Denmark’s TC Electronic has always been inventive. But the company amazed many players in 2010 when it introduced the original PolyTune pedal, the first tuner that allowed guitarists to check all six strings at once. A PolyTune iOS app followed, as well as a smaller pedal, the PolyTune Mini. And now there’s the PolyTune 2, a more accurate and easier-to-read version of the original unit.
Familiar Face
If you’ve seen the original PolyTune, you know what the PolyTune 2 looks like. Seriously, without viewing the two side-by-side, I wouldn’t have known which is which. But there are significant upgrades under the hood, which I’ll get to in a moment.
The “Poly” in PolyTune refers to the fact that you can check all strings at once. You simply strum the guitar (open, without fretting any notes), and the tuner’s display shows which strings are sharp or flat. It also works in a more standard way: As soon as you pluck an individual string, it changes to chromatic mode, using an LED “needle” to indicate pitch.
Like the original, the PolyTune 2 includes a dedicated bass mode, as well as presets for drop-D, transposed tunings, and capo positions up to the fifth fret. Additionally, the PolyTune 2 features a strobe-tuning function, which could be especially useful for guitar techs needing an ultra-precise tuner for setup work. The new version also has a noticeably brighter display, with a built-in sensor that adjusts brightness to suit current lighting conditions. You can also recalibrate to frequencies other than standard A = 440. You can power the PolyTune 2 with a nine-volt battery or a power adapter (not included). The unit also has a power output jack that can power additional pedals when the PolyTune 2 is connected to external power. Finally, there’s a USB port for future firmware upgrades.
Ratings
Pros:
Ultra quick, responsive, and easy to read.
Cons:
Battery access screw can be difficult to open with bare fingers.
Playability/Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$99
TC Electronic, PolyTune 2
tcelectronic.com
Tuning Up, Out On The Town
I received the PolyTune 2 on the afternoon of a club gig, so I popped it onto my pedalboard, juicing it up with a Godlyke Power All. The gig was an acoustic round robin, and since I use lots of alternate tunings, it was a perfect setting to evaluate the unit. My guitars were a Martin OM with an LR Baggs undersaddle pickup, and an Alvarez baritone with a Baggs M-80 pickup.
Having used the PolyTune app, I was immediately at home with the new pedal. And I was delighted by how well it works, regardless of guitar type or tuning. Response is extremely fast. It has no problem reading a low A on the baritone, and the display is never difficult to read. Since the gig was in a dark club, I took the tuner outside into bright sunlight the following day, checking it out with a Telecaster. Some tuners are almost unreadable in strong sunlight, but the PolyTune 2’s display looked bright even under these challenging conditions.
The Verdict
Without a doubt, the TC Electronics PolyTune 2 is one of the today’s best tuner pedals. Are the additional features worth upgrading from an original PolyTune? The answer depends on much you expect to use the strobe function and how much you value extra brightness. But if you’re in the market for a new tuner pedal, it’s worth exploring this excellent alternative to the industry standards—especially if your tuning needs go beyond that same old EADGBE.
Gibson originally launched the EB-6 model with the intention of serving consumers looking for a “tic-tac” bass sound.
The Gibson EB-6 was announced in 1959 and came into the world in 1960, not with a dual-horn body but with that of an elegant ES-335. They looked stately, with a thin, semi-hollow body, f-holes, and a sunburst finish. Our pick for this Vintage Vault column is one such first-year model, in about as original condition as you’re able to find today. “Why?” you may be asking. Well, read on....
When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye. The real competition were the Danelectro 6-string basses that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly being used on lots of hit records by the likes of Elvis, Patsy Cline, and other household names. Danos like the UB-2 (introduced in ’56), the Longhorn 4623 (’58), and the Shorthorn 3612 (’58) were the earliest attempts any company made at a 6-string bass in this style: not quite a standard electric bass, not quite a guitar, nor, for that matter, quite like a baritone guitar.
The only change this vintage EB-6 features is a replacement set of Kluson tuners.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
Gibson, Fender, and others during this era would in fact call these basses “baritone guitars,” to add to our confusion today. But these vintage “baritones” were all tuned one octave below a standard guitar, with scale lengths around 30", while most modern baritones are tuned B-to-B or A-to-A and have scale lengths between 26" and 30".)
At the time, those Danelectros were instrumental to what was called the “tic-tac” bass sound of Nashville records produced by Chet Atkins, or the “click-bass” tones made out west by producer Lee Hazlewood. Gibson wanted something for this market, and the EB-6 was born.
“When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye.”
The 30.5" scale 1960 EB-6 has a single humbucking pickup, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a small, push-button “Tone Selector Switch” that engages a treble circuit for an instant tic-tac sound. (Without engaging that switch, you get a bass-heavy tone so deep that cowboy chords will sound like a muddy mess.)
The EB-6, for better or for worse, did not unseat the Danelectros, and a November 1959 price list from Gibson hints at why: The EB-6 retailed for $340, compared to Dano price tags that ranged from $85 to $150. Only a few dozen EB-6 basses were shipped in 1960, and only 67 total are known to have been built before Gibson changed the shape to the SG style in 1962.
Most players who come across an EB-6 today think it was a response to the Fender Bass VI, but the former actually beat the latter to the market by a full year.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
It’s sad that so few were built. Sure, it was a high-end model made to achieve the novelty tic-tac sound of cheaper instruments, but in its full-voiced glory, the EB-6 has a huge potential of tones. It would sound great in our contemporary guitar era where more players are exploring baritone ranges, and where so many people got back into the Bass VI after seeing the Beatles play one in the 2021 documentary, Get Back.
It’s sadder, still, how many original-era EB-6s have been parted out in the decades since. Remember earlier when I wrote that our Vintage Vaultpick was about as original as you could find? That’s because the model’s single humbucker is a PAF, its Kluson tuners are double-line, and its knobs are identical to those on Les Paul ’Bursts. So as people repaired broken ’Bursts, converted other LPs to ’Bursts, or otherwise sought to give other Gibsons a “Golden Era” sound and look ... they often stripped these forgotten EB-6 basses for parts.
This original EB-6 is up for sale now from Reverb seller Emerald City Guitars for a $16,950 asking price at the time of writing. The only thing that isn’t original about it is a replacement set of Kluson tuners, not because its originals were stolen but just to help preserve them. (They will be included in the case.)
With so few surviving 335-style EB-6 basses, Reverb doesn’t have a ton of sales data to compare prices to. Ten years ago, a lucky buyer found a nearly original 1960 EB-6 for about $7,000. But Emerald City’s $16,950 asking price is closer to more recent examples and asking prices.
Sources: Prices on Gibson Instruments, November 1, 1959, Tony Bacon’s “Danelectro’s UB-2 and the Early Days of 6-String Basses” Reverb News article, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, Tom Wheeler’s American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Reverb listings and Price Guide sales data.
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
