In another thread:
Also, the tuning-by-ear vs. a tuner is another thing. I'd opt for the tuner any day. Tuning-by-ear is a great skill but seldom necessary. Don't all guitar players have a tuner in their rig? In my first month of playing I had a generic tuner that was accurate +/- 3-5 cents. I was really frustrated at the needle popping all over the place so I got a Peterson that's accurate +/- 0.1 cents. Life's been good since.
So, what do you like about the Peterson strobe tuner over the "standard" electronic tuners? I'd heard some people really like them. Why? What's better about it over the "standard"? Is it just more accuracy? Is that accuracy important for regular tuning or is it only really neccessary for setting up intonation and such?
Thanks.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
I am intrigued by the strobe tuners - my guitar teacher had one! I just use a digital chromatic one at the moment, but to be honest I don't fuss over getting it exactly right unless I'm recording or playing in public. Perhaps for clean sounds tuning is more important, but for distorted sounds, I can't see how being a little out of tune will be noticeable when it's been crunched up.
Rob
If something's not worth doing it's worth forgetting about.
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Strobe tuners are much more accurate. Most tuners are off by 3 cents or more while strobe tuners are off by 0.1 cents (30x more accurate). Is it necessary? Likely not. I have never met another guitar player who uses one for anything but doing intonation.
Still, I like the strobe tuners just so I can be as accurate as possible when rehearsing with the band or playing gigs.
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
I find strobo-tuners easier to read than LED or meter tuners, but not everyone will. And even so, for a gig I usually carry a cheap and small tuner anyway. It's one of those things that 'disappears' way too easily.
One thing that's cool about a strobo-tuner, but generally unnecessary for day-to-day use, is the ability easily to see if the harmonics are sharp or flat with respect to the fundamental. This tells one a bit more about the nature of the instrument. But then I'm engineer stock ...
-=tension & release=-
Greg, if you could, elaborate on the + and - on the use of a strobe tuner? I know I'm a "freak" for using such for day-to-day gigs and such, but I'd like an observation from those who have played forever. I know I have my tuner in my floorboard (Tonelab SE) and I turn the tuning on as well as the Peterson. From what I remember, the human ear can't tell if somone is out-of-tune 5-10% of a half tone. Don't know. But this is a discussion forum so...
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
Perhaps for clean sounds tuning is more important, but for distorted sounds, I can't see how being a little out of tune will be noticeable when it's been crunched up.
I find the opposite to be true: playing harmonic intervals with higher gain settings reveal the tuning problems much more.
Ok, so those of you who use them do find the tuning "sweeter"? In a lot of the reviews it's claimed that after tuning with the strobe tuner that the chords sound better, more harmonious. Do you find that to be true?
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
