Strobe tuner recommendations

[NoodleFace]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for a decent tuner in the $150-200 range. I know I'm not going to get the big boy Peterson strobe tuners so I'm wondering if something like the Peterson StroboPlus is good enough (see pic)?

Right now I use the strobe feature on my Sabine rack tuner and it's decent but 1) it's a rack unit and I hate that, and 2) I'm not sure how great the strobe on it is.

Any other recommendations I should look at?

 

[tedtan]

I have, and like, the StroboPlus HD. I think it is the precursor tot he one you show in the link.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. It's literally the best tuner available right now that's not a super expensive Peterson bench tuner. I absolutely love mine. There's not a single pedal/compact style tuner on the market that's as accurate or tracks better. None. Nothing by Peterson, or Korg, or TC.

Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page

 

[cmpxchg]

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. It's literally the best tuner available right now that's not a super expensive Peterson bench tuner. I absolutely love mine. There's not a single pedal/compact style tuner on the market that's as accurate or tracks better. None. Nothing by Peterson, or Korg, or TC.

Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page

the correct answer. I've had mine for a decade. still perfect.

 

[aWoodenShip]

the correct answer. I've had mine for a decade. still perfect.

And here I was pretty much decided on a strobostomp HD.

 

[BearOnGuitar]

I got a Stomp Classic and a Peterson clip on tuner, and they both work very well. I totally love their sweetened tuning presets which work out very well for me. I have to check out the Sonic Research Tunings and find out how difficult it is to program custom presets.

 

[NoodleFace]

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. It's literally the best tuner available right now that's not a super expensive Peterson bench tuner. I absolutely love mine. There's not a single pedal/compact style tuner on the market that's as accurate or tracks better. None. Nothing by Peterson, or Korg, or TC.

Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page

Interesting, thanks! I am gonna check this out

 

[bjjman]

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. It's literally the best tuner available right now that's not a super expensive Peterson bench tuner. I absolutely love mine. There's not a single pedal/compact style tuner on the market that's as accurate or tracks better. None. Nothing by Peterson, or Korg, or TC.

Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page

I got one earlier this year based on Max's advice. Really happy with it.

 

[ramses]

I'm looking for a decent tuner in the $150-200 range [...]

I love my Peterson's. It is used to tune Pianos, so it should perfectly handle guitars

One reason I like it is that it comes with a set of sweeteners per instrument. Mine is usually set to the 7-string-guitar-sweetener; yes, it did improve my 7-strings.

On the other hand, I was not aware of the "Sonic Research Turbo Tuner" — I guess we should both check it out

 

[NoodleFace]

I love my Peterson's. It is used to tune Pianos, so it should perfectly handle guitars

One reason I like it is that it comes with a set of sweeteners per instrument. Mine is usually set to the 7-string-guitar-sweetener; yes, it did improve my 7-strings.

On the other hand, I was not aware of the "Sonic Research Turbo Tuner" — I guess we should both check it out

what's a "sweetener"?

My dad has an old peterson (I think) strobe tuner from the 70's or 80's that is an absolute unit, but I definitely wanted something in a better form factor. And if I can finally ditch the rack tuner I'm more than happy.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

what's a "sweetener"?

My dad has an old peterson (I think) strobe tuner from the 70's or 80's that is an absolute unit, but I definitely wanted something in a better form factor. And if I can finally ditch the rack tuner I'm more than happy.

The gist of it is, even when in tune certain chord shapes still sound a little "out" based mainly on the imperfect nature of how we've chosen to divide the notes into twelve equal "tones" on the guitar. The sweetened tunes compensate for that by being technically out of tune slightly, but they sound more in tune.

It sounds weird, but there are plenty of YT vids comparing regular and sweetened tunings.

 

[NoodleFace]

The gist of it is, even when in tune certain chord shapes still sound a little "out" based mainly on the imperfect nature of how we've chosen to divide the notes into twelve equal "tones" on the guitar. The sweetened tunes compensate for that by being technically out of tune slightly, but they sound more in tune.

It sounds weird, but there are plenty of YT vids comparing regular and sweetened tunings.

That makes sense to me, I know what you're talking about. That was my guess at what it was. I don't have perfect pitch, but I must have something close to it because I hear out of tune guitars all the time outside of professional recordings - even my own perfectly in tune.

 

[ramses]

That makes sense to me [...]

I don't have anything useful to add to @MaxOfMetal 's answer. However, you may want to check the full list of sweetened tunings:

StroboPLUS HDC Tuning & Sweetener Presets

 

[Spaced Out Ace]

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. It's literally the best tuner available right now that's not a super expensive Peterson bench tuner. I absolutely love mine. There's not a single pedal/compact style tuner on the market that's as accurate or tracks better. None. Nothing by Peterson, or Korg, or TC.

Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page

I was thinking of getting either one of these or a StroboStomp HD. My only thing is the screen and having to place a plastic film protector over it, which seems like it'd be frustrating to apply. The reason I was contemplating the StroboStomp HD is because of the compensated tuning options it has.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner. It's literally the best tuner available right now that's not a super expensive Peterson bench tuner. I absolutely love mine. There's not a single pedal/compact style tuner on the market that's as accurate or tracks better. None. Nothing by Peterson, or Korg, or TC.

Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page

Agreed. It's my favorite tuner especially for setups. I have the Strobo Stomp as well, which I also like, usually for live use (the sweetener is well... sweet indeed), but I'd only recommend the Strobo over the Turbo if you want a bigger display screen and want another colour other than red.

 

[NoodleFace]

I got the turbo tuner finally. The strobe is really accurate, I love it. Beats this POS Sabine rack tuner I have. Finally I'm going to have confidence in my setups again.

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[ramses]

I got the turbo tuner finally. The strobe is really accurate, I love it. Beats this POS Sabine rack tuner I have. Finally I'm going to have confidence in my setups again.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Whoa!

That's true thorough customer research!

Enjoy ... tuners are indeed important

 

[NoodleFace]

Whoa!

That's true thorough customer research!

Enjoy ... tuners are indeed important

haha, stuff kept popping up but finally bit the bullet

 

[will_shred]

You would probably be splitting hairs between the peterson and turbo tuner. I like the display of the peterson better, thats just me.

For my setups I use a Korg GA Custom as far as I know its the cheapest strobe tuner on the market, I have tested it against the analog peterson tuners at the shop I work at and its just as accurate. Cost $25.