July 2011 \ Features \ 10 Clip-On Guitar Tuners You Should Use

10 Clip-On Guitar Tuners You Should Use

Jordan Wagner

Korg Pitchclip PC-1, Meisel COM-80, Intellitouch PT40, Fishman FT-1, GFS GFT-40, Seiko STX2, Rotosound AMT 530, Snark SN-1, Planet Waves Chromatic Headstock Tuner, Peterson StroboClip
Premier Guitar July 2011
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For musicians, there is no accessory more important than a tuner. Most professional musicians will tell you that keeping your instrument in tune at all times is among the most important pieces of playing, if not the most important. Playing out of tune will quickly label you as an amateur, no matter how impressive your chops are.

Luckily, technology has kept up with the need for precise tuning. Be you a weekend warrior, pro, or technician, the market is literally flooded with options to help us all make sure our instruments are in check, ranging from floor pedals to rack units to mobile apps. Clip-on tuners have always been a popular choice for musicians on the go, and we recently gave ten of them a look. Evaluating the tuners on their own didn’t seem like a proper trial, so we compared them to the Fishman F1 Aura’s tuner onboard a Martin GPCPA1 acoustic, and a TC Electronic PolyTune paired with a Fender American Telecaster.

Without further ado, here are ten tuners tested:
Korg Pitchclip PC-1 Clip-On Tuner
Meisel COM-80 Digital Tuner
Intellitouch PT40 Rechargeable Tuner
Fishman FT-1 Digital Tuner
GFS GFT-40 Guitar & Bass Tuner
Seiko STX2 Clip-On Chromatic Tuner
Rotosound AMT 530 Tuner & Metronome
Snark SN-1 Clip-On Chromatic Tuner
Planet Waves Chromatic Headstock Tuner
Peterson StroboClip


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Comments

 (39 comments) display by
UsernameComment
Adam
on 04/21/2013 		What do i do... I accidentally left my snark on my guitar all night. Now my guitar sounds very off.
Cliff
on 04/20/2013 		I've played in many outdoor and indoor settings up to 20 guitars strumming and found the Solutions ST-23 to be the best all around.
James Reed
on 04/01/2013 		If you're a guitarist who actually plays outside of your bedroom, then DO NOT BUY THE SNARK. They're way too easy to break, get something that doesn't have any delicate moving parts. I've had 2 Snarks bust on me in more than one place in less than a year. I'm never buying one again.
bdrhythm
on 03/10/2013 		I have two Snarks. They have issues. First, the rubber foot came off one (glued back on--no problem). Also I have experienced that sometimes it picks up nothing. You have to "reboot it", sometimes more than once and then it tends to kick in--other students of mine have told me the same thing happens to them. Also, the pivot is pretty delicate. Mine is holding up, but I can see where it could break pretty easily. It's a budget tuner--for the money it works fine. I have a lot of students and now have tried the Peterson and the Boss TU-10 clip ons. The Peterson seems most impressive, but there's a little learning curve--pro oriented. The Boss seems to have a really solid clip on where others like the Snark and Peterson seem a bit delicate. Don't know about the Boss's accuracy, but with a one-time use by me it seemed to work just fine.
Darrell Cramer
on 03/06/2013 		For size and accuracy I have found the Snark tuners to be the number one choice for me. I have tested it's 'fine tune' readings with my previous choice of intellitouch and found it to be 'spot on.' I have found no issues with the design but I put it on my guitars and leave them there so I don't move them much. For the accuracy, for the money, I'll stay with Snark.
Kennyg
on 02/09/2013 		The Snark has design flaws. The display has a problem which calls for new design, it wont light up on some, read about them online.
bloody fingers
on 10/25/2012 		I got the next step up said to work with other string instruments as well. Its red instead of blue and the street price is about 14 bucks (blue 10). Im a rank beginner student for the second time around after 30 years and was having trouble getting on with my trusty old 440 fork. This Snark clipped on the headstock and is super easy to zero in on EACH string. No need to do a first and then harmonics unlessw thats your naturql way. I just do one string at a time. Also great for drop tuning, I use DtoD. On offr swith as well as the blinky metronome. It shuts itself off to conserve battery after a few minutes. Its a real bargain.
Tony Pags
on 10/01/2011 		When will Premier Guitar do actual video shoot-outs on the online magazine? This will let the reader make up their on mind. This would be a better assessment in real application for reviews....just a thought
TuneMyGtr
on 08/28/2011 		The Peterson is one my favorites...it's double the money but it's a very good tuner
MickyRad
on 08/27/2011 		I like my old Boss TU-12 but will check out some of the newer clip on's on my next visit to my local music store



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