Electronic / Digital tuners

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:22 am

Hi all,

Just a thought, which tuner do you find the best when setting up your fretless?

The tuner on my Zoom fx is useless for my fretless and I've had to use our guitar players Boss tuner which seems more accurate.

Any thoughts

NickBass · Post by **NickBass** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:55 pm

I got a couple of tuners, and both work well for fretless: one is the Boss pedal, the other is a small Korg( one of those you can take in your hand, I don't know how to say it in english!!), both are quite accurate in tuning...

KPJ · Post by **KPJ** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:15 pm

I typically use my trusty Korg DT-3, which I've had for about 10 years. Very accurate, very reliable. I also have a Korg DT-10 pedal that I use sometimes.

FretLessSince68 · Post by **FretLessSince68** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:18 am

On the gig I use a Boss TU-12H has low-Hi range switch.

For set-up I use a Peterson Strobe Tuner - at least eight times more discriminating than a conventional tuner.

For those on a budget, the older Peterson motorized tuner can be had for a lower price. About as accurate although bulky.

I also keep a tuning fork (A=440Hz) in my gigbag as a back-up.

I would strongly suggest that every professional musician acquire, and learn to use a tuning fork. Not expensive and will never fail you.

In fact all you really need is a tuning fork. But electronic tuners are handy, especially when doing a set-up.

NickBass · Post by **NickBass** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:16 am

Many seasoned players sure know this thing, but I discovered that when you're playin' outside in a place with a lot of humidity it's necessary to check out your tuning very often...and here in Italy this year we have a sort of tropical summer!! So I often check the tuning and I also change my strings...

Crapshoot · Post by **Crapshoot** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:18 pm

The Korg DT-10 works fine for me

bassike · Post by **bassike** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:06 pm

I have a SEIKO ST-747
And works fine for the fretless and for the upright bass.
If you aren't sure about your tuner, maybe you could go to a music store and try different ones to see if there are any differences.

FunkDaFied · Post by **FunkDaFied** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:43 pm

I don't have a guitar tuner yet. But I think it's very important for fretless bass

I saw a Boss TU-2

He does his job and more...

It powers up to 8 other 9v powered pedals if you have the daisy chain and power supply, which is a really convenient aspect.

NickBass · Post by **NickBass** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:32 am

Yeah, Boss are very good pedals, I have one of them and it's just fantastic, it saved my life a couple of times!!

SirFretlessPlagiary · Post by **SirFretlessPlagiary** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:22 pm

my zoom B2's tuner is always off... i did not realize this when i bought it ... i may look into a Korg...I have a Fender pedal tuner ...but i am not sure about that one either...

just found this site ....great !!!.. I am loving the FL bass.....a newbie i am but learning!

FretLessSince68 · Post by **FretLessSince68** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:35 pm

Welcome to Fretless Bass . com

1st, check your tuner documentation to see if it has the capability to use alternate tunings, or pitch references. It is possible that it just needs to be set properly.

If it is truely out of calibration you may be able to calibrate it yourself.

My Boss TU- series tuner has a small internal trim pot used for calibration.
I was able to use a tuning fork as a reference and match tuner "Zero" to tuning fork pitch.

It took a few attempts to get the trim pot set exactly on the zero when sensing the tuning fork A 440.

Problem sol-ved!

Don't know if your Zoom has a trim pot but if it is not accurate you may as well open it up because a tuner that is inaccurate is a candidate for the round file.

Just make sure it is not set to another standard such as A=442, or otherwise operating properly but in need of parameter reset, before adjusting the trim pot.

FretLessSince68 · Post by **FretLessSince68** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:52 am

I have added a Boss TU-2 floor (pedal type) tuner to my pedal board and like it very much.

One can select either conventional (+/-) indication or waterfall strobe type LED movement. Great feature and is easy to read from a distance.

It is chromatic so no need to select the note.

Battery or external power supply.

SirFretlessPlagiary · Post by **SirFretlessPlagiary** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:18 am

I finally got off ebay a Boss TU-2...great piece.

ectoflanger · Post by **ectoflanger** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:46 am

I've been using a Korg CA30 for all my instruments. I also have a 440 tuning fork as a backup.