Tuners for bass guitar

[Glynn]

Thought I would research what people find the best tuner for bass guitar.  I have been using the now discontinued needle Boss TU 15 for sometime and it is fine but not rated the most accurate.  TC Electronics and Korg have some good ones - I use the Korg Pitchjack regularly for acoustic bass guitar and it is brilliant.  Glynn

[rustyg61]

I have had my Korg DT-1 Pro for over 15 years & it works great!
 

[dannobasso]

I have become a fan of Peterson strobo tuners.

[tubeperson]

Peterson's are the best, the stomp box version is economical compared to their rack mount.  Just like Alembic, quality always counts!

[terryc]

What about a good quality tuning fork and your ears??

[tubeperson]

Terry, that assumes one has functional ears that are tuned. Mine get clogged all the time (allergies, plus some hearing loss), and that is where a quality tuner comes into play.  Unless a cranky guitarist enters to fray.

[FC Bass]

The Korg Pitchblack is awesome, no problem with a low A (one step below the low B of a five string) and it tracks great.
The display is loud and clear, even in heavy light situations (sunlight/stagelights)  
 
My setup: XLR from the wireless goes to the Korg, the standard jack output from the wireless goes to the amps rack. (so the tuner is never in the signal chain and always active) I've created a mute setting with my midi effects switching system (Rocktron patchmate) for silent tuning.
 
Before the vacuum cleaner:

[edwin]

Peterson. The iStrobosoft is the best deal in tuners right now if you have an iPhone.

[bigredbass]

I like the BOSS TU-80 Tuner/Metronome.  Cheap, fits anywhere, takes AA's, tone generator for matching pitch, tap time to set metronome, built-in mic for unplugged axes, and it reads Open B with no problem.  But I DO wish it had a lighted LCD, its only shortfall for me.
 
J o e y
 
(Message edited by bigredbass on August 15, 2012)

[glocke]

i came here to ask the same question as my trusty tuner of 15 years died in its sleep..
 
The petersons look nice, but are more than I want to spend...Looking at one of these.
 
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/boss-tu-12-tuner

[cozmik_cowboy]

How accurate do you want to get?  If ? 1 cent is works for you, most tuners, from the top-of-the-line rackmount Korgs tp a $29 InteeliTouch clip-on, will give you that.  The Peterson virtual strobes, like the Peterson (or Conn if you can find one) physical strobes, give you ? 0.1 cent.
 
Peter (who uses a Korg CA-10 pocket-sized unit, but lusts for a Conn ST-10)

[Glynn]

Good point, Peter.  The Boss TU 15 is +/- 1 cent and as the Orion keeps good tuning then this is fine.  If I needed 0.1 cent tuning, I think I would still find it difficult to justify the ?150 odd Peterson Strobe price. I like the look of the Korg Pitchblack but am unsure of the need for the Polytune feature of the TC Electronics one.  Just gathering info. in case mine packs up.  Glynn

[dela217]

For when I bring a small rig I just use the Intellitouch clip on.  Works great and the bass does not even have to be plugged in.  It gives a quick base line of where your tuning should be.
 
But when I bring my rack, I have a Furman PL tuner.  It has 8 outlets on the back, lights on the front with a dimmer and a built in tuner in one rack space!  They are not available new anymore.  I am on my 2nd one now because I lost my first one.  To me nothing else would do because of the 1U mounting that served 2 purposes.
 
Michael

[cje]

+1 on iStrobosoft - certainly at least the best tuner on the iPhone.  It has blown away all the other tuners I've owned in my life except for my other Petersons.
 
I have a Peterson VSAM and also the StroboRack in my rig.  I use them to intonate as well, something I just can't do with my non strobe(like) tuners.

[terryc]

I just use the tuner in my Zoom unit..I mean who is really going to notice +/- 1% deviance??..The audience?. The band would notice but you would have to be at least a semitone or two but even then the drummer wouldn't notice LOL