I’m a fan of guitar (and ukulele) tuners that use vibration help you to zero in on the right note for each string. Here’s a new one from Planet Waves that looks like it might be pretty nice. It has a narrow LCD display that shows the currently tuned note for the string that you’re trying to tune. As you tighten or loosen the string, the display will turn from Red to Green when you have successfully tuned the string to the correct note. My current fave tuner is the Intelli IMT-500, but I’d like to try this one. You can find it on Amazon for about $25.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear

Tagged: Guitar, Spotlight Gadgets, Tuner

Tune your guitar with vibrations – Planet Waves Headstock Tuner originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 12, 2009 at 10:58 am.

Available in October, the Tascam PT-7 shoves three devices into one small package. The PT-7 starts with a high-speed chromatic tuner, adjustable to 7 alternate scales, adds a metronome that plays from the speaker or headphone at rates form 30 to 300bpm in six time signatures. And throws in a mono recorder that employs the internal mic to capture song ideas, listen back to a phrase or slow down a tricky passage to play along. The price will be around $99.

via Music Gadgets

Filed in categories: Musical Gear

Tagged: Spotlight Gadgets, Tuner

Tune, record and stay in time with one device – Tascam PT-7 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 5, 2009 at 9:10 am.

It’s been a year since I rediscovered music by picking up the ukulele. Now I’m completely obsessed with this little instrument and in addition, all the accessories that go along with them. Ok, there really aren’t THAT many ukulele accessories… But, one accessory that I use every time I play is a tuner. As a result, I’m always on the lookout for an easier to use and more compact tuner than my current favorite, the Intelli IMT-500 Chromatic Tuner. That’s why the Korg DT-4 caught my eye the other day while flipping through a Muscian’s Friend catalog. I ordered one, and now you get to hear all about it.

The reason’s why it piqued my interest is that it does not need to be clipped on the headstock like the IMT-500 and of course, it has pretty LEDs. What can I say, I’m like a bird that is attracted by shiny blinky things.

Specifications

• Wide Detection Range of A0-C8
• Adjustable Calibration Range of 410Hz-480Hz
• Built-in condenser microphone
• Designed for low power consumption

The DT-4 is about the size of a can of Skoal. Ok, maybe it’s smaller… What do I know about Skoal? It’s 2.5 inches tall and 0.875 inches thick. Just the right size to fit in the pocket of your instrument’s case.

The front of the tuner has the LED display and a built in microphone in the bottom Left corner.

The back has the battery compartment.

Included with the DT-4 are two AAA batteries (not the ones shown though…).

I mentioned the built in microphone. That’s used if you want to tune an acoustic instrument. If you have an electric instrument, you can plug into the 1/4 jack on the side.

The top edge is where the control buttons are located. There’s a power button, display button and the up / down calibration buttons.

This chromatic has three different display modes to help you tune.

Strobe mode shows three lines that rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise around the detected note when you play pluck a string. If the note is sharp (too high), the lines will rotate clockwise. If the note is flat (too low), the lines will rotate in the opposite direction. As you tune the string to the correct pitch, the rotation will slow down and then stop. Red arrows above and below the displayed note will also appear to let you know you’ve correctly tuned the string.

Meter mode works more like the IMT-500 as you are trying to get the top center LED to light up, along with the Red arrow. If your string is sharp, the LEDs to the Right of the center will light up. If flat, they will light up on the Left side. As you can see from the image above, the note is flat because the center LED is not lit up, an LED to the Left is instead.

The third mode is called the Mirror mode. With it, the idea is to tighten or loosen the string that you’re trying to tune so that the lines on either side of the display will come to the top center as just one line. Red arrows at the top and bottom of the display will also light up when the string is in tune.

The Green and Red LEDs are really bright, so this tuner would be great for use on a dark stage. Also, if the DT-4 doesn’t detect any sound for 10 minutes, it will power off automatically.

The Korg DT-4 is a relatively easy to use tuner and has an accuracy of better than +/- 1 cent.. However, doesn’t feel as precise as needle style tuners when you’re trying to use it because it seems to be really sensitive. I find that I it takes me longer to tune with this tuner because just as I think I have a string in tune, it will tell me that it’s a little sharp or flat again. I know that professional musicians will argue that the Intelli IMT-500 tuner is not a very precise tuner, but it just feels easier to use, so I continue to come back to it. I don’t play in a band or with other instruments, so I have not noticed that it is doing a poor job tuning, at least not to my ear.

I don’t hate the Korg, but I still prefer the IMT-500. What I would really like to find is a tuner similar to the IMT-500 in size and ease of use, but one that doesn’t need to be clipped on the headstock of my uke.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear

Tagged: Chromatic, Tuner

Korg DT-4 Chromatic Tuner Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 20, 2009 at 8:45 pm.

The DT-4 is a strobe style musical instrument tuner from Korg. It might be a good alternative to the more expensive Peterson strobe tuners. I’ve ordered one to review and use with my ukuleles.

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Instrument, Spotlight Gadgets, Tuner

Spotlight Gadget – Korg DT-4 Chromatic Tuner originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 28, 2008 at 9:36 am.

Since I recently started playing a ukulele, I’ve been interested in various accessories that go along with playing a stringed instrument. Admittedly, there aren’t many. But the main accessory that I use every time I sit down to play (or try to play) a song, is a tuner. A month ago, I took a look a the Intelli IMT-500 tuner. I like it very much, but like any good gadgeteer, I’ll be happy to dump it for something better. Today I’m going to tell you about the eNote Clip On Digital Chromatic Tuner from ELECA. Read on to see if it beats the Intelli.

Like the Intelli IMT-500, the eNote is a chromatic tuner. Chromatic tuners aren’t specific to the type of instrument. You can use them to tune guitars, violins, banjos, dulcimers and other stringed instruments. You just need to know what note corresponds to each string. Then no matter which key the instrument uses, the tuner will help you find the note for the string.

Hardware Specifications

Tuning range: “A” 430-450 Hz
Tolerance: < = 1 cent
Power source: 3V CR2032 coin cell battery
Dimensions: 2.08 x 3.15 x 1.69 inches
Weight: 2 oz

The eNote is powered by a coin cell (CR2032) battery. There was actually a replacement battery included with mine. Not sure that’s the norm though.

This is a clip on tuner and the clip is quite strong. The jaws are padded with rubber though, so it should not harm the finish of your instrument.

The tuner part of the eNote is on a hinge that can swivel up and down as well as rotate 360 degrees. This makes it quite easy to position for optimal viewing while holding your instrument. In the picture above, I have it clipped to the headstock of my Ko’olau Pono ukulele.

Your stringed instrument can be tuned either by vibration (like the IMT-500), or by using the built-in microphone. When you first turn on the tuner, it is in vibration mode by default. Pressing the power button a second time will toggle to Mic tuning mode. There is also a mode button that allows you to switch between Chromatic mode, Guitar, Bass and Violin tuning modes.

The unique feature of the eNote is that it LCD display will glow Green when a string is in tune…

…or Red when the string is not in tune. That sounds very unique, but in reality, I found this feature to be more annoying than helpful as the display will flash back and forth between the colors while you’re trying to tune a string. It will also glow Green when the string isn’t exactly in tune… See the image above, where I’m trying to tune the G string. The display isn’t as bright as I’m used to with the IMT-500 either…

I found the vibration and Mic tuning methods to work exactly the same. I don’t play in a band or anyplace other than my house, so I didn’t have any problems with loud notices effecting tuning. That said, I haven’t been that impressed with this tuner. While it will allow you to tune your stringed instrument, it seems to operate somewhat sporadically at times. Often, multiple string plucks would result in entirely different reports of the note being played. Some variation is to be expected, but I’m talking wild variations that would make no sense. That issue along with the red and green flashing LCD hasn’t made me a huge fan of this tuner. I’ll keep it around as a spare, but ithe Intelli IMT-500 remains my favorite tuner.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear

Tagged: Tuner

eNote Clip On Digital Chromatic Tuner originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 8, 2008 at 9:15 pm.

Back in the stone age when I was learning to play guitar, there were only two ways to tune an instrument. By pitch pipe, or by ear. I wasn’t good at either method and was always frustrated that my guitar sounded ‘funky’ when I would play it. Years later, when the first electronic tuners were introduced, I was over joyed. Finally an easy way to keep my instrument in tune. They only problems with those tuners were the fact that they were somewhat bulky and required either a quiet room or a patch cable to connect to the instrument’s pickup. Things have changed since those days. Now we have nifty strobe type tuners like the Waves Strobe-On-String tuner that I reviewed not long ago and the Intelli IMT-500 Digital Chromatic Tuner that I’m going to show you today.

Hardware Specifications

Tuning range: 12-note full range chromatic, A2-B7
“A” Calibration: 430-449 Hz in 1 Hz steps
Tolerance: +/- 0.5 cents, uses quartz crystal
Power source: 3V CR2032 coin cell battery
Dimensions: 1.8 x 1.8 x 2.2 inches
Weight: 1.2 oz

The IMT-500 is chromatic tuner. That means you can use it to tune a guitar,
banjo, mandolin, ukulele or any other stringed instrument.

It is wonderfully compact, so you should have no problems whatsoever finding
room for it in your instrument case.

The front of the tuner has a diamond shaped LCD display and three buttons. The
power button is in the center, with the flat and calibration buttons on either
side.

On the back of the IMT-500, is a plastic squeeze clip.

The jaws of the clip have soft rubber pads to protect the finish of your
instrument. What would you want to clip this tuner to your instrument? Well,
because that’s the way it will detect the tuning… The IMT-500 does not have a
built in microphone or a connection for a patch cable. It relies on vibration to
detect string tuning.

When it is clipped to the headstock of your guitar, banjo or in my case, a
ukulele, you can swivel the display to provide the best viewing angle. The
Intelli IMT-500 was included with my uke when I bought it and I have been using
it for over a month now and don’t even remove it from the headstock. When I am
ready to put the instrument back in its case, I just swivel the display and fold
it down so that I can close the case. It works great and is always there when I
need to check the tuning.

Unlike tuners that use a built in microphone, this tuner doesn’t have any
problems with interference from ambient noise.

When you pluck a string, a simulated needle will appear on the display to show
if the current string tuning is flat, sharp or just right. When the needle stops
right in the middle, that particular string is in tune. There is no need to tell
the tuner which string you’re trying it tune. Everything is automatic. As you
can see from the image above, the LCD is large and bright. It’s very easy to see
in any lighting conditions.

The calibrate button is used to tune an instrument to a pitch other than A=440 Hz. 440 Hz is the default pitch which equals C with no flat.

The IMT-500 also has a “Quadra flat tuning” feature that allows you to tune your guitar
/ banjo without removing a capo. Just press the Flat button 1 to 4 times depending on the capo’s
position and then tune like normal.

I really love this little tuner. It’s small, so simple to use and can be found for less
than $25. The only thing that would make it even better would be a battery level check on the display. That’s just a very minor gripe though… I actually plan to buy a second one to have on hand just in case the
one I use every day happens to break. If you play any  stringed instrument,
you need to try the Intelli IMT-500 Digital Chromatic tuner. Trust me, once you
use one, you’ll probably never use anything else.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear

Tagged: Tuner

Intelli IMT-500 Clip-on Digital Chromatic Tuner originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 10, 2007 at 12:15 pm.

If you play guitar, either acoustic or electric, you probably own some type of tuner. Tuners come in several varieties. There are pitch pipe type tuners that make a sound for each guitar string. Your task is to then tighten or loosen the string until the sound it makes matches the reference note that the pitch pipe makes. Unless you have a really good ear, this is a very hard way to tune your instrument. Electronic tuners are much easier to use. These tuners have a microphone that picks up the sound a string makes when you pluck it. Then using a meter or some other method, it tells you if you need to loosen or tighten the string to bring it to the right pitch. The only problem with this type of tuner is that it requires a relatively quiet environment to work or if the guitar has a pick-up, you can connect the tuner using a cable. Today I’m going to tell you about a tuner that can work in the noisiest places, doesn’t need a cable and is tiny enough to fit in your pocket. It’s the Strobe-On-String Guitar Tuner from
Planet Waves.

The Strobe-On-String (S.O.S.) is a very inexpensive tuner in the shape of a guitar pick. Instead of sound, this tuner uses strobe technology to help you tune your guitar.

The S.O.S. is made of plastic and has a footprint of an actual guitar pick. It’s just quite a bit thicker than your standard pick. On the back there is a battery compartment that houses a CR 1620 coin cell battery.

The tip of the S.O.S. holds 2 Red LEDs. These LEDs are what gives this tuner its strobe effect. Two opposing strobe lights flash on the guitar string at the exact frequency at which a perfectly tuned string vibrates.

The only switch on the S.O.S. tuner is located on the top edge of the pick. It’s a dial that has a label for each string on a regular 6 stringed guitar (E1, B2, G3, D4, A5, E6).

The tuner is really easy to use. Just turn the dial to the string you would like to tune, then pluck the string using the S.O.S., just like you would a regular pick. Right after you pluck the string, quickly hold it over the vibrating string at the 12th fret (this is the point where the string has the widest vibration).

What you’ll notice is that each of the two LEDs shine a Red segment on the string side by side. If the string is not in tune, the individual segments will appear to bounce up and down. As you tighten or loosen the string, the bouncing will speed up or slow down. When the bouncing stops, the string is in tune. It’s that easy.

See it in action…

Click on image to play the QuickTime video (41sec,
3.8mb). The video is encoded in the H.264 codec. You will need the latest version of
Quicktime to view it.
VLC is another free viewer.

The Strobe-on-String tuner from Planet Waves is a nifty little gadget that any guitar player should find very handy. It’s very easy to use, easy to carry and you can’t beat the price!

Filed in categories: Musical Gear

Tagged: Tuner

Planet Waves Strobe-On-String Guitar Tuner originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 16, 2007 at 9:12 pm.