Intelli

[Mike Buesseler]

Not sure if the other 'Intelli' thread here is for the Intelli IMT-500, or the older Intellitouch tuner. Anyway, for what it's worth, I just got my Intelli IMT-500 (from Elderly, on SALE!), less than $30 and it seems GREAT! Slap the battery in (included), clip it on your headstock, and it's done. Very light, bright, accurate. I love this thing! (YMMV)

[glauber]

Until it breaks... but even so, for this price, it may be worth it.

[Mike Buesseler]

Wait, I thought that thread was about the IntelliTOUCH model. Wasn't it? And, have other had this same problem? One case doesn't make a bad product, does it?

[fredfrank]

#One case doesn't make a bad product, does it?

Indeed, it does not. I've had mine from the time these were introduced and it always works fine. I've lost it at every festival I've been to, only to find it clipped to a shirt tail or some piece of my travel trailer, but it has endured.

[Mike Buesseler]

Well, I'm into week two, and have never had a tuner I liked better. Time will tell how well it holds up...

[Sandy Beckler]

Thank You!!
fredrank and MikeB....You answered my question for me.
I am on my way down to the "Blue Ridge Pickin' Parlor
to pick up a "Intelli IMT-500

Sandy:D

[8STRINGR]

I'm not sure of the Intelli IMT 500 but I've owned the Intellitouch PT1 (Onboard Industries) tuner for about three years now. I swore by 'em. Until the LED started going crazy on me, while still under warranty I purchased another one. Worked fine until it took the longest time for the three Flat and Sharps to make up their mind of when it would finally be in tune on any string. Plus, it wouldn't stay clipped on to my mandolin tuning head. Kept falling off. Now I hate 'em.

Until nine months ago an Upright Bass player had a "Meisel MCT-7L" tuner on the bridge of her bass. It's about a 1-1/2 square by 1/2 inch thick Black, LCD, Clip On, Chromatic Tuner. #You can go to www.gollihur.com/kkbass/ and click on "Accessories for Upright Bass", scroll down until you find this item.
The Bass player had told me that by barely plucking the Low E string it'll pick it up with no problem. I had to have one of these! For $32.50 plus $3.00 S&H I have what I think to be the best inexpensive tuner out there! You can turn it at 360 degrees which also turns UP for Upright bass players to be able to glance down at when tuning.The LED display lights Bright Green and the display is highly visable in even the brightest settings. Also has a battery saver. The only down fall is that it doesn't come with a case but stores away easily in your instrument's case compartment.

In fact, the other night I even had an electric bass player barrow it long enough to tune at a rehersal and had even turned the volume off in his bass, clipped it on the tuning head and was ready to go in not even a minute! I've been to quite a few functions where I'm starting to see quite a bit of these popping up from instrument cases of musicians using these tuners.

* One thing that was meantioned from the site owner about these tuners that I had read and a few days later had also witnessed is that the three buttons on the tuner (ON/OFF, Flat and Sharp) were known to vibrate when clipped on the bass bridge.
The remedy that he had suggested was to apply a piece of tape across all three buttons , especially if you are leaving it clipped on during recording. The problem I had witnessed was due to the bass player (upright) having the tuner clipped on too close to the strings on the bridge. After repositioning it the problem went away.

So far, I haven't had a complaint and the tuner is "Right ON" for any Acoustic and Electric instrument! Check 'em out and try one for yourself! Nothing in it for me! Just passing it one to others looking for something that'll work without spending a great deal of money! #

[B. T. Walker]

I love mine; it's my favorite. I like it better than Intellitouch because it clips on easier, stays on better, stores more easily and in a tighter place, is easier to read, and is every bit as accurate.

Friends always want to borrow it. Can't say I blame them.

[otterly2k]

I like my IMT better than my Intellitouch just because it's smaller, easier to see, and the needle simulation is a little more nuanced than the three arrows. That said...it does take a longer time than I like to clear in between pitches, which is annoying. But overall, they are both very useful tools.

[dochardee]

The Meisel tuner mentioned above sure looks like an IMT-500 relabeled at the factory. I love my IMT-500, haven't used the Intellitouch since I got it. Sensitivity seems higher than the Intellitouch, works great!

[jamann]

I have a couple IMT-500 tuners and I like them over the intellitouch tuners. The only complaint I have is they rattle/buzz when clipped on mandolin while playing. Very annoying when your playing alone. Probably not a big deal in a group setting. I bought the second tuner hoping the first one was a fluke but they both rattle/buzz. To make things worse there is no contact information on box or directions. Guess they don't plan to stand behind these tuners. Does anyone know how to contact them? All in all considering price they are still hard to beat.

jamann

[Bob Denton]

I just purchased a 2nd on e-bay for $19.

Cya

[garyblanchard]

I loved my Intellitouch...until I tried the Intelli tuner. I agree that it seems more accurate and is easier to use. I don't have to worry about it rattling as I play because I refuse to go on stage with the tuner clipped on the instrument. If I need to retune during the set, I'll clip it on to tune, then take it back off.

I am now a happy Itelli user.

[danmills]

The Intelli and the Meisel are the same beast. Music123 used to have it under their brand too, and for dirt cheap (like $15 or something), but no more. The cheapest online that I know of now is at sharmusic.com, for $19.99 plus shipping. I bought three of them and the per unit cost was about $22. I keep one on my mando and one on my guitar. I sold the other to a friend. I bought three more and gave them to another friend as a thank you gift (one for him, one for his wife, and one for the person in his band who's always out of tune).

I had two Intellitouch tuners that I used before this, but I always managed to knock it off my instrument. Onboard Research (the maker) graciously fixed them every time, and for next to nothing. Great company. Alas, the el cheapo Intelli works as well or better for me, doesn't fall off, and is less than half the price. I sold my Intellitouch tuners on craigslist for $35 apiece, which paid for my two Intellis plus the one I gave to my girlfriend, with change left over.

I read somewhere that someone had one that rattled, so they opened it up, found the offending part, and fixed it somehow by inserting a piece of paper or cardboard or something like that. I haven't had to do this myself, but my friend who plays upright bass complains of the rattle. Maybe I'll experiment on hers!

Dan

[sbarnes]

i bought one based on the previous thread about them two or three months ago......did not care for it but the battery died recently and a new battery and really made it a much better tuner.....still not as accurate as i'd like but much better.....must have shipped w/a weak, old battery......

[jamann]

The Intelli and the Meisel are the same beast. Music123 used to have it under their brand too, and for dirt cheap (like $15 or something), but no more. The cheapest online that I know of now is at sharmusic.com, for $19.99 plus shipping. I bought three of them and the per unit cost was about $22. I keep one on my mando and one on my guitar. I sold the other to a friend. I bought three more and gave them to another friend as a thank you gift (one for him, one for his wife, and one for the person in his band who's always out of tune).

I had two Intellitouch tuners that I used before this, but I always managed to knock it off my instrument. Onboard Research (the maker) graciously fixed them every time, and for next to nothing. Great company. Alas, the el cheapo Intelli works as well or better for me, doesn't fall off, and is less than half the price. I sold my Intellitouch tuners on craigslist for $35 apiece, which paid for my two Intellis plus the one I gave to my girlfriend, with change left over.

I read somewhere that someone had one that rattled, so they opened it up, found the offending part, and fixed it somehow by inserting a piece of paper or cardboard or something like that. I haven't had to do this myself, but my friend who plays upright bass complains of the rattle. Maybe I'll experiment on hers!

Dan

Dan,
If you find out how to cure the rattling/buzzing I would appreciate if you would share your results. I also had to deal with Onboard Research (Intellitouch) and they sent me a new intellitouch tuner without any questions asked. They definitely stand behind their product. I wish Intelli IMT-500 had the same customer service. Unfortunately they do not list any contact information on any of thier packaging. If anyone knows how to get in touch with Intelli I sure would like to know? I'd like to think that if I contact them regarding the rattling/buzzing problem they could resolve it and make a decent tuner even better. For now I will keep taking tuner off after tuning instead of leaving it on.

[8STRINGR]

As I had mentioned earlier in the thread I found through a website (www.gollihur.com/kkbass/) that carries these tuners and their review and remedies for the "rattling" was to take a piece of scotch tape and lay it across all three selection buttons (Flat, ON/OFF & Sharp) this should take care of the problem.

The other rattling that I had witnessed was from an Upright Bass player having it clipped on too close to the strings resting on the bridge. By repositioning it (further back toward the bass/body) the rattling stopped. I just had a violinist try it out by clipping it to the violin scroll and it picked up everything perfect! She's going to that website to purchase one for herself and a fellow fiddle player. # #

[8STRINGR]

Oh, one other reason that I had went with the Meisel MCT-7L was because the clip will open wider to clamp onto my Dobro tuning head, where the Intellitouch (PT1) would not.... and it (Meisel) tunes it in just fine!

[bradeinhorn]

tape works