Another Tuner Bites The Dust

Martinlover

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Gosh darn it. I really had high hopes for the Kala rechargeable tuner. It only lasted one charge—almost 6 weeks. Then plugged it in and it just won’t work. Dead snark every 3 months or so. The only working tuner I have now is the d'Addario soundhole tuner I have on my baritone. Maybe because I never have to throw that in my purse.

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Anybody got a tuner recommendation?
 
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Try one of these. No batteries required and no moving parts.

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I have had no trouble at all with Snarks. I have two now, and they both work fine. I bought a $20 Kala, and it was a pain to use. It gave out very soon too. It’s in a drawer somewhere now.

Tuning stuff’s a lot easier if you have perfect pitch. :eek:ld:
 
I only use the d'Addario/Planet Waves micro tuner. I have one for each of my ukes and bass ukes that don't have a built in tuner, 17 or 18. The only time I remove them is if I have to change the battery, which is very rare. They're very compact, can be set to be on the top side of the headstock or the bottom side with a reverse button to view the proper readout orientation and rotates to your view. My oldest has been working for about 4 years, and never had one die.

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8 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video
 
In the house, I use an app on my iPhone called GuitarToolkit. This is a great multi-purpose app for many uke related functions. There are other cheaper "just a tuner" apps
 
I use Intelli IMT 500 and 600 tuners. They use a 3v CR2032 battery that some people may not want to buy, but I get them in bulk off of eBay. I’m still using an IMT-500 I bought in 2007. I’ve yet to have one fail.

John
 
DaTuner android app also bites the dust by pushing adds now :(
I used to be such a fan of this tuner, using it to anything from guitar, ukulele, recorder and even keyboard voice sound pitch tests. Now the experience has been gone down a lot.

I do like my UniTune TC Electronic clip a lot. Somewhat more expensive than your typical snarks etc, but well worth it.

To OP, some rechargeable tuner is in my opinion a bad idea. Rechargeable batteries can be maybe yes, a tuner no. Only who will have a recharging device for something like a Cr2032 battery? Tuner batteries are light for a reason. Not that I myself keep one attached to my uke's head.
 
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This topic has arisen before and I still don't know what you people do to those poor tuners. I bought my Snark on November 29, 2014 and it is still running. I have changed the battery twice or thrice. Maybe I have been very lucky. Maybe it is my methodology. I don't always have the tuner attached to the instruments. Every so often, I tune the uke and then I turn off the tuner and set it down somewhere.
 
It's not just a battery problem on the non-rechargeables? The Snark is my favorite. It's large, and it responds quickly. I have a dozen tuners, but they keep hiding from me. The 2032 batteries keep dying, so I carry spares. My Kala is still working - on the original charge - after four months.
 
Try one of these. No batteries required and no moving parts.

View attachment 114176

:D Funny, I actually was considering a tuning fork at one time. Then a guitar player mentioned that it is kind of a pain to hold it, strum and tune at the same time.

For me, one of the reasons playing ukulele at this age has been doable is the fact that these little tuners exist. I certainly wish I had perfect pitch.

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like I am abusing my tuners or they aren’t making them the way they used to.
 
The main downside to using a tuning fork is trying to hear the notes in a room full of other people tuning up.
 
I've had really good luck with the Eno ET-33. They are pretty cheap too. Six or seven bucks. Don't get the ones shipped from China. I suppose that I could tune off of a tuning fork, as I have tuned one string off of a keyboard before and then tuned the rest off of that one, but it just takes too much time and attention. I just want to get it done and start playing.
 
I keep a D'Addario Planet Waves micro tuner on each of my instruments, don't have to remove it to change the batteries, and I have 4 or 5 spares. Of these 25 tuners, I have had one DOA, and D'Addario replaced it. (I have another one I lost the battery door for, but I'll replace that with the door from the DOA tuner.)

I had Snarks when I started - I still have the tuners, but every one a) has a snapped neck, and b) lost at least one of the little rubber things that go between tuner and instrument.

I have several tuning forks, all labeled "A=440", but they vary from 432 Hz to 438 Hz. Years ago, I didn't think 2Hz would be that far off, but I know differently now.
 
I also only use the d'Addario/Planet Waves micro tuners. Because they popped off the instruments with annoying frequency, however, I removed the clips and double-sided taped them to the back of the headstocks. They are more unobtrusive than ever that way. Will have to replace the tape when a battery runs out and needs replacing, but as I only leave them powered on for 10-15 seconds, a battery should last a very long time.

bratsche
 
I’ve had 4 snacks go on me. Three at the ball joint. One the screen, lcd was flakes. Can’t say as I like snarks any more but they lasted a few years. Miso tuner is ok. My newest the the D’Addario vertical one Eclipse tuner. I like it

I also had a Oahu tuner from HMS and it’s lastermpretty well. Four years now. The LCD screen is starting to fail with blank pixels.

My experience it’s usually the ball joint connection.
 
I use the Reverb tuners. Just have to remember to manually turn it off rather than let it turn off on it's own for better battery life. A two-pack of Sunbeam CR2032 batteries are available at Dollar Tree.
 
I have a Snark and several D'Addario Planet Waves micro tuners and a couple D'Addario sound hole tuners, batteries last a long time, years actually. Just tune up and turn it off!
 
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