Clip on tuners

Kherome

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I know these are popular but I read that they are not to be used on instruments with gloss finishes because it will dent/damage the finish. Is this so? Will it still happen if you clip it on, tune it quickly and remove it? What do you use if you can't use the clip on tuner? Thank you
 
I’m very anal with the care of the finish on my Kanile’a and I use a snark clip on tuner. 6th edition. They have rubber on the clip point. I put it on carefully and take it off right away. So far all good and I tune before every sesh.
 
I've left a D'Addario NS Micro tuner on my guitars and ukuleles for years to no ill effects. One is 1965 Jose Ramirez with lacquer finish, a finish so sensitive my arm sweat melts the finish off. No problem with the tuner leaving marks. However I have one tuner, a Polytune, that had some sort of chemical reaction with the finish of my new Romero Creations Tiny Tenor 6. I assume the polyurethane finish isn't compatible with the rubber pads of the Polytune. It actually took away the gloss on the finish beneath it! Luckily I noticed and was able to use fine rubbing compound (the type used to remove swirl marks in car finishes) to buff it out.
 
Depending on the instrument, I use either the head stock clip or the sound hole NS. I greatly prefer the sound hole NS but it doesn't fit some instruments (wood too thick or brace in way). I rarely remove them save for battery changes.
 
I once had a Famous soprano, and a Snark damaged the headstock logo a bit. I assume the logo may have been on top of the finish, instead of under the finish, or the finish was just very thin. Otherwise, no issues with my other ukes, but I'm more careful now not to drag the tuner across the headstock when removing it.
 
I've been using snarks for years on all of my guitars and now UKes too and no issues... Sometimes they have sat in the case for weeks with a tuner clipped to the headstock..
 
I dont know if it could be a problem if you leave them on for storage.

But if you just clip them on while tuning, if would be a serious design flaw if they did damage the finish. They are designed for this purpose.
 
I find the clip on tuners from China on ebay I buy for less than $3 work as well and last as long as those costing 3-5 times as much. Haven't had one damage any of my headstocks.
 
For what its worth, the manual that comes with all Snark tuners warns against leaving the tuner clipped on all the time if the instrument has a nitrocellulose finish, as it may eventually mar the surface.
Jan D.
 
For what its worth, the manual that comes with all Snark tuners warns against leaving the tuner clipped on all the time if the instrument has a nitrocellulose finish, as it may eventually mar the surface.
Jan D.

I've not had problems with my nitrocellulose instruments—mid-60s Ramirez—but French polish will mar merely by looking at it too long. Both nitrocellulose and French polish are rare on standard production instruments. But if you have a custom luthier made instrument or a vintage instrument you have a good chance of having a nitrocellulose or French polish finish.
 
Yes I had read that on the snark tuner which is why I asked. I didn't know if it would ok to clip it on, tune it, and remove it right away. I wouldn't leave it on in the case.
 
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