally positive with actual sensitivity numbers, but they seem to be better than the Intellitouch), and the PT1 can be VERY tempermental on stage with other musicians and drum noise, even loud bar volumes can throw it off and make it unusable, and that's the LAST thing I want before a gig...

 

The jist...

 

If stage use is your primary thing, a pedal tuner is for you.

 

If solo work in managable situations, as well as home use is what you're looking at, then the Intellitouch is a very good tuner once you get used to using it, and is pretty darn accurate.

[yeoldboat]

I have a PT-2 and I'm not sure what the difference is from the PT-1. I'm pretty picky about how well the affordable "guitar case" tuners work and went through a bunch in the $30-$50 range. The thing that frustrated me about most of them was their tendancy to waver around the "sweet spot," so to speak. I've used expensive tuners that don't do that, and I figured there had to be an affordable tuner out there that was reasonably solid.

 

I really like the Itellitouch. The thing dials in without hopping around at all - very responsive to the slightest turn of the tuning knob. That being said, it works best if you can dampen the secondary vibrations from adjacent strings (same on any tuner), and it is affected by any loud errant vibrations (such as loud background music). I use it in rooms with people talking (fairly loudly) and with my bandmates semi-quietly "noodling around" between songs in the background, with no problems. For me, it's definitely the best tuner in the $30-$60 range that I've come across (I paid 40 bucks). Nice design for attachment virsatility.

 

Incidentally, It was recommended to me by the staff at the Taylor dealer where I live, most of whom are very seasoned players in bluegrass bands and such. They all use them, and like them. Hope this helps.

[WaveRay]

Works great for my uses. My wife uses one on her mando and fiddle, We're strictly acoustic players at this point. Maybe plugged in has other, more favorable, tuners.

I like this one.

[daklander]

 

Originally posted by yeoldboat I have a PT-2 and I'm not sure what the difference is from the PT-1. I

 

 

The PT2 is white, has no back light and is only able to be calibrated to the US and European standards.

The PT1 comes with a protective case, is black, has a back light and can be tuned to nearly any range. You can also set it for custome tunings. Well worth the extra twenty or so bucks it costs. The back light is something I appreciate in many of the dark or semi-dark places I play.

[Tony Burns]

Old fashion me - i use a A-440 tuning fork - works as good , cost me about 5 bucks about 25 years ago , and i still have it - i bought something called a banana tuner about 20 years ago , but it doesnt work as good as a tuning fork -

[guitapick]

Yeah...a couple of things mentioned that I'll second:

 

1) Dampening the other strings helps.

 

2) I'd rather use a pedal tuner...but can't when I play through a mic...which is most of the time in the situations I'm in. When I play with a cord, it's always been the Boss pedal unit, for me.

 

3) Very loud club noise (aka: loud music) will affect the unit. VERY loud. Otherwise, I'm fine with it.

 

4) Definitely get the more expensive unit with the backlight if you're playing out. Muy importante.

[valleyguy]

I use the PT1 as my go-to tuner.

 

On some guitars I need to place the tuner on the 5th string side of the headstock to tune the bottom 3 strings, then move it to the 2nd string side of the headstock to tune the top three strings.

 

It is also important to pluck the strings with your thumb (not a pick) at the 12th fret, producing the cleanest note with fewer overtones and undertones.

 

And, yes, a pedal tuner is best, but on acoustics without a pickup, the PT1 is great.

[denvertrakker]

Anybody ever tried one of these?

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sabine-Contact-Chromatic-Auto-Tuner?sku=211045

[daklander]

 

Originally posted by denvertrakker Anybody ever tried one of these? http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sabine-Contact-Chromatic-Auto-Tuner?sku=211045

 

Never tried one.

Doesn't have great reviews. Interesting though. Might have to give one a shot when they're on sale sometime.

At worst it will join the other, mostly unused, tuners I have, carried around in gig gear bags as backups.

At best it'll become the "go to" tuner.

One thing to remember about the type of tuner that picks up vibrations for tuning. Though they are more resistant to tuning problems in noisy environments, anything that causes the body/headstock to vibrate at a particular note's frequency will set the tuner off.

[Treborklow]

I use the Intellitouch and I've used them for several years. Some guitars headstock's are hard to read, and more resonant than others but usually every one has a sweet spot where the clamp on tuner works great. One some guitars it works best without one using a pick.

 

I use it on electric guitars and bass as well.

[martingibson70]

I bought my intellituner for my 12 string after I read someone write that he spends half his time tuning his 12 string and the other half playing out of tune. It does the trick. I play that thing a lot more often because of it.

 

However, I've experienced accuracy issues with different guitars.

 

Isn't there another clip on tuner out there?

[Dan Hall]

I've always used a tuning fork till now. I've got the Intelliwhatitz spendier one.

 

I like it. You'll get used to the quirks.

[denvertrakker]

I came across this recently, though most of you probably have heard it:

 

Q: What's the definition of a minor second?

 

A: Two guitars playing the same note.