Review of the StroboStomp

[papamaverick]

This will be a short review...cause there's not all that much to say. I got it last week and played my first gig with it on Saturday.

 

First impression was that it was a bit harder to use than the Boss TU-2 that I'd had previously. The first impression lasted all of about 5 minutes and then it was much easier than the Boss.

 

The LCD display is bright and clear, very easy to read even at a distance. Most think the box is ugly, but I think the puke blue is kinda cool looking. The one-page manual actually explains stuff pretty well, contrary to one report I'd heard. Out of the box it comes set to a buffered input and DI out enabled; this allows the signal to pass even when the tuner is on. I switched the dipswitch for the true bypass mode that mutes when the tuner is on. (It serves double-duty as a "mute" button when I play live because I don't use a volume pedal. Nice for when I unplug and swap guitars)

 

The tuning is worlds faster in tracking than the Boss; I was surprised. I've used real strobe tuners before (this is a "virtual strobe" - it has the accuracy and presentation of a strobe but is digitally implemented) and this was just as fast. Makes tuning much faster with fewer mistakes. I did a quick re-intonation on my guitar (previously done with the Boss - bleh) and tuned up. I also selected the guitar tempered tuning. It makes a subtle (but recognizable) difference, but to notice the difference you really have to be perfectly in tune. But a very well-tuned guitar really sings a lot more (especially with distortion). I still have the occasional g-string weirdness (though I have a cheap set of strings on at the moment...) but it has been reduced somewhat because of the tempered tuning and the increased accuracy of the StroboStomp.

 

Bottom line: A tuned guitar is a tuned guitar, but the StroboStomp makes it much faster and easier to tune. If you're really pinching pennies and would have to sacrifice heavily in another area, I'd tend to recommend a cheap tuner instead of paying nearly $200 for this. But if you record frequently, do your own intonations, or are thinking about buying a more expensive tuner (I tend to consider anything >$50 as "more expensive" in the tuning world, but that's just me) I heartily recommend this.

[CustomGR]

nothing better than playing in tune. I was using boss TU-2s before the strobo and will never go back- the difference is night and day.

[hide]

expensive tuners are overrated imho...that said, i use guitar with floyd rose, once set, it doesn't go out of tune.

[4Kenoath]

+1
Whilst I don't think they're perfect and some have had a few issues (which the company appears to be happy to rectify) it's miles ahead of the TU-2 I had.

Nearly all the naysayers are people who haven't tried it. I suppose I could also say the Klon is just an overpriced OD that doesn't do anything special even though I've never tried that one.