Programable Tuner

Francis Chamberlain · Post by **Francis Chamberlain** » 25 Jun 2002 12:35 pm

Does anyone know if there is tuner on the market where a guy can tune all his strings to 440 hz. I don't know about other players, but the tuning that I use, I have to remember a lot of different string settings. This requires a lot of time and concentration. It would be good if there was a programable tuner, where A guy could program his own tuning into the tuner and tune to one setting. If there is no such animal, it would seem that in this electronic age that we are living in that someone would invent one.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 25 Jun 2002 3:46 pm

Hey Francis--I think this Korg MT-1200
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum3/HTML/013719.html

is exactly what you are talking about.
And doesn't the more expensive of the 2 Korg rack mount tuners do this too? I'm not sure about that though.

Robert Parent · Post by **Robert Parent** » 26 Jun 2002 10:17 am

I have a DTR-1 so maybe this will help. The DTR-1 will allow you to adjust the reference for all notes + or - a few hZ. This works well if you want to tune with say an acoustic piano. You can set the tuner to be 'in-tune' with the piano and then just tune your instrument like normal. I don't believe this is the feature that Francis is looking for. If I remember right from a past tuner search, the model that Jon has listed is what you want.

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 26 Jun 2002 12:55 pm

The MT-1200 is a slick tuner. You can store up to 15 individual pitches.

The thing I found is that if you store two different notes in two different octaves, low E and high E for example, you will run out of storage locations trying to store all your open notes plus all the raises and lowers. I guess you could store one note for "E" and tune to it with 4th string open and 8th string harmonic, etc.

I didn't know much about it when I bought it and got kind of frustrated trying to program it, but maybe it's time to give it another try...

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 27 Jun 2002 3:09 am

Has anyone tried the Peterson VS-1?

Earl Foote · Post by **Earl Foote** » 27 Jun 2002 3:54 am

I should be receiving my Peterson VS1 today Cartwright, I'll give you the scoop in a day or two.

Jim Palenscar · Post by **Jim Palenscar** » 27 Jun 2002 5:38 am

I tried the Peterson VS1 and found that it could not be used in-line as it produced some distortion. The folks at Peterson had several suggestions including using an alternate pickup for the tuner, etc. but none were satisfactory for my needs. They said, in retrospect, it was "an oversight" in the design.

Andy Schick · Post by **Andy Schick** » 27 Jun 2002 6:20 am

The PST-2
Expensive, but this is the ultimate.
Andy

------------------

Ron Randall · Post by **Ron Randall** » 28 Jun 2002 3:52 pm

I have been using the Peterson VS1 "virtual strobe tuner about a month now. $199.00

Not a rack mount. A hand held meter. It is programmable, in that you can choose among many temperments, choose the reference freq like 440,439,444, and you can use cents mode and tweak the cents offset to one tenth cent.
13.7 c or whatever.

I like it because I have non pedal steels and dobros that I like to tune Just temperment, and six string electric and acoustic guitars that I tune to Eqaul temperment or ....ta da!
Pterson's proprietary guitar temperment (standard). I gotta tell you that this temperment really works. Be sure the guitar has great intonation to start with.

I have not figured out their proprietary temperment yet.

I talked to the factory about altering tone. Their suggestion is an A/B switch. I agree. I am using switch that allows you to choose A or B, or, A and B.

It is small, you can see it in the dark. The strobe screen helps. Mt sound is better because I can tune it while my neighbor cranks up the weedeater.

------------------
Fender Stringmaster T-8
Fender Strat
Dobro
PV S2000

Earl Foote · Post by **Earl Foote** » 29 Jun 2002 4:31 am

I have been using a Boss TU-2 tuner for a long time. My method of tuning is that I tune the E's with the tuner and tune the beats out of everything else. Well as you can imagine this is fine till you get in a club with a nuclear powered jukebox where you can't here yourself think much less hear the beats. I didn't want to carry a rack so the rack tuners weren't an option for me. So I ordered the VS-1. The in line distortion issue was not a problem for me because I never run anything in line except a volume pedal. So I get VS-1 home and I tune my guitar the way I always do(no beats) in a quiet room. Then I adjust the "cents offset" for each string till the strobe wheel stops, writing these settings down to create a tuning chart. I then scrambled the tuning on my steel so it was really messed up. I then turned on my stereo good and loud so I couldn't hear any beats and tuned up with the VS-1 using my tuning chart. The guitar was in tune and I'm real happy with it. Interesting note... I tried using one of the published tuning charts that are available and didn't have very good results. I can only conclude that tuning chart must be tweeked for each individual guitar.

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 29 Jun 2002 5:21 am

"a club with a nuclear powered jukebox "

Great description!

I've done basically the same as Earl, though with an older/cheaper Sabine Handheld Tuner.

I use it at home to give me an A-440 that I tune me 3rd string (AB pedals down) to. Then I chime the beats out.

I've made my own chart that is taped to the tuner. It's similar to Jeff Newman's, but not quite. In a noisy club, I rely on that chart.

The chart is a compromise for cabinet-drop so it is different with different guitars.

I used to have a rack mount tuner, but sold it when I retired the rack. It's only advantage was you could see it easily across a dark stage. I miss that.

I also play a six string acoustic guitar with an internal transducer and preamp.
It's impossible to tune it in a club with as "with a nuclear powered jukebox." The transducer picks up all the BASS of the jukebox, thru the flat-top. ARGHHHHH!!!

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 29 Jun 2002 7:12 am

To address the inline issue--I had trouble even with a tuner that was supposed to be used inline. It absolutely robbed tone and added distortion. And I also wanted the option to tune silently on stage. So I built a tiny A/B box with a toggle and two output jacks that plugs directly into the steel output. I was worried about a 'pop' when I toggled but it isn't a problem. This thing works great. An upgrade will be a 3 way switch with an A+B option for tuning with sound as well as silently. I use all this with a CA-20. Cheap enough to throw around without worry, yet solid enough that I haven't had to replace it yet. (This personal tendency with my gear is why I can't consider $200 tuners a wise option).

Earl Foote · Post by **Earl Foote** » 29 Jun 2002 8:12 am

I never said I was wise

I know a lot of guys have used those types of tuners with great results. I just couldn't get repeatable results with them.[This message was edited by Earl Foote on 29 June 2002 at 10:51 AM.]

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 30 Jun 2002 12:16 pm

The more expensive Peterson digital strobe tuners can be programmed for particular tunings, but the cheaper one can't (the VS1).