Now this is a rack tuner...

[Auslander]

True strobe tuners like the Peterson, or the Conn in the past, are about 20-30 times more accurate than LED or meter based tuners.

Doing my job, I rely on these to keep things really on the money. Not only are they spot on for each tuning pass, but they are also indispensable for setting up the guitars/basses and for getting the intonation perfect, which makes a big difference to how chords ring in different places in the neck.

When you're laying down multiple tracks of guitar on top of each other, the higher resolution that these afford you will help you keep everything ringing nicely together.

In the studio, prior to laying down guitars and bass, I usually end up quickly fine tuning the intonation of every instrument, just so that we know that we're starting off on the right foot.

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

Basically, your guitar is perfectly in tune when all the bars are stationary; the one on the left is the fundamental note (the actual note you're playing), and the additional bars are harmonics of that note. So, if you've tuned the fundamental perfectly but the other bars are moving, it means your intonation is out; what direction they're moving in and how fast indicates how far out it is, just like when tuning a note normally

This is the reason why these tuners rule; spot-on accuracy, and you can intonate your guitar yourself and save on tech costs

So when setting the intonation with these tuners you don't need to check the 12th fret harmonic against the 12th fret fretted?

 

[ukfswmart]

So when setting the intonation with these tuners you don't need to check the 12th fret harmonic against the 12th fret fretted?

Exactly; plus, since it's working with more than just the first harmonic, it's even more accurate than the 12th fret test

 

[eaeolian]

I bought a Strobostomp a while ago and found it harder to tune with than my $20 Korg tuner and I found the checker pattern confusing and annoying. I've got a Korg DTR-2000 in my rack now and that's a real pleasure to tune with.

Easier? Yes, although I don't find the Strobostomp all that difficult. The Strobe is much more accurate, though.

 

[eleven59]

I think I need one of these (or some sort of strobe tuner)

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

Exactly; plus, since it's working with more than just the first harmonic, it's even more accurate than the 12th fret test

How does that work? You're saying to adjust the intonation all you do is pluck the open string?

 

[ukfswmart]

If I knew how it worked, I wouldn't be about to fork out £250 for one

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

Do you program it for the scale length your guitar is using? Because how does the tuner know that your intonation is off just plucking an open string? You could have a multiscale instrument and have a weird scale length on one of your middle strings...

 

[ukfswmart]

Intonation is all about note accuracy; neck scale merely affects whether you'll ever get the note properly intonated or not (my 25.5" Maverick refused to intonate correctly at G# as the scale was too short). The tuner knows your intonation is off by the harmonic overtones produced when playing the fundamental, or so I gather; scale aids in intonating the string correctly, but if your neck scale is inappropriate for the tuning you've chosen, that's your problem, not the tuner's. All the tuner can do is tell you whether the note's in tune, and whether it's intonated correctly

 

[noodles]

You bumped a year old thread to flame a dude who's banned.

Win.

 

[JJ Rodriguez]

Intonation is all about note accuracy; neck scale merely affects whether you'll ever get the note properly intonated or not (my 25.5" Maverick refused to intonate correctly at G# as the scale was too short). The tuner knows your intonation is off by the harmonic overtones produced when playing the fundamental, or so I gather; scale aids in intonating the string correctly, but if your neck scale is inappropriate for the tuning you've chosen, that's your problem, not the tuner's. All the tuner can do is tell you whether the note's in tune, and whether it's intonated correctly

People a lot fucking smarter than me made this thing, so if you say it's so, I guess I'll have to believe you, but I was under the impression that intonation was fine tuning the scale length so when you fret a note they're in tune. I mean setting the intonation is moving the saddle back and forth which is basically changing the scale length. I guess this is where my confusion is coming from, since I could make a guitar with a funky scale length, and as long as I calculated the frets properly and set the intonation it should be fine Whenever I feel like coughing up the dough for one, I'm going to snag one (probably the rack one since I have a 6 space I need to fill up ) so I'll get to see it for myself, I just find it hard to believe that it can magically help you intonate a guitar from just the open string being played.

 

[Metal Ken]

Win.

Maybe he'd have listened to him. He said no one here has any studio experience so he knows more than us. Neil's been making Albums of GODS since the 70s

 

[ibznorange]

People a lot fucking smarter than me made this thing, so if you say it's so, I guess I'll have to believe you, but I was under the impression that intonation was fine tuning the scale length so when you fret a note they're in tune. I mean setting the intonation is moving the saddle back and forth which is basically changing the scale length. I guess this is where my confusion is coming from, since I could make a guitar with a funky scale length, and as long as I calculated the frets properly and set the intonation it should be fine Whenever I feel like coughing up the dough for one, I'm going to snag one (probably the rack one since I have a 6 space I need to fill up ) so I'll get to see it for myself, I just find it hard to believe that it can magically help you intonate a guitar from just the open string being played.

it wont intonate the string, but it will tell you if its intonated, and in which direction the intonation needs to be adjusted, and how much

 

[technomancer]

Maybe he'd have listened to him. He said no one here has any studio experience so he knows more than us. Neil's been making Albums of GODS since the 70s

Nah, he was a 16 year old know it all. He wouldn't have listened to anybody

 

[Metal Ken]

People a lot fucking smarter than me made this thing, so if you say it's so, I guess I'll have to believe you, but I was under the impression that intonation was fine tuning the scale length so when you fret a note they're in tune. I mean setting the intonation is moving the saddle back and forth which is basically changing the scale length. I guess this is where my confusion is coming from, since I could make a guitar with a funky scale length, and as long as I calculated the frets properly and set the intonation it should be fine Whenever I feel like coughing up the dough for one, I'm going to snag one (probably the rack one since I have a 6 space I need to fill up ) so I'll get to see it for myself, I just find it hard to believe that it can magically help you intonate a guitar from just the open string being played.

Edit: sniped by ibz and the steve

 

[Auslander]

I have no agenda. Just trying to make things easier for everyone. When I saw that post, I only wanted to set the record straight.

 

[Metal Ken]

Most definitely. Peterson's are great. i wish i could get another at some point. I had the VS-2 a while back, it was greatness.

 

[Regor]

I've got a software strobe tuner I use when intonating my guitars.

My question about these Peterson strobes is, are they 'too' accurate? The strobe tuner I use is so god damn sensitive that it can make it difficult to fine tune from time to time.

 

[Auslander]

When it comes to tuning you can't be too accurate.

 

[Matt Crooks]

When it comes to tuning you can't be too accurate.

QFFT