I have been using clip-on tuners for quite a while. They seem to work pretty well for me but I don't always have them when I need them or I find the tuner and the battery is dead. I just recently saw an iPhone app called Tuner T1. I was impressed. I downloaded it onto my phone and tried it out. I became even more impressed. I like it a lot more than the clip-ons I have tried. It is available for Android too. The app is free but has some unintrusive ads. For $2 you can get the "pro" version, which is the same app but with no ads. I might get the pro version just to show some appreciation to the developers. But the free app is fine with me so far. What are you guys using for tuning?
Nice Hank! I’ve kept a copy of Simple Mandolin Tuner on my phone in case I have issues with clip ons, but I’ll check this one out. I’ve switched to using Unitune clip ons for daily use. (Hank, you’re due for a progress update- hope your recovery is going well!)
It's been a month or so since I really and honestly focused on practice. The few times I have tried have been discouraging. Haven't given up -- am really and honestly focusing on the bigger motor skills instead. So at least I'm not just lying around and moping. I still veer to the left while walking sometimes and tend to tip over at other times. I want to get my balance good enough so I can pass a walk-the-white-line-or-get-a-DUI test even though I haven't had a drink in 3473 days and have no plans to resume. Ah well, it's a goal worth shooting for. I still have several really nice mandolins on the wall next to me and they are calling my name.
I have to say I prefer a clip-on tuner. It's too much hassle for me to try and balance my phone on my knee or find a place to put it or a place to crouch down with it on the floor at a crowded jam. I can barely keep track of my picks. Plus often I'm using my phone to quick look up what are the chords to this song someone called I never heard of? D'Addario makes a tuner that is rechargeable via USB and gives about 24 hours of use between charges (and gives you plenty of warning when the charge is getting low). I have three.
i have a Unitune clip on and I like it just fine. However, I've also got "Ultimate Mandolin Tuner" on my phone (Android). I'm generally with BEM, but when I lost my tuner at the beginning of the camp I went to last fall, I was darn happy to have the phone ap. It's good to hear from you, Henry, and I'm sorry your progress has been slower than you'd hoped. I saw your L&H on the Classifieds and was wondering.
I prefer tuner apps on my phone to a clip-on tuner when I am playing at home. I can get better resolution on the display there, down to tenths of a cent. I've used a few different ones and am currently using Pitched Tuner. I prefer my clip-on when I am out playing, both because it is awkward to balance my phone and my instrument and because the phone picks up background noise and/or other instruments. Hank, I'm glad to see your update. You have a solid plan there.
I use "DaTuner" on Android. The ads are unobtrusive to me (a banner near the bottom.) In tuning mode it also shows SPL (not calibrated, but seems pretty close to what I expect.) It also has a metronome, "theme" configuration (haven't tried) and some "practice" mode that I also haven't tried. There's a pro version but it's a $60/yr subscription so no thanks! Like others, I prefer a built-in or clip-on, but the phone app is still handy at times. I have 3 clip-on types: a D'Addario Micro Soundhole tuner, which always stays on my classical guitar, a Micro headstock tuner (which doesn't seem to register the highest notes on the mando, sadly), and one of the good ol' Snarks (but I think it's MIA somewhere.) Plus my Martin has a built-in, which is nice. Can't have too many, I guess! Good thing they're cheap.
Yeah, I have noticed that you need something to put the phone on while you are tuning -- most of my playing is done in my 'cave' so there are plenty of convenient horizontal spaces available close to my mandolin. But it definitely would be a problem if you are standing on a stage in front of a live audience. The clip-on I like is sold by D'Addario - about 1"x2.5" rectangle with a clothespin kinda clip. But I don't really use it since I saw a friend using the Tuner T1 and I tried it. It seems to be noticeably easier to tune really well with it. Who knows, maybe, me being a tech junkie, I just like the interface.
I just tried the T1 on my Android and it ROCKS. The graph is so much easier to follow than some indicator that moves but you don't see the history. This is now my go-to tuner app. THANKS! I generally prefer tuning by ear to my digital piano which is always right there when I'm playing at home (the only place I play Mando). Frankly, it's quicker and more accurate than the clip-on tuner. But just now trying the T1 for the first time, it was even quicker, and I'm confident of the accuracy -- I could tell just by listening and playing after tuning. I'm really finicky about tuning. Back in the bad ol' days before everyone had an electronic tuner, I used to VERY often say "Hey, let me try your guitar!" and quickly tune it up. I found that was usually quicker than suggesting they tune up. With the advent of the inexpensive clip-on tuner, I now rarely need to do that (and I'm also usually playing with more experienced players which also helps.) But just the other day playing keyboards at the local blues jam I asked one of the guitarists to check his B string. He borrowed the other guitarist's clip on, fixed it, and everyone smiled. It was before the set started, so all was well. Frankly, on guitar, you shouldn't need a tuner if you have a good reference note, but it takes a while to develop the skill and learn a few tricks. Mando is quite a bit trickier. Or maybe I just don't know the tricks!
I use the Peterson Stroboclip and am very happy with it. BUT I’ve misplaced it! I discovered yesterday that it wasn’t in the case I’d expected to find it in, and it’s not in my other cases either, so I’m not happy about that. It’s a pricey accessory & I’ve used for about five years now. I also have the Peterson iStroboSoft app on my iPhone, which I rarely use for the same reasons BEM mentioned. But I used it yesterday quite a bit, lol. I’m perfectly happy with it when I need it. I paid for that one, too. Thanks for the heads up, although I’m happy with what I use, I’ll have to try your suggestion now just to satisfy my curiosity.
I have a KORG tuner my wife bought for me several years ago. It works well for me. I have a metronome app on my phone, but was not aware you could get a tuner app. I'm glad Hank started this thread. I am also glad to hear Hank is slowly getting better.
Found my tuner, it was in my guitar case. Hard to believe I just couldn’t see it when I looked before. Getting old is a real hoot, right?
Mark, I’m sure it was temporarily translocated/borrowed/stolen/glitch in the matrix. Then someone/something replaced it. It’s not your fault.
Yes, and that kind of thing has been happening a lot to me lately, too.
Hmm. Me too. I bought a copy of an out of print book, "Fiddle Tune Method for Modern Mandolin" by Thomas P. Ohmsen, and I'd looked at it just enough to think, "this looks really cool". Some time later, I went looking for it. Gone. Not on the shelf with my other mando books. Nowhere. I ransacked my house for about 2 weeks then sucked it up and bought another copy while I could. If the universe ever spits out the original, I'll put it up on the Classifieds.
The irony of an out-of-print book with “modern” in the title strikes my funny bone today. Probably because I’m approaching an age that could be considered out-of-print as well.
No, we call that vintage, Don!
