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I've been thinking of getting myself a strobe tuner. Peterson seems to be standard fare, but I'm wondering if anyone has used the new Planet Waves strobe tuner and if it is as accurate as I should need.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

In my experience, the more accurate a tuner is, the more insane you will go until you finally realize that you can never really get a guitar perfectly in tune... which makes me wonder what the point of having a super accurate tuner really is in the first place...

If you're set up so that you can plug your guitar/mic into your computer, then I think it'd be hard to beat the value of the software version, Strobosoft. Very intuitive interface and gives you a lot of functionality that you won't find on some of the early models of Peterson Strobe tuners.

Software version is subject to the accuracy of the soundcards audio chip. For the most part any 24 bit SoundBlaster II or newer is pretty good at this.


Michael
As far as the highly accurate headache; I can assure you that when you are intonating + or -½ cents accuracy is valuable information. Most digital chromatic tuners on the market have an accuracy of + or – 4 cents. It is better to use an analog chromatic tuner than most digital as the swing arm is more accurate than a series of LED lights. As far as tuning to pitch for the purpose of playing then you have some what if a point to your statement

I own an old mechanical type (meaning a spinning disc) Conn strobo-tuner, very accurate, you could tuna fish with it, I found a FREE guitar tuner, that you can download, called AP tuner. I never use the Conn anymore. It has an analog type display and it is accurate to a tenth of a cent. Most electronic tuners have difficulty tuning a stand up bass, especially the low E string, but this thing will tune a stand up bass from across the room! Very accurate too! Just google AP tuner and download it. It's not a strobe tuner but just as accurate, and it's free.

I am not going to come right out and be a doubting Thomas till I have proof one way or the other but I am going to down load the program tonight and put it through ringer against my Peterson and a signal generator this weekend. + or -.1 cent is dang good for a software tuner. Plus my second thought was while the graphics may be a swing arm you have to remember the accuracy of the display is subject to the both the audio card and graphics card. If it is as accurate as it claims I will step forward and say you told me so

I was talking with a local repair guy just this past weekend about strobe tuners. He has 3 Peterson strobe tuners and he says that for some reason after the 2-3 year mark they just stop working.

He has since switched to the Planet Waves Tru-Strobe and is very very happy with it. And at about 1/2 the price of the Peterson it makes sense to go with the Tru-Strobe. Now his Peterson's are just collecting dust. He says the Tru-Strobe is just as accurate as the Peterson is.

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Michael,

I agree with you, I have often wondered if it is really accurate to .1 cent, and I will be interested to see what your accuracy testing says. I should have said that it displays to .1 cents, and I agree that the audio and graphics card come into play as far as accuracy goes. It works great though and we all tune with it before our informal jam sessions, so everybody is on the same page as far as tuning goes. It may or may not be to the tenth of a cent, but my ear can't tell it anyway. It does have the option of calibrating it to a tuning fork or some other known standard, I just leave mine set to A440 and that is good enough for informal jam sessions. Please post your results when your testing is complete. I think that with the ability to calibrate it, that you could achieve satisfactory accuracy for most any situation that any of us would ever need.

Thanks

I have two Peterson tuners - a 490 that I bought on eBay for my 'shop', and a Strobo-Flip.
There's no comparison in the usability of the two- the display on the LCD screen of the Strobo-Flip drives me crazy- difficult to interpret (which way is the wheel turning?), and it seems slow to respond to tuning changes. My guess is that I would have the same problem with a computer-based tuner- and I definitely don't want to have a computer on the workbench or next to the music stand, either.
The 490 is in a completely different league- I have no idea of the accuracy, but it scores 10/10 for me on usability.

Cheers
John

I have the Strobo-Flip. Before buying it I tried a few of the better quality tuners at the local guitar store but didn't buy one because they were much less accurate than my ear. The Peterson is definitely a step up. John is correct that the display is a little difficult, and it does take some getting used to, but at the end of the day it does a good job.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

The Peterson VS-II is my at home tuner. I also use a Stroboflip and like both very much. Both offer "sweetened" tunings for acoustic guitar that I find very nice. The Planet Wave was OK but I prefer the Peterson. The new version of Sift Strobe will include a "tap tuning utility" that I'm sure we will hear about on this forum. The non-mechanical Peterson's can also be used with a compressor (I use a Boss CS-3). My day job has included sound reinforcement for almost 30 years, so I am interested in measurements. I would be very interested in any tap tuning measurements anyone has done. I have read Siminoff's "Art of Tap Tuning". I found it a little short on real world examples for guitar. The mandolin is better covered but is much simpler than guitars would be.

Steve

Has anyone ever used the Turbo Tuner (http://www.turbo-tuner.com)? It's stated as a true strobe. I'd be pleased to know how it compares to the Peterson Stroboflip. Thanks.

I have a Peterson StroboStomp, and it's completely flexible to use. Both will do the job for you.

Michael, keep us posted on your comparison. Interesting for sure.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Thanks for the link, Mark. I downloaded the software and it seems to be far more sensitive than what I am currently using. I'll be most interested in Michael's comparative testing.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

AP Tuner is shareware, not freeware. The author gives the courtesy of letting you try the software, and if you like it and want to use it, you are honor-bound to pay $35.

(I'm a software developer, so I'm a bit sensitive to the shareware vs. freeware thing.)

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

I too have just downloaded AP tuner, and am really interested to find out the accuracy it's capable of. It'll no doubt be different on my computer than Micheal's, but I should be able to get my tuning fork accurately measured at my local guitar store, then calibrate the software to it, if necessary.

It seems like a good solution for those of us who can't afford/justify spending hundred's on a tuner.

What really intrigues me is the harmonics measurement charting capabilities. Seems like a pretty good way of quality control over time, being able to save samples from all my instruments as time goes on.

Thanks for the great link, Mark.

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-Clint Beacock

I downloaded AP tuner last night. I have not messed with it as of yet. I am going to set down tonight and devise a comparison test. Not too detailed but good enough to give some sense of a accuracy comparison between it and my Peterson.

Michael: any update?

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

I tried to load the ap tuner , when I tried to open it it said " this folder is empty " just my luck ! LOL Jody

go to <Start> <Search> <Files and Folders> and search for "APTunerInstall308.exe" and see if your system can find the install file. If it does, click on it and it will install. If it's not there re-download it.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

had to reload it , thanks waddy ! I think that got it , the batteries are dead on my compressor though , will try it tommorrow ! Jody

Sorry I got sent out on a well this weekend and did not get to test yet