Intelli IMT-500 vs 'Other' tuners.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I know that there's another 'Tuner' thread going on here,but i want to ask a more specific question. I have 2 IMT-500 tuners,& for 'general tuning up they're fine.However,when i've re-strung a Mandolin & come to do the initial tuning up,they fail to respond very well.. They're slow to respond & even when getting close to the correct note,the 'needles' flirt back & forth,above & below the note.It's only when you come to tune up the second string of a pair,that it settles down.
Question - Has anybody else found this to happen with the IMT-500 & if so,which 'other' tuner did you replace it with ?.
I know that quite a few folk are using the 'Snark' tuners - are they any better at 'locking on' to the note while you're tuning ?. I've found the IMT-500 also sometimes fails to recognise the difference between the G & D notes.
There are several different 'Snarks',But the 'Super-tight' model seems to be what i'm maybe looking for - i'd really appreciate your opinions folks ?,
Ivan

[almeriastrings]

I find the Snarks lock on well, and are very stable. The shorter "neck" model is a better bet IMHO, as I've had the long, adjustable neck kind break on the ball joint housings. The Snarks are also very good value. I'm sure you will get recommendations for the NS Mini by Planetwaves, too. Also nice and clear, I do not think the readout is as quite stable as the Snark, however, and mine did mark a headstock.... still a good tuner, though.

[bmm5255]

I've found the IMT-500 also sometimes fails to recognise the difference between the G & D notes.
There are several different 'Snarks',But the 'Super-tight' model seems to be what i'm maybe looking for - i'd really appreciate your opinions folks ?Ivan

This is the reson I gave up on my IMT-500 over a year ago now. Sometimes it wouldn't even recognize the G string on my mando at all. I could be very frustrating. I went with the red Snark and never looked back. It gets it every time. I even bought one as a gift for a friend that plays bass, and he loves it. He never has a problem with it recognizing a particular string on the bass.

By the way, I just bought the new Snark SN-8, the new black Super Tight. Honestly, I think I like the old style display on the red one better. The new one doesn't really seem to lock on to the note any quicker, and the display doesn't seem to be as accurate. In fact the display having fewer "calibration" marks, seems to have the effect of making it touchier and less accurate to me. I can see where the newer one may be easier to read in bright light, but I have never had that problem with the old style. Think I'm going back to my red one. Hope this helps.

Bruce

[allenhopkins]

Many tuners can have trouble -- usually just a passing transient -- distinguishing between the fundamental vibratory frequency of a string, and the "harmonics" or "overtone" frequencies. Strings vibrate not only in a single arc, but to some extent in smaller components as well. So your tuner may read "D" as well as "G" when tuning the G string. Good tuners just flash the "overtone" quickly, then go to the fundamental, but others may stubbornly insist that a "G" is a "D."

I've run through a half-dozen types of tuner, and right now am using the red Snark, which has some issues with fragility of construction and battery consumption, but seems to do the job pretty well. What amazes me, as an old fogey, is the improvement in tuners over the past 20-25 years. Somewhere in a drawer there's an old chromatic tuner, about half the size of a brick, that cost me $79 when it first came out, and I thought it was a miraculous step forward. Now you can get a clip-on for $15-20 that runs circles around the old one.

Geez, I'm old...

[Ivan Kelsall]

Bruce - Thanks for your comment specifically re.the Snark 'Super Tight' tuner.I did a web search yesterday & they don't seem to be available over here in the UK.At least all the stores that i found that sell the Snark tuners didn't stock that one - maybe a bit too new yet.The SN-8 is quite heavily discounted by some US stores,i wonder if maybe it's not been accepted as well as the others.
I was going to order one from one store,only to find out at the 'check-out' point,that they don't ship to the UK.The SN-8 at that store was $14.99 US.
Allen - My Intelli's both have the stubborn streak when tuning up from re-stringing.You have to nearly be in tune before they pick up on the note. I might just have a look at the red Snark,
Many thanks - Ivan

[mandobassman]

I have the IMT 500 and a couple of Snarks. IMO, they seem to have opposite problems. While the IMT-500 is slow to respond, the Snark always seems to overshoot the mark before settling down to pitch. In the long run, they seem to take the same amount of time to tune accurately. The problem I have with the Snark is the arm is too flimsy. I have two of them, one for my bass and the other for the mandolin. The one on the mandolin broke the first time I used it in a gig. I don't like keeping it on the headstock while I'm playing so I used to always put the IMT-500 in my pocket during a set. I did that the first time with the Snark and the arm joint broke. I had the IMT-500 for 5 years and never had a problem. I like the Snark, I just wish they would improve the connection. I have read about the "shorter neck" model, but they all look the same to me.

[Michael Richmond]

I started off with a IMT-500 and then switched to a Snark red. For over a year now my two Snark red tuners are my primary tuners. When I am re-stringing or anything where I expect to be long way out of tune I rely on the Peterson Stroboscope application on my iPhone.

[Ivan Kelsall]

The Peterson Strobo-clip seems to be almost the 'standard' by which the other clip ons are judged.However at £54.99 UK ($87.0 US),they're a bit pricey.
Are these two related ?
,
Ivan

[eadg145]

I have an IMT-500, but I find that I don't use it very much. Aside from the note recognition issue, it also has buttons that rattle, and I find that most annoying. I generally use an Intellitouch PT-10. I like it enough that I now have several of them around.

[rudy44]

I have a LOT of tuners (It's somewhat of a fetish for me...) and the IMT-500 is the only tuner that I can truthfully call "innacurate". I (and several of my friends) have noted that you can watch the needle of the IMT-500 and change the pitch noticably on the instrument and never see a related change on the tuner display. That ain't right.
I have both the SN-2 and "super-tight" SN-8 tuners (told you it's a fetish!...) and the jury's still out on which one I prefer. I think I actually like the original SN-2 a bit better, although the SN-8's black case isn't quite as garish as the SN-2's grotesque red. The SN-8 has fewer bars and the change in pitch between adjacent bars is obviously courser. The SN-2 locks on so fast that I can't percieve much of a differance when using the SN-8 super-tight.

[AlanN]

others may stubbornly insist that a "G" is a "D."

Yeah, my red snark does this pretty consistently, telling me the A string is the E string...I know what it means.

Somewhere in a drawer there's an old chromatic tuner, about half the size of a brick, that cost me $79 when it first came out, and I thought it was a miraculous step forward. Now you can get a clip-on for $15-20 that runs circles around the old one.

lol, we got the same drawer...

[Jim Garber]

Snark - Intelli IMT-500 SMACKDOWN

[John Flynn]

I own two IMT-500s, as well as an old Intellitouch and three red Snarks, as well as the Cleartone iPhone app and a bunch of non-contact tuners. I can't afford MAS, so I indulge in TAS! Each of them has its own limitations and quirks. I find I just need to roll with that for each model. For me a tuner just gets me in the A=440 "ballpark," then I sweeten it up by ear.

I have to say that my new favorite tuner is this new Planet Waves mini-headstock tuner. That thing is handy. I keep it on the headstock all the time, it's hardly noticeable, it's easy to read, locks up fast, seems very accurate. The price point is so nice I'm tempted to replace all my other tuners with these. I know I will buy at least one more.

[Jim Garber]

John, I can't quite tell from the pics but it looks like that Planet Waves mini only clips on flat headstocks -- it would not be good for fiddles or oddball headstocks?

Also, what is the story with this other Snark tuner. SNARK SN8 Clip on Super Tight All Instrument Tuner

I have the red SN-2 and it is fine. Is this an improvement over that one?

[foldedpath]

I have a LOT of tuners (It's somewhat of a fetish for me...) and the IMT-500 is the only tuner that I can truthfully call "innacurate". I (and several of my friends) have noted that you can watch the needle of the IMT-500 and change the pitch noticably on the instrument and never see a related change on the tuner display. That ain't right.

And there lies the trick with tuners that "lock on" more quickly than others.

The internal function is basically the same with all tuners; averaging the waveform of the input tone to find a single frequency (which some tuners do better than others), and then referencing that frequency to a musical pitch. The big difference is in how tuners display that information.

If you're the designer of a tuner, you have a choice about how sensitive to make that display. If you make an LCD needle or LED ladder display too sensitive, then the user will spend more time chasing the pitch when tuning. If you give the display a bit of null zone near the desired pitch, then the tuner will appear to "lock on" more quickly. And maybe you'll sell more tuners, because the word gets around about how well they work.

That's why I like the Peterson StroboClip tuner. It doesn't have a null zone, and it shows a portion of the harmonic series as well as the fundamental. It may not "lock up" as quickly as a cheap clip-on tuner, but that lock can be deceiving.

[bmm5255]

John, I can't quite tell from the pics but it looks like that Planet Waves mini only clips on flat headstocks -- it would not be good for fiddles or oddball headstocks?

Also, what is the story with this other Snark tuner. SNARK SN8 Clip on Super Tight All Instrument Tuner

I have the red SN-2 and it is fine. Is this an improvement over that one?

Hi Jim,

I a gave a quick comparison between my SN-2 and my SN-8 in post number 3. At this point, I really think I like the SN-2 better. Hope this helps.

Bruce

[Jim Garber]

Thanks, Bruce. I somehow missed that.

[John Flynn]

Jim: I think the Planet Waves mini is pretty much designed for flat headstocks. It MIGHT work on others such as you suggest, but I would want to test it out first. I will also say that the mount will likely fit 98% of flat headstocks, but there is a possibility it may not work on a really thick, flat headstock, like I have seen on a few slotted headstock guitars. The "jaws" only open so wide.

[bmm5255]

The Planet Waves also will not work on instruments with a very tight Snakehead. Not enough real estate. I also have a Planet Waves Mini, and although it seems to work fine, and certainly is handy if you can leave it on, I have the same complaint about it as I do the new SN-8 that I noted in post #3. Because of fewer "calibration" marks, the display just doesn't seem as accurate.

Bruce

[Mike Snyder]

I find the SN-8 faster and finer in discrimination than the red snark. The number of "calibration" marks mean nothing to me. When the tuner centers up on a string it's right on. I have the red one on a tenor banjo and the black on my mandolin. Both work fine. They eat batteries quicker than an Intelli but the Intelli just felt and acted cheap to me. Wal-Mart isn't running out of batteries.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Well judging by the YouTube clip posted by Jim,it would seem that all is well in Intelli IMT-500 land. I wish that a clip had been made of an IMT-500 being used to tune up a mandolin's G & D strings from scratch.Neither of mine respond in a positive way to any note until i'm almost on the G & D notes. Once in tune though,they work fine,
Ivan

[bmm5255]

My IMT-500 is very inaccurate even when I am within a cent or two of being in tune. It seems to always misread the G string on any of my mandolins. And heaven forbid I loan it to a guitar or bass player. It's a mess on the lower strings. This is an area that either of my Snarks excel in.

As far as battery life, I seem to be getting right at a year on my Snark SN-2. The SN-8 hasn't been out long enough to tell. On the SN-2, unless you have the mic on, it will shut itself off after a bit if you accidentally leave it on.

Bruce

[dochardee]

I thought I was the last mandolin player in the world to change to the NS mini headstock tuner. I don't use my IMT-500 any more. Having the tuner clamp on right behind the nut makes lock up real fast and stable, and the visibility is great.

[bmm5255]

My NS Mini won't fit behind the nut on either one of my current mandos, or the one I just sold. There is not enough clearance between the truss rod cover and the strings. Great spot for it if it does though.

Bruce

[neil argonaut]

I received an Intelli IMT - 500 this morning, thinking it was about time I moved to a clip on tuner I could use in a noisy environment; It seems to work fine, however, there is one problem that's really bugging me - the buttons on it rattle when shaken, and sometimes when I play certain notes it vibrates them causing an annoying buzzing sound, which doesn't influence the working of it, but means I can't leave it on while playing; anyone else had this problem?