Snark Tuner - SN1 v. SN2

[Malcolm G.]

I have all three - the 2 and more-so the 5 have extended ranges and might be useful on double bass, horns, flutes etc. On my banjos, mandos, ukes and guitars, I find no difference.
I think there is a little snob appeal with the color. "Oh, you only have the blue....".

[allenhopkins]

Just to bump this thread, with another warning about the SN2 ("the red one"): there's a little switch on the side that selects contact or microphone mode. If you inadvertently leave it on "microphone," the tuner won't turn off automatically after two minutes without being used. The ambient noise around it will be enough to keep it registering, and your battery will get used up. I've done this -- twice! -- and since the batteries are $5 each at Radio Shack, it's not a trivial issue.

So check to make sure you've put the switch on "contact," or turned the tuner off manually, or both.

[Treblemaker]

I have several red ones.
It is remarkably better than other clip ones IMHO and especially for upright bass.
I have found that most clip-on tuners are not sensitive enough to handle the low E string on an upright bass.

[Fretbear]

There are two black models; one that looks exactly like the blue one (SN-1) and is the same, with the same specs. (no external mic., etc.) Info at Snark said these black ones were released soon after the initial release and were not put on the website, and were initially only for Guitar Center, but are now available elsewhere (UK, etc.) This other black one, the SN-5 for violin and bass, and with the longer thinner neck, also lacks the external mic and is not a chromatic tuner. The full-featured tuner, the red SN-2 (external mic, fully chromatic) is the one they should make available in black; as right now it is the only one that is not....

[Ed Goist]

Fretbear; thanks much for the clarification. So, technically, the SN-2 (red) is the 'top of the line' clip-on Snark?

[Rob Gerety]

Just to bump this thread, with another warning about the SN2 ("the red one"): there's a little switch on the side that selects contact or microphone mode. If you inadvertently leave it on "microphone," the tuner won't turn off automatically after two minutes without being used. The ambient noise around it will be enough to keep it registering, and your battery will get used up. I've done this -- twice! -- and since the batteries are $5 each at Radio Shack, it's not a trivial issue.

So check to make sure you've put the switch on "contact," or turned the tuner off manually, or both.

Ahhh - that explains why I drained my battery. I did discover recently that the switch was inadvertently left on mic. Great tuner. But I need a new battery!

[Bigtuna]

I love mine, I've got the red one, SN2? I think. Everyone who uses it is impressed, it has sold itself a number of times among my friends. The price is right, it works, it doesn't eat batteries like my old tuners.

[DerTiefster]

I, amateur that I am, was amazed that I liked the SN-2 so much. I bought one for myself. I bought one for my daughter. I bought two more for myself. I bought one for the church worship band leader. I bought one to replace that. Pricing has been averaging $11 each net through shipping. You can find $7 pricing, but it comes with $5 shipping. I tested that vendor by configuring an order for 3. I found no S/H break for multiple small items -- total price $36. Or you can find $11 pricing with free shipping. Your choice. I ordered a Janet Davis Ultimate Mando songbook plus SN-2. That padded the order to above that vendor's free S/H threshold, so the SN-2 incremental cost was only ~$7.

Allen's observation about the mic switch should help reduce the dead battery "body count." Thanks, Allen.

[Tom Haywood]

I have found one problem with the red tuner - really a good problem to have. Was getting ready to go onstage at an outdoor event, sitting maybe 50 feet from the PA speakers while the band ahead of me played an acoustic set, trying to tune my HD28. The tuner kept registering notes when I wasn't playing any. I thought it was in speaker mode, but it wasn't. Turned out the guitar top was vibrating sympathetically with the music, and the tuner was so sensitive it was reporting their notes. I had to tune between their songs. This was probably caused by the PA mains being so loud, since it has not happened on stage in front of monitors.