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Advice on Tuners, what to buy!

visionari1

visionari1

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,100
Location
Out in the Countryside of Nelson NZ
Recently bought a Soprano & still comming to grips with it!

My teacher recommends I get a tuner and play slow scales while I watch the needle and adjust my embroshure to get in tune!

He says, sop's are notorious for being out of pitch high up and also the G-to-G# seems to be a common troublesome combination of notes.
It certainly sounds a small gap between them.

I know nothing about tuners, will a guitar tuner work?
Advice please!

Cheers & Ciao
Jimu:mrcool
 
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Hi Jimu

A vote for the tuner I have: Seiko SAT500 (and any others like it)

Points I like are that it is selectable between C Bb F Eb so ther is no transposition needed for what instrument you are playing - it indicates the actual note, together with a swing needle and 3 LEDs; red (flat) green (perfect) red (sharp).

Does other bits as well.... Oh and it is cheap!!

I have seen another that holds the average reading, so that you can blow what you think without being influenced by the meter.. bt I can't remember the make I'm afraid.
 
I have Korg TM-40 tuner/metronome.
It isn't selectable for transposition, but has (digital) needle and led's and it can play notes..
also pretty cheap and has metronome function if that turns you on :D ($30ish US?)

there is korg CA30 which is half the price but no metronome ($15ish US?)

Intelli IMT-500 clip on
IMT500.jpg


seiko SAT500
MSK500_Z_Seiko%20SAT500%20Tuner.jpg
ET266.jpg


Korg TM40
KORG_TM40.jpg


Korg CA30
korg-CA30.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
c9off said:
Hi Jimu



I have seen another that holds the average reading, so that you can blow what you think without being influenced by the meter.. bt I can't remember the make I'm afraid.
Click to expand...
now that is a very neat trick... I've always hated trying to multi-task watching a needle and listen at the same time...
 
Best tuner by far is this one:





Use in conjunction with this:



Seriously. Weeks of matching pitches and playing intervals with a piano will do more for your intonation than years watching the needle on a tuner will.

If you insist, however, get one with an analog needle, not digital. And one that will generate tones.
 
Absolutely agree with MF's post. Although I've got an assortment of electronic gizmos that purport to have 'tuners' in them I never use them. I do have a piano however and I always go to that if I'm worrying about intonation or just want to know what key something's in ... or even if I'm just tootling around on sax I can at least try to find a chord that goes with the current notes I'm playing. If I'm not in the room with the piano in it then I use one of my other three keyboards, my favourite (because its so portable being only 15" long!) is a Casio SA-1 which I picked up for around 3 Euros in the local rastro (flea market). Runs off batteries which last ages (if I remember to turn it off after using it!), does 2.5 octaves with mini keys, two note polyphonic, 100 different instrument sounds in tone bank, also 19 percussion rhythms (all tempo adjustable) that are a darn site better than a boring metronome click. Apart from sax support its really handy for finding chords and melodies etc. Personally I find having just two note polyphony is rather helpful in that respect as you end up training your brain to remember the other bits of a chord that are outside of the two notes playable at the same time. My other two keyboards have lots of added bits and pieces but it takes me twenty minutes to lug them from room to room, midi connect them, find their power supplies, and so on. Can't beat the portability advantage of an SA-1. I've worked my way through three of them over the years. I even sometimes play the thing in bed first thing in the morning when an idea hits (Mrs L just loves that!!!!). I'm not really a serious keyboard player by the way, but a keyboard of some sort is perfect for working things out. That's my take ...
 
losaavedra said:
Absolutely agree with MF's post. Although I've got an assortment of electronic gizmos that purport to have 'tuners' in them I never use them. I do have a piano however and I always go to that if I'm worrying about intonation or just want to know what key something's in ... or even if I'm just tootling around on sax I can at least try to find a chord that goes with the current notes I'm playing. If I'm not in the room with the piano in it then I use one of my other three keyboards, my favourite (because its so portable being only 15" long!) is a Casio SA-1 which I picked up for around 3 Euros in the local rastro (flea market). Runs off batteries which last ages (if I remember to turn it off after using it!), does 2.5 octaves with mini keys, two note polyphonic, 100 different instrument sounds in tone bank, also 19 percussion rhythms (all tempo adjustable) that are a darn site better than a boring metronome click. Apart from sax support its really handy for finding chords and melodies etc. Personally I find having just two note polyphony is rather helpful in that respect as you end up training your brain to remember the other bits of a chord that are outside of the two notes playable at the same time. My other two keyboards have lots of added bits and pieces but it takes me twenty minutes to lug them from room to room, midi connect them, find their power supplies, and so on. Can't beat the portability advantage of an SA-1. I've worked my way through three of them over the years. I even sometimes play the thing in bed first thing in the morning when an idea hits (Mrs L just loves that!!!!). I'm not really a serious keyboard player by the way, but a keyboard of some sort is perfect for working things out. That's my take ...
Click to expand...

We've talked before about this Mike, never thought of getting a keyboard instead of a tuner (or both), seems like very good advice....so now it's off to the NZ EBay equivelant or the local flea market...

In my case I need to look at the needle (or light etc) as I actually play, so I can lip up or down and also see great oppertunity with a little keyboard for theory and general mucking about!

Good idea.

Ps thanks for all the posts regarding tuners, much appreciated

Ciao
Jimu:mrcool
 
latching on to what others have said. Your ears are the best tuner as when you practice or perform etc. you can't look at the needle and the music at the same time. You also don't want to beplaying a note, registering it's pitch via the tuner and adjusting while giving a performance etc.

The idea is obviously to build an internal sense of pitch, just as we do with rhythm. So nother idea for you (as well as a keyboard, which is primarily what I use to tune, check intonation etc.).

Backing tracks or BIAB (some kind of music software in general).

play your scales, melodies etc. to the backing tracks or some chords you punch in to BIAB and your ear will lead to the pitch. You can use a keyboard in conjunction or the tuner at first to help you there. You can then also combine it with other things you are learning. For example this works really well with taking things around the cycle of 4/5ths by ear and various other licks/pattern learning exercises.

Have fun!
 

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