Planet Waves Under-Headstock Tuner Buzzing?

OldePhart

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Has anybody else had this tuner buzz when you leave it on the uke? If so, were you able to cure it? I just got one and I really want to like it - it is very lightweight, tiny, easy to read, not too expensive and the display seems more precise than a Snark SN2.

Unfortunately, mine buzzes. Not loudly, and only at certain frequencies, but I've tried it on a couple of different ukes and in different positions on the headstock and it buzzes enough that I can't leave it on the uke when playing (and that's the whole point of this tuner - it is frankly a little too lightly built with a non-spring clip so you wouldn't want to be taking it on and off a lot).

I think before I give up I'll see if I can find some very thin rubber to put between the tuner and the uke - the tuner seems very sensitive so hopefully it will still be able to read the vibrations.

John
 
No buzzing with mine, but it is maddening. It is much harder to tune than my Snark. I use it on a Flea with friction tuners and the P/W hunts back & forth above and below the note. Don't know why, but tuning with the Snark it settles in pretty quickly. Great idea, a tiny tuner that wants to live there, but it hasn't won my heart.
 
Yeah mine buzzes and like you said it's not loud but it is very annoying. What I did is grab a little piece of tape and where it kinda slants down towards the battery I stuck it so kinda on the back of the button and that fixed it. I couldn't find a little rubber band but that would probably work good
 
My husband and I have them on six of our ukes. No buzzing on any of them.

(We have a couple of other tuners that are prone to buzzing.)
 
I love the P/W tuner but hate the way it clamps on the headstock; to the point I'm looking for a different tuner. Was thinking of the Snark SN-2 but don't want a metronome included. I've got 4 of the PW's, none buzz.
 
No buzzing from mine. It lives on the Koaloha, like a barnacle.
 
I blu tacked the buttons to stop them rattling. Might be the cause of your "buzzing" too, I don't know...

Also the headstock of my Mainland Mango Soprano is too thin for the clamp. But then it's advertised as a guitar tuner, so I can't fault it for that. A piece of cardboard takes care of that issue.
 
The buttons on mine buzz as well. My solution is to play loud enough to overcome any buzzing.

If I had to look for a better solution, I'd probably find some mildly elastic fabric, turn it into a tube, and fit a 1-inch length of said tube over my buzzing buttons. It'd be just enough force to hold the buttons steady, but not enough to trigger them.

Sparkle: so true about the barnacle-ness! Especially when I store it inside the tuner well on my Uke-Stick!
 
Mine buzzes at the buttons as well. It's a shame because if it didn't, I'd probably get one for each uke and just leave them on all the time.


Scooter
 
I've got a couple tuners that buzz. Consider that a reminder to take it off.

Well it might be a small effect on some the ukuleles, but adding weight on the headstock actually affects the tone.
It was very noticeable on a hollow neck ODU.
 
I gots 5 of them. No buzzes. I do occasionally hear voices through my teeth, though.
 
Mine buzzes at the buttons as well. It's a shame because if it didn't, I'd probably get one for each uke and just leave them on all the time.


Scooter
That was the direction I'd planned to go - I'm glad I only bought one at first to try it out. If I can get the buzzing stopped then I'll probably go ahead and get some more of them. I really do like the tuner, other than that annoying little rattle.

John
 
It is much harder to tune than my Snark.

The "harder to tune" thing is actually an advantage and shows the greater precision of the PW display. The display is more precise than on the Snarks. The Snarks will show "in tune" at +/- about two or three cents. (It's not an accuracy issue, but a precision issue, i.e. how fine a change can the display signal.)

I haven't done exhaustive testing but it looks like the PW tuner is precise to about 1 cent. A lot more people can hear 3 cents out of tune than can hear 1 cent out of tune. I sometimes have to touch up the tuning by ear using a Snark, I've only used the PW a little but I've not had to adjust the tuning by ear afterwards, so far.

If I can just get rid of the buzz I'll be tickled pink with the PW.

John
 
I've got a couple tuners that buzz. Consider that a reminder to take it off.

Well it might be a small effect on some the ukuleles, but adding weight on the headstock actually affects the tone.
It was very noticeable on a hollow neck ODU.

For the most part I agree with you - I never leave my Snarks on, and let's not even talk about leaving the Stroboclip on the headstock! But, the advantage of these tuners is they are really light (about 3/4 oz with battery according to my postal scale) and tiny. They're designed to be left on and thus the clip is rather flimsy - I don't think it would survive a lot of handling being removed from the headstock all the time.

I've been looking at the tuner and I just realized that the clip can be snapped off. This leaves a small post and then a bunch of small holes that are almost certainly input for a microphone pickup. I'm thinking that a piece of thick double-sided foam tape may work to stick this under the headstock with no rattling...stay tuned. :)
John
 
They're also coming out with a new one. Think it's called micro tuner not sure though. They should be out July or August
 
If I can just get rid of the buzz I'll be tickled pink with the PW.

John

Can I assume you are talking about the P/W NS-Mini tuner?

If so, I had the same buzzing problem with mine.

Like someone else mentioned, I had thought about using the double-sided foam mounting squares, but if you ever want to re/move it, the finish of your uke is sure to get ruined unless you use that 3M Command-Adhesive mounting tape (as opposed to the supermarket 'hardwre isle'-grade foam tape). It's been my experience that the foam mounting squares/tape always leave behind some residue and/or foam. As of yet I have not found the magic mojo that can remove it without harming the surface underneath.

I first put a pea-sized amount of 'blue-tack' on the inside of each of the grippy rubber 'fingers' of the clip (spread it out flat to cover the inside of the 'fingers' - be careful not to use too much, otherwise you will see the blue stuff peeking out from underneath), which did not stop the buzzing, but did let me get the ratcheting clip down hard and it seems much more secure now, and seems to read the notes FASTER than without the blue-tack when tuning. Maybe it's getting a stronger vibration now.

I've moved it a few times, and happily the blue tack does not harm the satin finish on my Kala Mahogany tenor (KA-T).

However the tuner still rattled, and by trial and error, I figured out it was the buttons, or rather the plastic button 'caps'. I ended up putting a piece of tape across the area covering the buttons, firm, but loose enough to let them travel. I placed the tape from one 'side' to over the top of the buttons, and down, ending on the other side. All mostly flat surfaces. Problem solved.

It does not look as pretty, but nobody is ever gonna notice but me, and compared to how heartbroken I was that this tiny, very accurate tuner, was rattling as you described, I am glad that it was such an 'easy' fix.

Any smooth tape, like scotch-tape or even a 1-inch strip of clear packaging tape. Both of which I have also removed without incident, or mess. 'Gaffers' tape (or 'stage' tape) would work too if you have that, but I would NOT use duct tape, nor electrical tape. Both will leave a nasty adhesive residue should you want to remove or replace it, and the electrical tape will eventually just fall off.

I will post a picture later of how I placed the tape, if anyone is interested.

One thing I really like about this tuner is that if you don't play for a few minutes, it shuts off by itself to save battery life. To me this says that some intelligent thought went into programming the device.

Like you John, I plan to get one for each instrument. I recall seeing them on Amazon about 2 weeks ago, sold in a 2-pack for like $16, as opposed to the normal price of around $20 for just one. I don't recall the seller, but if you search for it, you'll find it. Nice thing too is that if you order more than $25 shipping is free (in CONUS), so in my case if I bought 4 tuners (i.e., 2x 2-packs) it comes to like $32 total.
 
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I assume you are talking about the P/W NS-Mini tuner?
That's the one.

One think I really like about this tuner is that if you don't play for a few minutes, it shuts off by itself to save battery life. To me this says that some intelligent thought went into programming the device.

Yeah, there are several things that indicate that - the battery being accessible without removing the tuner, for example. I really wouldn't mind double-sided taping or even hot-gluing this to the back of the headstock of my ukes (now that I've realized that the rather flimsy ratchet clip can be removed just by pushing it sidesways) if the rattle can be eliminated easily.

I may experiment with some heat-shrink insulation. If I can find just the right size and shrink it over the buttons it might stop the rattle without affecting operation. It's worth a shot, anyway.

Thanks for the tip on the source. :)

John
 
Don from D'Addario / Planet Waves here - I wanted to chime in on this as we have not heard this previously or at least, I have not heard this. I will speak with the PW product team on Monday to see if there has been an identified issue further to this "buzzing". What I would like to ask is if you'd like to email me regarding this - and we'll get you a non-buzzing replacement. We have a new model that is due out July 1st. It's called the NS Micro. My email is Don.Dawson2@daddario.com - please email further to your issue (and also that we chatted on UU) and we'll take care of the details from there.
 
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