Long-lasting clip-on tuners?

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I've gotten accustomed to buying a new $30 clip-on tuner every few years. Usually it is the battery housing breaks.

Wondering what type of clip-on tuners you all use here. Looking for more recommendations because I figure, if I can manage to find one that'll last forever - or, hell, 6 years rather than 2 - that'd be great.
 
I've had my Planet Waves/D'Addario mini tuners (around $12 each online for dual pack) on my ukes and basses for about 2-5 years with no problems, rarely even have to change batteries, though I have one for each of my 15 instrument, so a single one doesn't get that much use. But in this day and age with lower quality control, I wouldn't expect too much.

8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 8 mini electric bass guitars

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Mine's an "ENO Music" ET-33, which I suspect is a fairly generic low-cost device, covering Chromatic, Guitar, Bass, Violin and Ukulele. I'm in the habit of writing the date a battery is changed on the battery, simply for reference. The battery currently fitted is dated October 2016. I always hold the switch down for a few seconds to switch it off when I'm finished with it, so it's only ever on for a minute or two at a time, if that.

It's probably at least 5 years old and gets used a couple of times a week as I play most days. I'm a multi-instrumentalist, so each instrument may not have been used for some little while and may need checking.

Time was I'd use a tuning fork for one string then tune from there, but one gets lazy ;)

:music:
 
The only thing I've had that's lasted through the years is my Peterson Strobe Tuner. I've had it 7 years and have never had to buy another.
 
Yes, the Peterson StroboClip HD is very sturdy. The TC Electronics UniTune is pretty good too.
 
Last edited:
Grizzly Adams said:
The D'Addario NS Micro Clip-On Tuner is really hard to beat. Very small, accurate, and easy to see. I buy them two at a time, and use them on all my instruments.

https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-NS-Micro-Clip-On-Tuner/dp/B009LL2ZAM?th=1
Click to expand...

I love those too: small, mostly unseen from out front, bright & accurate. I don't like a big goofy Snark hanging off the headstock, especially when performing for others. YMMV. The only issue I've had with them is falling off some ukes. I've found that the maximum closed setting of the jaws is sometimes not tight enough, especially if the uke's headstock is on the thinner side, like some sopranos. In that case, I just add some 3M tape/foam to the jaws, which builds them up a bit, and then the tuner stays on well.
 
My go to favorite is the Boss TU-10. It just goes on and on and is a delight to use. I also have a couple of the Fishman KT2 which is so easy it almost self tunes the instrument. I do not like Snarks as I found the batteries died too soon.
 
+1 for both the NS Micro tuners, and the Reverb tuners.

I must have at least a half dozen of each, some 4-5 yrs old and none have failed on me yet.

It;s nice to keep the NS Micro tuner on the headstock and position it so it cannot be seen by putting the tuner body on the back, as it lets you tune discreetly when performing live.

Prior to using electronic tuners, I used to use an A-440 tuning fork and then once the A-string was tuned, I'd tune the rest of the strings by ear, using both harmonics and unisons until I was satisfied and both chords and scales up the neck were in tune.

I still tune first by ear, and then verify with the tuner, evein if only to test how good my pitch perception is, and some days it's spot on, and other days I must be tone deaf LOL.
 
I still have my first Intelli 500, bought at least fifteen years ago. It has had to be fixed, once, with superglue, but it still works. Bought a Snark in 2011 and that's still giving good service. Have also got several cheapo electronic tuners. They all work, but some like to keep switching to guitar mode - which is annoying. Maybe I'm not using them right.

John Colter
 
I've had a GoGo Tiki Tuner for at least 5 years. It's small, I cannot remember the price but it was pretty cheap. Like me.:shaka:
 
Croaky Keith said:
Snark (SN6) - originally bought December 2015 - had one battery change after about 2 years.
Click to expand...

I think I started ukulele in 2014 and bought a Snark SN-8 ($10) for the occasion, which I also use on 6 and 12 string guitars, and I play out about once a week. It's now on the third set of batteries and still going strong, has a nice big display and is easy to use. When there was a sale I bought another one as backup which I haven't unpacked yet.
 
I agree on the D'Addario tuners. I find the batteries last really well. I have a few Snarks and they work well but they batteries don't last and I've had the adjustable neck break on a couple. I haven't tried any other quality tuners yet.
 
Thanks for all the feedback - I went to Rudy's Music and bought a Cool Smart Touch Rechargeable clip-on tuner. It seems very good so far.
 
13down said:
Thanks for all the feedback - I went to Rudy's Music and bought a Cool Smart Touch Rechargeable clip-on tuner. It seems very good so far.
Click to expand...

I've not heard of this brand or model of tuner, got a link for the uninitiated? :)
 
kypfer said:
Mine's an "ENO Music" ET-33, which I suspect is a fairly generic low-cost device, covering Chromatic, Guitar, Bass, Violin and Ukulele. I'm in the habit of writing the date a battery is changed on the battery, simply for reference. The battery currently fitted is dated October 2016. I always hold the switch down for a few seconds to switch it off when I'm finished with it, so it's only ever on for a minute or two at a time, if that.

It's probably at least 5 years old and gets used a couple of times a week as I play most days. I'm a multi-instrumentalist, so each instrument may not have been used for some little while and may need checking.

Time was I'd use a tuning fork for one string then tune from there, but one gets lazy ;)

:music:
Click to expand...
Second the ET-33. I got one in the package with my first ukulele six years ago. It is still working fine.
 
Well, that's a bit pricey for your typical tuner. It's about what I paid for a KORG Pitchhawk-U2. My theory is go with a company like KORG who has built tuners for years simply because they are not fly by night operations.
 
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