# 8 string tuner?



## Renoke (Jul 10, 2014)

I'm going to be buying an 8 string soon, and I've come to the sudden realisation that I have no way of tuning the damn thing. I've found the Boss Tu-2 and Boss Tu-3, but that's much more than I planned on spending on a tuner... 

Does anyone know of any cheaper ones around? Would be greatly appreciated.


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## jwade (Jul 10, 2014)

Any tuner will work. Even a cheap little chromatic tuner will be fine. Hell, you could just download a tuner app on your phone.


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## yingmin (Jul 10, 2014)

jwade said:


> Any tuner will work. Even a cheap little chromatic tuner will be fine. Hell, you could just download a tuner app on your phone.



Not all tuners work equally well below standard guitar range. I had to buy a Poly Tune Mini to use with my G System, because the G System's internal tuner didn't reliably track the low A on my 7-string.

On that, Poly Tunes are great tuners.


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## mniel8195 (Jul 10, 2014)

i have owned the poly tune and the turbo tuner and the turbo tuner is a much better tuner hands down.


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## Renoke (Jul 10, 2014)

The ones you've suggested look great, but is there anything cheaper? Or will I have to suck it up and get something expensive?


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## Renoke (Jul 10, 2014)

yingmin said:


> Not all tuners work equally well below standard guitar range. I had to buy a Poly Tune Mini to use with my G System, because the G System's internal tuner didn't reliably track the low A on my 7-string.
> 
> On that, Poly Tunes are great tuners.



So, you can confirm that the Poly Tune Mini will work with an 8 string? I just saw that they were only for 6's (sorry, I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to this)


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## shawnperolis (Jul 10, 2014)

A tuner that is good for both guitar and bass will work perfectly and probably come in handy many times in the future. They are definitely a good investment that you won't regret.


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## lewis (Jul 10, 2014)

korg pitchblack every time. More accurate than the Boss offerings


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## GreatWhiteYeti (Jul 10, 2014)

Snark SN-8. Cheap reliable and it won't fly off your headstock.


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## trem licking (Jul 10, 2014)

Tip for unstable low string tuning/tracking, tune using the 12th fret harmonic


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## Renoke (Jul 10, 2014)

lewis said:


> korg pitchblack every time. More accurate than the Boss offerings



Just been looking at this, and probably the one I'll be going for.


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## Renoke (Jul 10, 2014)

GreatWhiteYeti said:


> Snark SN-8. Cheap reliable and it won't fly off your headstock.



Are you sure this tunes an 8 string? Looks a little too cheap haha


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## GreatWhiteYeti (Jul 10, 2014)

I've been using them for over a year, and I play out regularly with my band. Works great.


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## yingmin (Jul 10, 2014)

Renoke said:


> So, you can confirm that the Poly Tune Mini will work with an 8 string? I just saw that they were only for 6's (sorry, I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to this)



It works on my 6-string bass, so I see no reason to think it wouldn't work for an 8-string guitar. The part that's only for 6-string is the titular multi-string tuning option, but I pretty much never used that, anyway.


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## erdiablo666 (Jul 10, 2014)

I've got a small Korg tuner that I bought for $40 about 10 years ago, and it tunes both my 8 strings as well as, if not better than my TU-2. Why not bring your 8 string to a music store and ask to try some tuners?


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## hiroprotagonist (Jul 16, 2014)

GreatWhiteYeti said:


> Snark SN-8. Cheap reliable and it won't fly off your headstock.



+1 on this. I have no issues tuning with my Snark.


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## tmo (Jul 16, 2014)

*pitch lab* for android on your phone (guess that it is also available for windows and iphone), best of all, IT'S FREE!


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## yellowv (Jul 16, 2014)

I either use my pitchblack pedal or the Peterson Strobo soft app.


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## Go To Bed Jessica (Jul 16, 2014)

My old TU2 works just fine. I also have a clip-on Joyo which works equally well.


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## Galius (Jul 16, 2014)

I've used a Korg Pitchblack pedal for about 6-8 years now. From 7 to 8 string it has always picked up every note immediately and tuned perfectly every time.


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## Explorer (Jul 17, 2014)

I went upscale a few years ago, and have never regretted going to the Turbo Tuner. Fast and accurate.


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## boxsmiley (Jul 19, 2014)

trem licking said:


> Tip for unstable low string tuning/tracking, tune using the 12th fret harmonic



I do this on my 9 also. I believe that the assumption is that the intonation is spot on. Would be cool if any experts could chime in.


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## HUGH JAYNUS (Jul 19, 2014)

Snark.


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## Pikka Bird (Jul 20, 2014)

boxsmiley said:


> I do this on my 9 also. I believe that the assumption is that the intonation is spot on. Would be cool if any experts could chime in.



You can't intonate harmonics. So the 12th fret harmonic is a perfect octave of the open string, no matter how you've got your intonation set. 

Even with six stringers it makes the tuner pick up the note way faster, and I use this approach exclusively on all strings except the highest two.


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## technomancer (Jul 20, 2014)

mniel8195 said:


> i have owned the poly tune and the turbo tuner and the turbo tuner is a much better tuner hands down.



This. The Turbo Tuner is by far the best pedal tuner out there


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## boxsmiley (Jul 20, 2014)

Pikka Bird said:


> You can't intonate harmonics. So the 12th fret harmonic is a perfect octave of the open string, no matter how you've got your intonation set.
> 
> Even with six stringers it makes the tuner pick up the note way faster, and I use this approach exclusively on all strings except the highest two.



Totally makes sense now that I think about. Thanks for setting me straight.


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## Infused1 (Jul 21, 2014)

technomancer said:


> This. The Turbo Tuner is by far the best pedal tuner out there



Another for the Turbo Tuner!


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## Alex Kenivel (Jul 24, 2014)

My Korg pitchblack has a little trouble picking up my low D on my 8.


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## Dylana (Jul 24, 2014)

You could use a boss tu-3 but you'd need to use the bass part for the low d haha


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