Snark ST-8 Tuner Accuracy

twokatmew

twokatmew

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Does anyone know how accurate this tuner is and what each red line represents in terms of cents? I've googled and read everything I can, but I can't find this info anywhere. Some say this tuner is very accurate, and others say it's not.

ST-8.jpg

Any recommendations for a clip-on tuner that displays in cents? I have a Boss TU-2 pedal tuner that's supposedly accurate to +/- 1 cent, but it's only good for instruments with a pickup. At the moment, none of my ukes has a pickup.

Thanks! :)
 
Boss, Intellitouch, Kliq and TC Electronic all make nice clip-on alternatives to the Snark.

I use TC Electronic or Kliq tuners when I need a good clip-on.
 
Uke Don said:
Peterson's iStrobosoft displays in cents, hertz, or midi. Not a clip on though.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I just looked it up. Very interesting! Will definitely check it out. :)

bacchettadavid said:
Boss, Intellitouch, Kliq and TC Electronic all make nice clip-on alternatives to the Snark.

I use TC Electronic or Kliq tuners when I need a good clip-on.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Do you use the TC Electronics Polytune Clip? Looks interesting, but the price tag gave me pause. Not that it's *that* expensive. In the meantime, I ordered myself a Kliq UberTuner. :)
 
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I use the TC Electronics Unitune.

Another one to look into is the Korg Sledgehammer. It's great for making minute adjustments if you're recording or something similar.
 
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I've used IMT-500 and 600 tuners for more than a decade. They have worked well enough for me to use them to do setups and compensate saddles. As for the Snark, I did get a bunch of similar looking cheap tuners off Reverb and they are fine, but I rarely use them. I recently bought 3 more IMT-500 tuners so I will always have one handy.

That said, I would think that a strobe tuner is more accurate and any clip-on is dependent on how well vibrations are picked up so, there seems to be some variation of success between instruments on how quickly "correct" notes are picked up.

John
 
bacchettadavid said:
I use the TC Electronics Unitune.

Another one to look into is the Korg Sledgehammer. It's great for making minute adjustments if you're recording or something similar.
Click to expand...

Sweetwater has them now for $30, while everyone else is charging $50. I still prefer the inexpensive Snark 6. Maybe when my playing becomes exceptional I'll be able to justify an expensive tuner. : )
 
Jerryc41 said:
Sweetwater has them now for $30, while everyone else is charging $50. I still prefer the inexpensive Snark 6. Maybe when my playing becomes exceptional I'll be able to justify an expensive tuner. : )
Click to expand...

Yes, I noticed that. But the Unitune at Sweetwater is not the same as the Polytune. I did order the Unitune last night, as I don't need the extra features of the Polytune. Much nicer price. :)
 
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70sSanO said:
I've used IMT-500 and 600 tuners for more than a decade. They have worked well enough for me to use them to do setups and compensate saddles. As for the Snark, I did get a bunch of similar looking cheap tuners off Reverb and they are fine, but I rarely use them. I recently bought 3 more IMT-500 tuners so I will always have one handy.

That said, I would think that a strobe tuner is more accurate and any clip-on is dependent on how well vibrations are picked up so, there seems to be some variation of success between instruments on how quickly "correct" notes are picked up.

John
Click to expand...

Thx, will check into those two. My Snark seems fine for general use, but on certain notes, I have to keep trying, as sometimes it thinks an E is an A. Other notes are flat by three red lines, and I have no idea what each line represents. Some lower notes never completely "settle." All this makes me doubt the accuracy of my Snark. I tried a second unit with the same results.

It has even more issues tuning guitars, I suspect due to more resonance, especially of bass notes. One of my uke generates bizarre readings, too.
 
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bacchettadavid said:
I use the TC Electronics Unitune.

Another one to look into is the Korg Sledgehammer. It's great for making minute adjustments if you're recording or something similar.
Click to expand...

Yes, that one looks interesting, thx.

EDW said:
Korg makes really good tuners and I have used various models and types over the years, all with good results. For fans of Peterson there is this one in a clip on, as well as lots of other options:

https://www.petersontuners.com/products/stroboClipHD/
Click to expand...

Yes, I was looking at Korg yesterday. The Petersons look interesting. Thx! :)
 
Never had good luck with a snark and I find I keep breaking them. Something about that knuckle and being so big. I always hit them and then they break out of the ball joint. I'm probably just clumsy. I use some sort of D'addario one which is pretty good. That said, I can't say I had any actual problems with the Snark. As a tuner it worked fine.
 
I have the Snark ST-8 and I liked it so much I bought another one. Does the job on ukulele as well as on 6 and 12 string guitars in variety of tunings. As for precision - it is considerably better than my finger's precision to play notes.
 
Now I'm getting TAS, along w/ UAS. I need more tuners to try!
 
Just so you know, my IMT tuners will occasionally read a different note on certain notes on certain instruments. But it has happened on most every clip-on tuner from time to time. Never been an issue, although turning off and back on helps.

I usually tune, check at the twelfth, and when finished sometimes check to other strings, by ear. Over time I think a person can hear very slight differences. I know that I'll hear a note that doesn't sound just right and then double check.

When I played bass guitar out with others, I never used a clip-on tuner, but an inline tuner through the pickups. Then again those frequencies are another ball game.

John
 
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WaylonUkulele said:
Never had good luck with a snark and I find I keep breaking them. Something about that knuckle and being so big. I always hit them and then they break out of the ball joint. I'm probably just clumsy. I use some sort of D'addario one which is pretty good. That said, I can't say I had any actual problems with the Snark. As a tuner it worked fine.
Click to expand...

I have two, and I haven't broken one, but I've owned them for less than a year. I have two of the D'Addario micro tuners. One works fine, except on this one uke that behaves strangely with the Snarks, too. The other micro tuner buzzed so much I finally took Booli's advice and used electrical tape to hold the buttons down. It still has fits on certain strings/notes on the uke I mentioned above. It's in my tool box for emergencies. :)

merlin666 said:
I have the Snark ST-8 and I liked it so much I bought another one. Does the job on ukulele as well as on 6 and 12 string guitars in variety of tunings. As for precision - it is considerably better than my finger's precision to play notes.
Click to expand...

Me too. That's how I ended up with two of them. I have one uke that gives the Snark fits.

Joyful Uke said:
Now I'm getting TAS, along w/ UAS. I need more tuners to try!
Click to expand...

Heheh, yes! Since yesterday, I've ordered two clip-on tuners (Kliq and TC Electronic), and I purchased Peterson's iStrobosoft for my Android phone. iStrobo... is amazingly accurate and works great with just the phone's microphone. I was going to order the clip-on sensor that plugs into the phone's headphone jack, but the reviews I read said it's not as accurate with the clip. I'm fine with that, and one less purchase for me! I really only wanted a cents tuner to see just how far off certain notes are on various instruments. :)
 
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70sSanO said:
Just so you know, my IMT tuners will occasionally read a different note on certain notes on certain instruments. But it has happened on most every clip-on tuner from time to time. Never been an issue, although turning off and back on helps.

I usually tune, check at the twelfth, and when finished sometimes check to other strings, by ear. Over time I think a person can hear very slight differences. I know that I'll hear a note that doesn't sound just right and then double check.

When I played bass guitar out with others, I never used a clip-on tuner, but an inline tuner through the pickups. Then again those frequencies are another ball game.

John
Click to expand...

Thank you, John! I tuned my guitars for many years with just a tuning fork for a reference point. (Before that, I used a pitch pipe in the same way.) When I went back to playing electric guitar in the early 2000s, I got myself a Boss TU-2. But in the last year, I discovered clip-on tuners, and I guess I've gone a little crazy. :p:eek:

I have one uke (and a few notes on a second) that my various tuners struggle with and either go blank or (seem to) pick a random note. I had similar issues with my classical guitar that I sold a few days ago. So I can hear when a note is flat or sharp. I just wanted more detail about just how much it's off. So ...

I purchased Peterson's iStrobosoft for Android, and it does a better job on those tough notes my Snark can't get right. Also, it looks like each red/yellow line on the Snark represents 5 cents. I also learned today that 100 cents equals one semitone, so that really put things in perspective for me. :) Many thanks to UkeDon for the recommendation.

Thanks so much for your help. I'm curious. Do you know (or have an opinion on) why clip-on tuners struggle to tune certain notes on some instruments? :)
 
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A simplistic view of a clip-on tuner is that it is similar to a piezo pickup. A piezo has absolutely zero acoustic sound detection, yet it picks up the string frequency of the string vibrations and produces an accurate representation of the note being played. Tuning through a piezo is a good example.

Likewise a clip on tuner senses the string frequencies and displays that frequency. The sensitivity of the tuner is less especially since it is not taking direct readings from the strings; such as a saddle. I can't say how the vibrations disperse or conflict from both the nut and saddle. But I would think both influence a clip-on tuner.

John

John
 
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