FOR BEGINNER

However, this is tough to most beginners as you are new to the instruments and unable to recognize pitches easily without trained ears. An electronic tuner will becomes a lifesaver in this incident. This little gadget will help you to tune your instrument fast and accurately. Some of them are even more accurate than our ear! Sometime you can tune by ear, but tuning to concert pitch is not so easy though.

TUNE IN A NOISY ENVIRONMENT

Another reason why you should get an electronic tuner is it allows you to tune up in noisy environments. For example, like a clip-on tuner, you just need to clamp it onto your guitar headstock and it will detect the pitch based on the vibration of your instrument’s string, without being interfered with by background noises. This means you can tune your guitar even when there are other people tuning or playing with their instruments.

CHEAP AND CONVENIENT

Most electronic tuners come with compact design and slim sizes. This gives you great convenience to keep in your gig bag and carry along anywhere. With a price less than 30 dollars, an electronic tuner is a small investment with great value. It has become a necessity to most of the music learners nowadays.

 

Korg GA-1 Guitar and Bass Tuner

A standard tuner (generally also known as a guitar tuner) tunes for the standard notes on a guitar, which means notes like E, A, D, G, B, and E. If you set a standard tuner to “A”, for example, when you tune your string close to “A”, a standard tuner will indicate whether you are flat or sharp. If your string is real far off, you will not get the reading at all. A standard tuner is just a real basic electronic tuning device. It is only effective for tuning a standard guitar to standard pitch.

A chromatic tuner, on the other hand, is a smarter tuning device which will try to figure out what note it is hearing. It gives you the tuning for the chromatic scale with flat and sharp like C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B. By using a chromatic tuner, if your “A” string is too flat, it will probably indicate the note as sharp G. As you tune up, it will show it as a flat A, until it is finally up to tune. This type of tuner is not only for guitar tuning, but also works on almost any musical instruments.

Korg CA-1 Chromatic Tuner

In short, a chromatic tuner is able to detect all notes, including flats and sharps, while a standard tuner is limited to E, A, D, G, B & E.

It is always better to get a chromatic tuner because the device will tell you any note and pitch. And it will become pretty handy when you play in different tunings and with different musical instruments.

 

What makes Korg Pitchblack stand out from other pedals is its compact size and ease of use. This handy little tuner solidly built with aluminium casing and has the least cluttered looks than any other pedals. We all know that Korg has been one of the most trusted electronic tuner makers of all time, and Pitchblack is a brilliant upgrade in terms of precision and functionality.

FEATURES

At a glance, Pitchblack gives us a promising outlook design. This pedal is smoothly shaped with aluminium chassis in satin black finishing. The unit is fairly heavy for its size and makes a very solid plus reliable impression. Pitchblack is a true bypass pedal and with a DC out jack makes it pretty much perfect. The pedal offers 4 different type of tuning modes: Meter Mode, Full Strobe Mode, Half Strobe Mode and Mirror Mode. The tuning accuracy (+/- 1 cent) is perfectly acceptable for a stage tuner. This chromatic pedal tuner is a fairly straight forward, sleek, simple, and easy to use. Read more reviews here.
 

IN A NUTSHELL

Pro

• True bypass
• Solid, compact and sleek design
• Great visibility and multi display settings

Con

• The battery compartment access is a plastic clip cover which is a minus to its solidity.

SPECS

• Tuning: 12 note equal temperament
• Detection accuracy: +/- 1 cent
• Detection range: E0 (20.60 Hz) — C8 (4186 Hz)
• Calibration range: 436–445 Hz (1 Hz steps)
• Display modes (auto): Full Strobe, Half Strobe, Meter, and Mirror
• Input impedance: 1 M ohms (when tuner is on)
• Connectors: INPUT (mono 1/4″ jack), BYPASS (mono 1/4″ jack), DC IN (9V), DC OUT (9V)
• Power supply: (9V battery) or 9V AC adaptor
• Dimensions: 2.68” (W) ×4.72” (H) ×1.85” (D) (including feet)
• Weight: 0.64 lbs (including battery)

OTHER USER COMMENTS

William D.

Bought this Korg after losing a prior tuner after many years of gigging. Researched on several on-line boards and alot of guys recommended. Wanted something easy to use on a dark stage, tough, and not too expensive. This fits the bill: am satisfied after several months of use. The bright, highly visible read-out cannot be missed or misunderstood. That’s what you want tuning in a hurry, on cluttered, dark stages. [Read more]

Ian M.

This is pretty much the ideal tuner, as far as I’m concerned. It’s true-bypass, brilliantly visible and easy to read on a dark stage, accurate, small footprint, durable, powers all your other pedals, and is under $100, especially if bought used…its virtues are many and varied. If you’ve been using a cheap crappy tuner like I was, you’ll notice the difference all the more. [Read more]

After the successful launch of TU-2 pedal tuner in year 1998, it had soon became Boss’s best-selling chromatic pedal tuner of all time. However, the pedal’s +/- 3cents accuracy had always been seen as a downside among the users. After years of waiting, Boss had finally release the new generation, Boss TU-3 by retaining all the features from its predecessor and plus a few more enhancements.

FEATURES

Built with a solid stompbox chassis, Boss TU-3 outshines other pedal tuners by its new high-brightness meter mode. This feature greatly improves the visibility under bright sunlight. 21-segment LED meter with brightness control makes tuning much more accurate and visible too. Unlike the TU-2 with accuracy of +/- 3 cents, the new TU-3 improves to +/- 1 cent. The improvement is definitely an exciting breakthrough to all Boss pedal lovers.

Other features of Boss TU-3 includes ‘AccuPitch’ confirmation display after the tuning is complete, drop tuning up to 6 semitones and bass tuning up to 3 flats. This tuner will also mute the amp when the pedal is on, so that others won’t hear your dirty tuning business. Read more reviews here.
 

IN A NUTSHELL

Pro

• Improved accuracy
• High brightness mode
• Easy to use and operate
• Bypass jack

Con

• The flat symbol a little too small

SPECS

• Manufacturer: Boss
• Model: TU-3
• Tuning Range: C0 (16.35Hz)–C8 (4186Hz)
• Reference Pitch: A4=436–445 Hz (1Hz step)
• Tuning Accuracy: ±1 cent
• Power Supply: DC 9 V: Dry battery 6F22 (9 V) type (carbon), Dry battery 6LR61 (9 V) type (alkaline), AC Adaptor (PSA series: optional)
• Current Draw: 30 mA (DC 9 V), 85 mA (DC 9 V, when High Brightness mode is on)

 

OTHER USER COMMENTS

W. Savoy

This is a newer tuner by Boss with double the accuracy from their old tuners. Boss added more lights to the front panel so it is easier to see how off you are out of tune. The battery is easy to change (no tools needed) and the lights are pretty bright to see in the sun. Of course, the pedal mutes the instrument when it’s tapped, so this is great to tune up between songs. [Read more]

Benjamin J.

The boss tu-3 chromatic tuner is the BEST way to go for live performance. It gives you as a guitarist the ability to switch guitars quickly and without the dreaded “unplugging sound.” I use it with my acoustic guitar and it makes tuning in-set so smooth and effortless. Worth the money! [Read more]

When a guitar player performing on stage, one of the most annoying incidents could happen is to having to tune between songs during the gig. We need an extremely sensitive tuning device to get the job done with highly accuracy. For such requirement, PolyTune seems to be an ideal problem solver. It is a brand new pedal tuner from TC Electronic with patented polychromatic tuning technology.

SPEC

• Manufacturer: TC Electronic
• Tuning Accuracy: +/- 0.5 cent
• Reference Pitch: A4 = 435 to 445Hz (1 Hz steps)
• Input Impedance: 500 kOhm (pedal on)
• Power Supply: One 9V type battery or AC adapter (9V DC), – sold separately
• Current Draw: 45-50 mA (typical use)
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 72 mm x 122 mm x 45 mm
• Weight: 300 g/10.6 oz (incl. battery)
• Read more

FEATURES

PolyTune had been widely reviewed as a player tool, as well as a studio tool. The tuner size itself is handy and comes with a big and clear display, which makes it easier to read on stage. It is very user friendly and what you need to do is simply strum across the open strings of your guitar, the red LEDs show above or below the green will tell you which string need to be touched up.

The best part is, you can choose to tune in the polyphonic display mode, or simply pluck a single string and tuner will automatically switches to chromatic single note display. Overall, the reading is highly accurate in polyphonic mode and even more accurate in chromatic mode. The true bypass feature allows your tone to flow unaffected when the pedal is bypassed and for silent tuning once engaged. Read more user reviews.
 

IN A NUTSHELL

Pros

• Fast-responding and accurate
• Highly visible and good readability
• Work with drop tunings
• Power pass-through

Cons

• No built-in MIC
• Need external MIC or line level signal for tuning acoustic guitars
• Polyphonic mode does not support alternate tunings

Andrew H

I like this tuner a LOT. Aside from the polyphonic mode, this is a better stomp tuner than any I’ve used under $300. Nice and bright and MUCH faster at registering notes than the Boss and Korg. [Read more]

Matty D

This is an awesome tuner. The screen is very bright and easy to read, even when I don’t have my glasses on. Can’t stress enough just how nice the screen looks. It’s got a 9V out on it, so if you need to chain another pedal through this one, the option is there. The pedal works in Strobe mode as well as standard (needle-style) chromatic mode. It’s very quick and very accurate. It did get a little befuddled at first… I think it thought I had a guitar, but I play bass… but it’s adjusted and it will always remember your settings even if left unplugged. [Read more]

Most of us absolutely hate seeing our guitars or other musical instrument out of tune. A good electronic tuner can get you out of this frustration and tune your instruments within a second. One of our great helper is the Korg AW2G clip-on chromatic tuner. This little tool is small, yet very sensitive and accurate, and offering many nice features.

Features

Korg AW2G is a clip-on tuner which will attach directly to your instruments and function as a cable-free tuning device. Just simply clamp it to your guitar headstock and you can tune it right away. This tuner has a well -designed mechanism to pivot in multiple directions. The display section is very clean and clear, and the internal backlight performs pretty well for excellent visibility. Another great bonus is this tuner built with energy-saving auto mode which will automatically switch to the lower-power mode when no sound is present.

Accuracy and Ease of Use

The Korg AW2G is a tiny little gadget which could be hidden really well behind the headstock. The swivel head gives you lot of flexibility and is better angled for viewing on the headstock than other clip-on tuners. It is a very responsive tuner and gives a stable reading as the string comes into tune. It detects the fundamental string vibration straight away. The tuner even picks up the low E very nicely and they are amazingly accurate.

Downside

The only downside you may encounter is that the buttons are small and fiddly on the back of it. But once you get used to it, it doesn’t seems as a problem to most of the users. Read more user reviews.
 

SPECIFICATIONS FOR KORG AW-2G

• Scale: 12-note equal temperament
• Detection Range : A0 (27.50 Hz)-C8 (4186 Hz)
• Precision: +/-1 cent
• Reference pitch: 410…480 Hz (1 Hz steps)
• Dimensions: 2.28″ (W) x 1.02″(D) x 0.50″ (H) (AW2 only)
• Weight: AW2 0.61 oz. (including battery), Clip 0.62 oz. (large),0.13 oz. (small), 0.45 oz. (clip)

In A Nutshell

• Easy to use
• Extremely responsive and accurate
• Very flexible
• Small and tiny
• Click here for more

W. G. Moore

I’ve used the Korg AW-2G for close to a year. It’s easy to use and does its job getting my guitars in tune. The backlight is especially helpful in illuminating the display. [Read more]

Munchausen

This tuner is a great buy for any guitar player, any level, any style. I bought it for use on my epiphone les paul: the microphone function works amazingly. The bright backlight allows me to see it easily. Most importantly, it is very easy to use, and allows for accurate tuning to any note, any type of tuning (i can switch from c-standard to standard tuning in about a minute, which was impossible before I had this tuner). [Read more]

Guitar Professor from Qwik Tune is one little gadget which has the function of a guitar tuner, pitch pipe and chord finder.  It combines the essential guitar tools into one brilliant package and save most of your time and troubles.

This neat technology design will not only help you to get your musical instrument in tune, but also will give you a hand on finding those strange guitar chords that you need from time to time. It can teach you over 250 chords (major and minor) and required 2 AAA batteries to operate.

Features

• Guitar tuner, fine-tune any type of guitar – acoustic, electric or bass
• Chord finder, records hundreds of chord graphs
• Pitch pipe, alternate way to tune your guitar manually
• Click here to read more

The good

Unlike other chromatic tuners in store, Guitar Professor is unique because of its multiple functionalities. You could have the choice of electronic tuner, pitch pipe and handy reference of over 200 major and minor chords. This is extremely useful for guitar beginners as they no longer need to flip their chord book from time to time. With Guitar Professor on hand, you can enjoy all the conveniences within a few push of buttons.

Design is always a big plus point for Guitar Professor as it is very handy, light weight and fits in your palm. The device also has a large display screen so that user could see all the data clearly.

Majority of the users have great experience when using this tuner. Most of them found it is very user friendly. You just need to turn the tuner mode on and pluck each guitar string. The microphone works pretty well and gives good range. If you let the device idle for a while, it will turns off by itself for power saving.

Tips and tricks

When you use Guitar Professor with acoustic guitar, suggested you rest the tuner on your knee with the distant of about 8 inches from your instrument. Start the tuning with your low E first and all the way work from top to bottom. After that, you may go back and double check each string again.

The bad

Basically Guitar Professor covers the needs we required for an electronic tuner. The only pitfall is its inability to tune other than standard tuning. But this does not seems to be a problem as most of the people who using Guitar Professor is either a beginner or at intermediate level, and they haven’t reached the need for alternate tuning yet.

Like some of the electronic tuners, Guitar Professor requires an environment relatively free from ambient noise in order to hear your instrument. So if you are tuning in a noisy room, the device might not work well.

Overall

If you are new to guitar playing and do not wish to carry a chord book around, Guitar Professor is the one you should get. This gadget made guitar tuning so easy and the chord finder is a big help to all newbies. It will save all the trouble and your time, plus give you a very accurate reading. With a tuner, pitch control and chord finder in one nice package, and the price of less than $20, this gadget is a steal! Read more user reviews.
 

L. Kain

I’m teaching myself to play guitar so I didn’t have a clue on how to tune it. This product made it so easy to tune and the chord finder is nice to refer to. [Read full review]

Jacob C.

this is the best deal for a beginner. it’s cheap and it easily tunes your guitar and it even has a ton of chords that you can learn from. a very nice product. [Read full review]

Cost

First you should consider your own budget. If you are just a beginner learning a musical instrument, a tuner that costs below 30 dollars should be more than enough for you. However, do bear in mind that in many cases, what you pay is what you will get. You can’t really complain much about the quality of the lower-budget tuner.

Durability

A cheap plastic tuner may not last for long if compared to those higher-end models. Even though it tunes accurately, it might have a limited life span. Sometimes a higher-end tuner is indeed a lifesaver. It will spare you from a lot of problems.

Interference

Some tuners pick up sounds from the background and might not be able to give you an accurate reading, while other tuners may cost you 100 dollars but it won’t give you this type of trouble. It tells you the note you are playing regardless of the string you are playing it on.

Many professional musicians are frequent performers with specific reasons for choosing the tuners they use. Tuners with a 100 dollar range price tag may look pricey if compare to those which cost around 15 dollars, but the inexpensive tuners, however useful at home, might fail under the rigors of touring. After you have purchased five of them, you may realize that a more durable tuner purchase is a smarter choice.

 

The waveform generated by a musical instrument is extremely complex, as it contains a number of harmonic partials, and it is constantly changing. For this cause the regular tuner need to common a number of cycles of your observe and use this typical to drive its screen. Any background noise from other musicians or harmonic overtones through the musical instrument can effortlessly “confuse” the digital tuner’s attempt to “lock” onto the input frequency. This is why the needle or exhibit on common digital tuners tends to waver when a pitch is performed. Little movements in the needle, or LED, typically represent a tuning error of 1 cent of your semitone. The average accuracy of these types of tuners is around +/- 3 cents for quality needle tuners and +/- 9 cents of the semitone for that most affordable LED tuners. Some corporations offer 1 form of tuner (e.g. Behringer, Quick Time and Fender focus on cheap pocket-sized tuners), while other firms, for example Boss and Korg, sell a assortment of typical, pedal, and rack-mountable tuners at varying ranges of high quality and attributes.

Pocket Tuners

Pocket tuner is not an official category, but fairly our name for inexpensive chromatic tuners developed for routine use by musicians. They’re simple to make use of and typically smaller, nevertheless not all will fit in a pocket. They are lower cost, from $10 to $150. As an example, the Korg CA-40 Huge Display Auto Chromatic Tuner has every thing most musicians have to have for beneath $25. Increased priced units include attributes and detect extra octaves. Most pocket tuners use the needle screen or its variants; many add lights for a lot more feedback; a few use strobes. Most lower expense pocket tuners reliably detect octaves in the middle ranges. Most wind and string instruments tune inside that assortment, but the larger and lower octaves in pianos and marimbas may well need extra robust. Inexpensive pocket tuner shows with only lights or low-resolution Liquid crystal display needles might not provide sufficient precision for some makes use of. Useful capabilities to appear for are the capacity to become calibrated, play tones via a built-in speaker, or add an external contact microphone. Advanced tuners may possibly present alternate temperaments or have transposition switches for devices tuned to different keys.

Clip-on Tuner

“Clip-on” tuners clip onto an instrument (commonly on the headstock of your guitar or bridge of your violin or cello) and choose up vibrations, as opposed to making use of a mic or enter jack to sense the enter frequency. It then displays the pitch in the instrument’s vibration on its big Liquid crystal display present. Clip-on tuners are much less likely to become confused by background noise than a microphone-based tuner, because the clip-on tuners pick up the vibrations with the instrument directly out of your physique with the instrument.

“String Master” Tuner

The “String Master” tuner consists of the regular LED tuner where the electrical instrument plugs into the unit’s base having a 1/4″ TRS cable, or an acoustic instrument via a microphone cable. The device has a built-in motor which drives a string winder tool on the prime for the unit. The unit is then placed over the tuning button in the machine head in the string to become tuned, and a note over the relevant string is played. The unit detects the input observe and robotically corrects the pitch to a desired frequency by mechanically turning the tuner button for the correct position. It monitors the alter in frequency till the “in tune” signal is given.

Chromatic tuners discussed above were in general grouping. If we were to look into more details, there are also types like guitar tuner, pedal tuner and other professional electronic tuning devices as well.

Snark Tuner is currently on sale on Amazon US & Amazon UK

Most of us never though much of chromatic clip-on tuners and we normally assume that a great clip-on tuner is probably the expensive one. We had tried quite a number of clip-on tuners, and by far the best is the Snark Clip-On Chromatic Guitar Tuner.

FEATURE & PERFORMANCE

What make Snark Tuner stand out from other clip-on is not only its funky look, but also its great feature and performance. This tuner comes in 2 models, SN1 (blue) and SN2 (red). The difference for both is SN2 has a microphone option, allowing it to pick up notes without being clipped onto your musical instrument. The design is brilliant. The clip is nicely padded in order not to damage your instrument’s headstock.

The display of Snark Tuner can be rotated 360 degrees to make it just right for your eyeline. It is bright even under the sunlight and very easy for reading. The tuner is very responsive and performs pretty well. It clearly and accurately shows the note and whether it’s sharp or flat.

Here’s a tip for those budget-minded: Snark Tuner come up on Amazon with sales price pretty often. You may get one under $10 (include shipping) if you are lucky.

  

This clip style tuner will picks up vibration directly from the musical instrument. It designed with transposing mode (11 steps), so that band instruments can read directly in the Key of C. This powerful little gadget is the most accurate and intelligent chromatic auto tuner.

The Intelli IMT-900 is light, small, more easily read, much faster, and immune to off-instrument influence. A recommended chromatic tuner for all musicians. [Read more]

Overall consumer rating:   (more than 30 user reviews)

While most of the chromatic tuners are sensitive to ambient noises, Intelli IMT-600 has its unique feature which could ignore the distracting noises. This tuner is an upgrade version from the famous Intelli IMT-500. It is a clip style tuner that picks up vibration directly from the instrument.

The Intelli IMT-600 designed with 3 mode selection: Chromatic, Violin and Guitar. It has great functionality which could pick up the accurate pitch, even on a noisy stage. The design is easy to attach to any musical instrument and the LCD meter could user a clear and easy reading. The Backlit LCD panel illuminates making it easy to see in the dark.

The IMT-600 also featuring quadra flat tuning – no need to remove a capo to tune your guitar. It is designed to turn off automatically after 3 minutes for battery power saving. In short, it is an enhance version of a great clip-on electronic tuner. Read more user reviews.

Korg GA-1 is a newer version to the CA-1 and like most of the Korg tuner, this gadget is very easy to use and generally self-explanatory. This tuner is fairly sensitive and it works just fine. For the price tag under $20, this tuner delivers great value to the user.

FEATURE AND PERFORMANCE

Korg GA-1 is a guitar and bass tuner which offers flat tuning and audible note for each string through a built-in speaker. Unlike stompbox tuner which normally comes pretty bulky, this tuner is handy for practice room, backstage or for setting the harmonics in a workshop environment. The design looks great, i.e. in black plastic housing and size slightly larger than a credit card. The compact size makes it easily fits in a shirt pocket, on a music stand or inside a gig bag. It runs on 2 AAA batteries. Other features include ¼” input jack, guitar/bass push button, flat button for tuning down, sound button for audible notes, etc. Read more user reviews.
 

HOW TO USE KORG-GA1

1. Press the red power on button.
2. Pluck your guitar’s bottom string (high E). You should see the top left corner of the display read as 1E. The digital needle will be moving to the right or left.
3. If it moves to the left, you should tighten the string
4. If it moves to the right, you should loosen the string.
5. Once you had gotten the digital needle stay in the center and the green light is on, is time to move to tune the next string.
6. Do the same process for each string. The sequence should be E1, B2, G3, D4, A5 and E6 (from the bottom up)

TIPS AND TRICKS

Do the tuning slow in order not to break your guitar strings. Before you start using your new Korg GA-1, you are recommended to install a new set of strings on your instrument. Reason is as the strings get old, beside the sound losing their sparkle, the tuning consistency will also drop.

SPECS FOR KORG GA-1

• Tuning: 12 note equal-tempered
• Detection range: 23.12Hz – 1975.54Hz
• Guitar Reference tone: 7B-6E-5A-4D-3G-2B-1E
• Bass Reference tone: LB-4E-3A-2D-1G-HC
• Built-in Speaker
• Tuning modes: Meter (auto guitar/bass) and Sound (auto guitar/bass)
• Flat tuning: 1 – 5 semitones “Quinta Flat”
• Tuning accuracy: +/-1cent
• Sound accuracy:+/-1.5cent
• Connection jack: Input jack (1/4″ mono)
• Power supply: Two AAA batteries 3V
• Dimensions: 4.02″(102mm) Wide x 2.32″(59mm) Deep x 0.63(16mm) High
• Weight: 2.54 oz (72g) (Including batteries)

IN A NUTSHELL

PROS

• Compact size
• Easy to use
• Value for money

CONS

• Very sensitive to background noise (TV, kids)

Korg GA-40 is a user friendly and self- explanatory guitar / bass tuner. It designed with a large LCD screen with needle style display. Tuner’s compact size gives user great convenience – make it easy to use at home or on stage.

FEATURE & PERFORMANCE

The design of Korg GA-40 is brilliant. The line input is perfect for guitarist and bassist in tuning their instruments through a patch chord for the optimal sound. The tuner’s ability to support 6 string basses and 7 string guitars provide great help to the user, when using drop tuning for heavier metal that relies on power chords performed in dropped scales rather than the standard tuning.

The screen display of Korg GA-40 is big enough for easy reading. The tuner work pretty well and display the pitch accurately. This tuner comes with a fold out back to self-support as a fold away stand. You can just put it on the table while tuning. The Auto Power Off function automatically turns the power off after the unit has been left on for 20 minutes, preventing the batteries from running down needlessly. Read more user reviews.
 

SPECS FOR KORG GA-40

• Scale: 12-note equal temperament
• Detection Range:
• Guitar: B1 bbbbb (46.249 Hz) – B6 (1975.54 Hz)
• Bass: B0 bbbbb (23.12 Hz) – B5 (987.77 Hz)
• Reference Tone:
• Guitar: 7B, 6E, 5A, 4D, 3G, 2B, 1E
• Bass: Low B, 4E 3A, 2D, 1G, High C
• Tuning Modes: Meter mode (AUTO), Sound Out mode (MANUAL)
• Flat Tuning: Semitone steps: 1 semitone (b) to 5 semitones (bbbbb)
• Detection Accuracy: +/- 1 cents or better
• Connectors: INPUT jack (1/4” monaural phone jack)
• Speaker: Dynamic speaker (28 mm diameter)
• Power Supply: Two AAA batteries (3V)
• Dimensions: 3.94”(W) x 2.64” (D) x 0.67” (H)/100 (W) x 67 (D) x 17 (H) mm
• Weight: 0.19 lbs. (88 g) (Including batteries)

IN A NUTSHELL

PROS

• Easy reading (stands up and big display screen)
• Responsive and accurate
• Compact and portable

CONS

• Background noise will interferes the tuning
• No back-lit

The MA-30 is the latest digital metronome from Korg’s innovative line, packed with new features like volume control and sophisticated rhythms such as triplets and quadruplets, with inner beats omitted. [Read more]

Overall consumer rating:  (more than 100 reviews)

When we look at electronic tuners, Korg is always out-shined other makers as a reliable brand. This tuner maker always produces excellent models and become top fan choice of all musicians, bands and guitar players. Among their product line, Korg CA-40 is one of the best-selling models. It is a compact design and high performance gadget for all.

FEATURE & PERFORMANCE

Unlike previous models from Korg, the CA-40 is more user-friendly and it comes with bigger display. The larger screen and high-precision LCD needle-style give great visibility to the user. With wide detection range from A0 – C8 and calibration function, Korg CA-40 is ideal for use with brass band or orchestra. This tuner is simply an easy-to-use gadget for the beginners and the pros.

USER TIPS FOR STRING INSTRUMENT

A new user may encounter difficulty when first operate their new Korg CA-40. If you are one of those first timers on electronic tuner, there may be time when you did not get the gadget operate properly. No matter how you pluck or strum the strings of you instrument, your new tuner just doesn’t seems to read the note as quickly as you expected.

First thing first, you should try to get the sound hole of your string instrument as close as possible to the microphone.

Also, you have to ensure that you are in a quiet environment, as extra noises will drive your new Korg CA-40 crazy. If you are unable to find a complete quiet place, that’s okay. Just get yourself a Korg CM-100L Clip On Contact Microphone and clip it onto the headstock of your instrument. It works great for tuning in a noisy environment.

Another reason why your new Korg CA-40 did not seems to get the reading easily may be is because the strings of your instruments are old and rusty. Dead strings will always makes the tuner have more difficult time “hearing” them.

Batteries charge might also be the reason why you are getting very little response from your new tuner. When the charge is low, your tuner will tend to picks up poorly. So instead of buying another new tuner, try new batteries and make sure they are oriented correctly might give a big help. Read more user reviews.
 

SPECIFICATIONS FOR KORG CA-40:

• Scale: 12-note equal temperament
• Detection Range: A0 (27.50 Hz) – C8 (4186.01 Hz): for a sine wave
• Reference Tone: C4 (261.63 Hz) – C5 (523.25 Hz): 1 octave
• Tuning Modes: Meter mode (AUTO), Sound Out mode (MANUAL)
• Calibration Range: A4=410 Hz – 480 Hz (1 Hz steps)
• Accuracy:
• Detection: +/- 1 cents or better
• Tone: +/- 1.5 cents or better
• Connectors: INPUT jack (1/4” monaural phone jack)
• Speaker: Dynamic speaker (28 mm diameter)
• Power Supply: Two AAA batteries (3V)
• Dimensions: 3.94”(W) x 2.64” (D) x 0.67” (H)/100 (W) x 67 (D) x 17 (H) mm
• Weight: 0.19 lbs. (88 g) (Including batteries)

IN A NUTSHELL

PROS

• Simple to use
• Very responsive and accurate
• Perfect size

CONS

• No backlight and auto power off

It is not easy to find a good tuner which able to tune all sort of orchestra instruments, including the string bass, because most of the cheap brands unable to pick up low notes accurately. Korg CA-1 is one of a great tuner in terms of quality and performance. This gadget works great in tuning all sort of stringed instruments.

FEATURE AND PERFORMANCE

The design of Korg CA-1 is plain simple and compact. It is small enough to fit in any instrument case. With pitch detection range covers C1 – C8 and calibration function supports a variety concerts pitches, Korg CA-1 is very easy to use and fast to tune. It features a quarter-inch jack for input, and plus minus keys for tuning in another pitch close to what you are in.

USER TIPS

If you are new to electronic tuner, here are couples of things to note. The default setting is for A=440, which is standard concert pitch and you should never need to touch the ‘CALIB’ buttons. Power on your tuner and pluck a string. The LCD needle will be moving left and right. If the needle moves to the right, it is sharp; and it moves to the left, it is flat. You will just have to adjust the tuning peg until it is straight up on zero and turn to green light. You will notice the actual note being display on the upper right of the screen. Read more user reviews.
 

SPECIFICATIONS

• Tuning: 12 note equal-tempered
• Detection range: C1 (32.70Hz) – C8 (4186.01Hz)
• Reference tone: C4 (261.33Hz) – C5 (523.25Hz)
• One octave (Built-in Speaker)
• Tuning modes: Meter (auto), Sound (manual)
• Calibration: 410 – 480Hz (1Hz steps)
• Tuning accuracy: +/-1cent
• Sound accuracy: +/-1.5cent
• Connection jack: Input jack (1/4″ mono)
• Power supply: Two AAA batteries 3V
• Dimensions: 4.02″(102mm) Wide x 2.32″(59mm) Deep x 0.63(16mm) High
• Weight: 2.54 oz (72g) (Including batteries)

IN A NUTSHELL

Pros

• Easy to use
• Small convienent size
• Value for money

Cons

• Somewhat difficult to see the screen

Planet Waves Tuner is currently on sales on Amazon US & Amazon UK.

Simply clip Planet Waves Chromatic Headstock Tuner on your guitar and your instrument will get in tune in minutes. This tuner do a great job not only on guitar, but suitable for all kind of stringed instruments. It is designed to utilize instrument’s vibrations rather than sound. No matters you are at a noisy gig show or live studio, this tuner allow you to tune quickly and accurately.

Planet Waves Chromatic Headstock Tuner is small, compact and light weight. With its backlit LCD display, you can view the screen clearly from any angle without hassle. The display will show red when your instrument is out of tune. And it will turn green when it is in tune. This makes tuning very easy when you are in a dark environment like club or room with poor lighting. Simply clip on and tune up!

Features

• Bulit-in Piezo transducer picks up instrument’s vibration rather than sound
• Multi-color backlit LCD screen makes it easy to tune in dark environments
• A440 calibrated. May be user-calibrated to any pitch from A435 to A445
• Requires one CR2032 battery (included)
• Complete product details

Planet Waves Chromatic Headstock Tuner is perfect for everybody. It works very well on electric or acoustic guitar. It is also a great gadget for you if you are playing with nylon strings that need frequent tuning.

The Good

This little tool makes tuning so quick and easy. It is sensitive and surprisingly accurate. Within only one or two plucks of each string, you already are there. The display is very clear to read and it works great in any environment, bright, dark, loud, etc. Its compact size also makes it travel friendly. Simply keep it in your pocket and you are ready to go.

The Bad

The only concern I have is it’s durability because of those light-duty plastic ring encircling the metal spring pin. It doesn’t seem sturdy to me. But after using this tuner for more than 6 months, this tuner still serves me very well and I have no complain on it.

If you are looking for a small size and compact tuner with high accuracy, this tuner is definitely the one for you. Read more user reviews.
 

Other user’s comment

Martin S.

Very nice item – the fact that it flips from red to green when in tune speeds up its use onstage. The single best thing about ANY of these headstock tuners is not subjecting the audience to your tuning – the audience doesn’t need to and SHOULDN’T hear you tuning. The Planet Waves is also very sensitive – I’ve been using a seven string for 23 years now, and most of the headstock tuners can’t handle it. This one can. [Read original review..]

Don C.

I bought two of these after a friend showed one to me. I have used it on a ukulele, a strat (plugged and unplugged), a 6 string arch top, and a 7 string archtop and it works quickly and easily to assist in getting tuned up. One of my other tuners had a nasty buzz, another didn’t pick up the strings properly and I found that I needed to play a harmonic to get it to work. The Planet Waves tuner works fine just picking the string normally. I can’t say enough about how well it works. The construction seems fine to me and the feature of changing colors when you get in tune is helpful. The compact design should help it stay on the guitar – unlike my other tuner that tended to fall off because it was about 6″ long. You won’t be disappointed. [Read original review..]

Intelli IMT-500 is currently on sales on Amazon US & Amazon UK.

You don’t have to be a professional musician to get your instrument in accurate tune. Cheat a little with this cutie and your instrument will just sounds perfect. Intelli IMT-500 is a clip-on chromatic digital tuner. It is design to tune all types of stringed musical instruments. For example like guitar, bass, violin, banjo, mandolin, etc. This tuner built in compact form which means no wires, microphones or pickups attached. It works great even in room noise ambient. With its bright backlit display, this tuner makes string tuning a super easy work.

Just clip Intelli IMT-500 on to your instrument headstock and all tuning will start with the vibrations of your strings. Everything else is automatic! The vibrations themselves tell the IMT500 what string is being tuned and if it is flat, sharp, or just right. The calibrate button to the right of the display screen is used to tune an instrument to a pitch other than 440 Hz. (440 Hz is the default pitch, which equals C with no flat.)

Product Features

• Can tune is noisy environment
• Face is backlit for easy reading
• Battery saving auto turn off after three minutes
• Read full product details

The Good

Intelli IMT-500 is small, compact and light that you could keep it in your pocket. The scale is easy to read and understood. The jaws of the clip covered with soft rubber pads. This means it will protect your instrument for being scratches. This mini tuner is perfect for musical school beginner to concerts musician. It is an awesome gadget for everybody!

The Bad

The only problem I found about Intelli IMT-500 is the buttons on the tuner will buzz occasionally. But this is not a big deal to me because I will just remove the tuner when I’m done with tuning.

Overall, Intelli IMT-500 is a great tuner. I like its pocket size built and green display. It is so easy to use and I would definitely recommend this tuner to everyone!
 

Other user’s comment:

A. B.

1st off, I have 3 months of guitar experience. I barely know the difference between an “A” and an “E”. Tuning was a pain because I havnt developed an ear for it yet. I just received the IMT-500 and its great. Just clip it on and pluck a string. It alreaady knows which string you are trying to tune. When the note is in tune, the tuner line is centered and you move on to the next string. I should have bought this when I bought the guitar. Its small, compact, and the screen lights up a bright green and easy to read. Since it works off vibration, its probably more accurate than a microphone tuner and its MUCH more accurate than when I try and match a tune off a tuning fork. [Read full review..]

Rballron

I was very pleased to find this worked on my electric guitar in addition to my acoustic. Extremely easy to use, just clamp it on and turn it on. Tuning is excellent. This is so much easier to use than my old Korg GA30 which required you to plug your electric guitar into the tuner or hold it in front of your acoustic. [Read full review..]

Korg TM-40 is currently on sales on Amazon US & Amazon UK.

Korg TM-40 is a combo electric tuner with both tuning and metronome function. You can use both function either independently or simultaneously. This tuner built with large LCD screen and a needle indicator for key note detection. The metronome tuner also designed with LED indicators that demonstrate pitch difference or tempo. You can use it for rhythm practicing.

This tuner is perfect for everyone. Be it for guitar / bass, trumpet, harp, violin or cello musicians, Korg TM-40 can perform incredibly well and help you to ensure your instruments are in tune.

SPECIFICATION FOR KORG TM-40:

• TUNER SECTION:
• Scale: 12 note equal temperament
• Detection Range: C1 (32.70Hz) – C8 (4186.01Hz) for a sine wave
• Reference Tone: C4 (261.63Hz) – C5 (523.25Hz) One octave or A Bb
• Tuning Modes: Meter mode (AUTO), Sound Out mode (MANUAL)
• Calibration Range: A4 = 410Hz – 480Hz
• Detection Accuracy: Better than ±1 cent
• Sound Accuracy: Better than ±1 cent
• METRONOME SECTION:
• Tempo Range: 40 – 208 beats per minute (bpm)
• Tempo Setting: “FULL STEP,” “PENDULUM STEP”
• Time Signatures: 0 – 7 beats, duplets, triplets, triplets without center beat, quadruplets, quadruplets without center beats
• Tempo Accuracy: ±0.3%
• Modes: Beat mode, Tap mode
• CONNECTORS: INPUT jack (1/4” mono), PHONE jack (1/8” mini)
• SPEAKER: Dynamic speaker
• POWER SUPPLY: 2 x AAA batteries (3V)
• DIMENSIONS: 4.45” (W) x 3.03” (D) x 0.71” (H)
• WEIGHT: 0.24 lbs. (including batteries)

The Good

Korg TM-40 is well built in pocket size. This means you can easily carry it along with you to anywhere at anytime. It is designed for 12 notes reference and gives you loud and clear beats. The big screen makes it very easy for referencing and user friendly. Besides, the price is cheap too!

The Bad

Although Korg TM-40 is professional design, it is sometimes a little too sensitive to ambient noise. The accuracy is fair enough but not great if your TV is on or at a noisy environment.

In overall, Korg TM-40 is a decent tuner with very reasonable price. This tuner is relatively inexpensive, small, slim and light weight. Korg is a well known brand and this TM-40 digital tuner is definitely value for money.

Other user’s comment

A. Maxon

This tuner/metronome is very well built and has a 12 note refrence. It works very well with my violin and I carry it with me to class and when I practice. The metronome has a loud beat. The tuner is loud so you can hear it over what you are playing. It has a large screen and is very easy to use. I recommend this to anyone that plays a string instrument. [Read full review..]

Mark G.

I’ve always had difficulty finding tuners with adequate response, and this one was actually a downgrade from the OT-12 (my favourite pocket-sized tuner), but it surprised me by working better than any previous combined metronome-tuner while not costing much more. The response rate is not adjustable, but sits at about a medium (there has to be at least a second of sustenance, but not more than two if you’re steady). The precision is about as good as most will ever need, although it’s dubiously delineated between -3 and +3 cents. The rest of the spectrum to fifty is clear-cut (it is fully digital, for better or for worse). [Read full review..]

A chromatic tuner is a device we use to detect a pitch of note from our musical instruments. It will tune to any note including sharps and flats. The tuning range cover all the 12 notes of the scale and therefore, it can be used not only for guitar and bass, but also for other stringed instruments like violin, cello, mandolins etc.

There are many types of chromatic tuners we could choose to detect desired pitch. Some built with LCD display, LED lights or an analogue needle to indicate the pitch of a note played. Some tuners integrated with a microphone, input and output jack. These types of tuners are usually meant for electrical instruments. As for power supply, some tuners are powered by battery and some has AC power supply jack.

In general, chromatic tuners come in various sizes. Clip-on tuner is small and it could fits in your pocket. The advantage is they are very convenience for you to bring it along to anywhere and pass around to anyone. Some chromatic tuners are in solid square box built like a tank! This type of tuner will give you a very accurate tuning and make your instrument sounds great.

Be it simple or complex design, with cheap or expensive price tag, a good chromatic tuner will definitely makes music playing much easier. Trust me, all the excitement starts when your instrument is in tune.

Up to 50% off when you buy Intelli Clip-on Tuner through this link.