With the digital tuners of today, it's possible to tune stringed instruments very precisely - the one I use (on my cell phone) will measure to a tenth of a cent. (Even with my not-great ears, I can actually tune an autoharp to a decent state now!)
But it seems to me that most mandolin tuning machines don't have a high-enough gear ratio to facilitate that accuracy: the slightest movement of the tuner knob often is far more of a change than what I intend.
Recently, Waverly has introduced guitar tuning machines with a substantially higher ratio - 21 to 1. I bought a set for my guitar and found that they make it much easier for me to tune precisely.
I immediately emailed Stew-Mac to suggest that they also make mandolin tuners with this higher ratio, since obviously they now have the tooling to do so.
I have no idea if Waverly sees any need to make this product, and I really don't know if other mandolinists share my desire for higher-ratio tuners.
But - if other players would like to see this happen, I urge you to email Stew-Mac with this suggestion. If enough of us do this, they just might make them!
Thanks for reading. - bgpete.
Bookmarks