How To Use A Guitar Tuner

A guitar tuner is an amazing help to guitar players of all stages of expertise. Every guitar player should learn how to use a guitar tuner early in his career. They are small and compact and will come to your aid when your ear is too tired and emotional to tune your guitar with any accuracy. For many guitarists, tuning the guitar is more difficult than playing it, and a lot of time is wasted at gigs and during lessons trying to tune guitars by ear.

The notes on the open strings of the guitar are E A D G B E. Guitar tuners come in several different forms and perform the work of tuning guitars to varying degrees of completeness.

Although a guitar player tuning his guitar by ear might look cool, the fact is that nobody's ear is as good as a decent electronic tuner. You could forget all about trying to train your ear altogether and just make sure your guitar tuner goes everywhere that you and your guitar go.

An electronic guitar tuner tells the guitarist if the note he is playing on each open string of his guitar is at the correct frequency. Electronic guitar tuners can vary greatly in price but the most expensive is not necessarily the best. Some tuners are just LEDs you can carry on stage with you to tune your guitar on the fly, some tuners are able to tune many different instruments.

There are many guitar tuners available online that simply sound the notes that correspond to the open strings of the guitar and the guitar player has to use his ear to match his guitar to the sound of the tuner.

There are also tuners that are available as free downloads from the internet. Some of these have several different displays to help you tune your guitar accurately and some can tune to various alternate tunings. Learning how to use a guitar tuner of this type would be a good move for any learner guitarist.

Low priced guitar tuners that you can buy at Amazon use a similar method but the difference is that the tuner also has a needle that will indicate how close your tuning is. There are slightly more expensive guitar tuners that do a similar job but have a better quality display.

There is a guitar tuner that clips onto the guitar and "feels" the vibrations coming through the guitar when the open strings are played. Although we can't hear the comparison with this kind of tuner, the result is a little better than with your basic LED display and getting to know how to use this kind of guitar tuner is a little easier.

Korg GA-40 Large Display Guitar and Bass Tuner

Korg GA-40 Large Display Guitar and Bass Tuner

The GA-40 is a dedicated, easy-to-operate guitar/bass tuner with automatic pitch detection. In Guitar mode it supports seven-string guitars (7B through 1E), and in Bass mode it supports Six-String Basses (Low-B and Hi-C). With the precision you expect from KORG, the GA-40 indicates the pitch quickly and accurately.

Features an LCD needle-style display.

The LCD needle-style display provides both the accuracy of an LCD as well as the easy viewing of a needle indicator, and the display has been enlarged for even better visibility. You can also use the built-in high-sensitivity microphone to tune an acoustic guitar.

Packed with Features
With superior features like a large, easy-to-see, LCD needle-style display, the GA-40 dedicated Guitar/Bass Tuner is a great value. The GA-40 is a compact tuner designed specifically for guitar and bass, with excellent performance and convenient functionality. It comes with a large, high-precision meter-type display for stable tuning indication. The Quinta-Flat Tuning mode allows dropped tunings from one to five semitones. It supports tuning of seven-string guitars and six-string basses. Its Sound Out function lets you produce a reference tone from the internal speaker. It comes complete with a Memory Backup function.

Push-button control.

Sound Out Function
In addition to letting you tune visually using the meter, the GA-40 provides a Sound Out function that plays a reference tone through the internal speaker, letting you tune by ear. Each time you press the Sound switch, the tone will cycle through 7B->6E->5A->4D->3G->2B->1E in Guitar mode, or through LB->4E->3A->2D->1G->HC in Bass mode.

Quinta Flat Tuning Mode
To support the dropped tunings used in heavy metal styles to produce a powerfully massive sound, the GA-40 provides a Quinta Flat Tuning mode that lets you detect dropped tunings of one through five semitones. This lets you tune super-long scale guitars that extend below the pitch range of conventional guitars.

Compact and Thin
The GA-40 gives you convenient guitar and bass tuning functionality in a pocket-sized package, making it easy to tune whether you're on stage or in the studio. An output jack (bypass) has been added, making it easy to check the tuning even while you're performing. The stand on the back lets you place the tuner on any surface.

Power Saving Functions
The Auto Power Off function automatically turns the power off after the unit has been left on for twenty minutes, preventing the batteries from running down needlessly. The GA-40 is designed for long battery life, and allows approximately 85 hours of continuous use (continuous A4 input, Meter mode, zinc-carbon batteries).

Reviews

Great! Works perfectly!

I just started on my way tolearn how to play the guitar and having your guitar tuned is one of the most important things as you dont want to get used to the wrong tones on the wrong strings. This little device works great and helps you tune your guitar quite fast and easy. I think it does a great job and I would definitely recommend it. Plus, the price is great!

Great digital tuner

This is a very good digital tuner. So simple to use. Hit the note, and watch the needle on the display. Tighten strings, and repeat. Very handy and small enough to drop in your guitar case pocket.

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Korg CA1 Chromatic Guitar Tuner

Korg CA1 Chromatic Tuner

The Korg CA1 chromatic guitar and bass tuner features an enhanced design with new features based on the best selling Korg CA30 chromatic tuner. High accuracy and superb functionality have made Korg tuners a worldwide favorite. The Korg CA1 tuner packs basic functionality and convenient tuning functions into ultra-compact body with even more features, like a pitch reference tone and marks for pure major thirds and minor thirds.

Small, thin, light and powerful.

Wide Range of Pitch Detection
The Korg CA1 chromatic tuner supports a broad range of C1 (32.70 Hz)-C8 (4186.01 Hz), allowing speedy and high-precision tuning of wind, string, keyboard, and other instruments. This tuner is ideal for tuning even low-register notes containing numerous overtones that are often difficult to tune. A high-sensitivity microphone is built in, allowing easy and accurate tuning of acoustic instruments such as ukuleles.

Ultra-Compact Body with a "Tilt Slit"
Although the Korg CA1 chromatic tuner is small, thin, and light, don't let its pocket-sized body fool you. The CA1 packs the functionality needed for tuning a wide range of instruments. From studio to stage, tuning is easy and convenient. The back of the unit includes a unique arc-shaped tilt slit that lets you insert a plastic card for use as a handy stand.

Features an easy-to-read LCD display.

High-Precision Display and Sound
The meter section uses an LCD needle, combining the accuracy of an LCD with the easy visibility of a needle, and providing a stable display. Additional visual feedback is provided by LEDs that indicate pitch deviation. In addition to visual tuning via meter, the CA-1 can play reference pitches from its internal speaker (Sound Out) for tuning by ear. Each press of the Sound switch will cycle through the A4-Bb4 notes commonly used for tuning wind instruments. Or you can hold down the Sound switch to change the cycle to the semitone intervals from C4 through C5 (one octave), allowing reference pitches for any instrument to be sounded quickly.

Adjustable Calibration
The Calibration function (410-480 Hz) of this chromatic tuner supports a wide range of standard pitches, and can be adjusted in 1 Hz steps for accurate and flexible tuning to any song or key. Thanks to the Memory Backup function, the Calibration and reference pitch are remembered even when the power is turned off. (However, these settings will be initialized when the batteries are replaced.)

Power-Saving Functions
The power will turn off automatically if the unit is left powered-on for 20 minutes without performing any operation, avoiding unnecessary battery consumption. Low-power consumption design allows an amazing 100 hours (approximate) of continuous battery life (A4 continuous input, meter mode, zinc-carbon batteries).

Reviews

Perfect gift!

I purchased this tuner for my 12 year old granddaughter, who plays the cello and the bass. She loves it! I do not play a musical instrument, myself, so, while I cannot rate it personally, she states that it works perfectly for all of her tuning needs. I think that a recommendation that high might be helpful to others who are considering purchasing this tuner for a family member or a friend.

Great Tuner

The Korg CA-1 is a chromatic tuner which allows you to tune in any key. It features a quarter-inch jack for input and a "+" and "-" key for tuning in another pitch close to what you're in. Say I was in G and wanted to go to G1. Hit the "+" button a couple times, and bam it's now calibrated for that pitch. It comes standard with a small condenser mic built in so you can tune a woodwind instrument, trumpet, acoustic guitar or small squirrel. Whatever you need to tune. Super simple and easy to use, Korg has a reputation for producing the best tuners on the market. Weather it's rackmount tuning you need or the cheap-o $20 CA-1 Korg has you covered. My first one worked until it was lost during a show. I am willing to put money down that it would have worked up until now when I needed to buy another.

To the review that says it's "Tinny" sounding...Dude, that's stupid. It's a tuner. It doesn't have an OUTPUT! You plug in your guitar or bass and tune. You can't say that a tuner has any kind of real sound, since you're not really playing through it. A stomp-box pedal tuner may sound "tinny", but that may only be because it might not be true bypass circuitry used. Anyways, this is a great product and completely mandatory if you play an instrument.

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Korg AW2G Clip-on Chromatic Guitar Tuner

Korg AW2G Clip-on Chromatic Guitar Tuner
The AW-1 was a top--selling model that has been popular with musicians of wide-ranging genres for its superb functionality and convenience. The new AW-2 Chromatic Tuner enhances this basic concept by adding the flexibility of an adjustable angle for the display section, enhanced visibility from the built-in backlight, and improved fit to your instrument, allowing the performer to tune in a natural position. The new AW-2G adds a clip that's optimized for a Guitar. With the AW-2/AW-2G, you'll be ready for stress-free tuning in any situations. The tuner display section and the clip section are connected by a double ball joint that provides a broader range of left/right/up/down movement, dramatically increasing the range of adjustment. Even in cases where it was difficult to view the AW1, the AW2 makes it easy to adjust the display section for easy viewing, allowing you to tune in a natural position.


Reviews

Excellent Tuner, Great Display,

Over the years I've gotten, and used, about 6 different electronic tuners and this one beats them all for tuning 6 and 12 string as well as a Mandolin. It is very light and small, making it easy to carry and so light you could leave it clipped on a guitar while you played it.
The back light can be set to on or off, in case you don't want an audience to be distracted, I suppose, from other performers while you re-string or just check the tuning.
It can also be re-calibrated high or low by amounts of 1 cycle per second (up to its limit), and I find the display is very informative and easy to use. When the correct tuning is reached, the lines go from only on line to three, making it very easy get "right on."
It is really great for a 12 string, which can be difficult to tune with any other tuner. I've now bought two (one for me, one for the wife), and we both love them, preferring them to several other tuners, including another Korg or two.
Finally, it's great on battery life (remember to turn it off after using), and the batteries are probably the most common lithium batteries and can be found anywhere.

great tuner!

I've been playing guitar for a few years now, and had three different tuners; this one is by far the best. I received it as a gift, and I was a bit nervous at fist because I wasn't sure it would work, but it works wonderfully. I love the fact that background noise doesn't interfere with the tuning, because I often play in an extremely noisy environment. This is one of my most treasured possessions and I highly recommend it.

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Intelli IMT-600 Guitar, Violin and Chromatic Clip-on Tuner

Intelli IMT-600 Guitar, Violin and Chromatic Clip-on Tuner
This is the Intelli IMT-600 Guitar,Violin Tuner, which is an upgrade to the IMT-500. It has a mode selector switch to choose between Chromatic, Violin and Guitar modes. The IMT-600 is a clip style tuner that picks up vibration directly from the instrument. It can be used on a noisy stage because it ignores distracting noise that can confuse other tuners. It attaches easily to any instrument and has an easy-to-read LCD meter that acts like an analog meter. The Backlit LCD panel illuminates making it easy to see in the dark. Some of the technical specs are: Calibrate from A = 430 to 449Hz with 1Hz step. Quadra flat tuning - no need to remove a capo to tune your guitar. Tuning range: 12-note full range chromatic, A2-B7. Tolerance: +/ 0.5 cents, uses Quartz Crystal. Clearly shows how sharp or flat you are in cents. Powers off after 3 minutes to save battery life. Power source: Coin battery 3volt (CR2032) (included). Overall Dimensions: 45x45x55.8mm, (body only 45x45x14mm). Weight: Approx. 50g (including battery)


Reviews

COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!
Amazing value. My acoustic guitar comes with an internal tuner so I got one of these for my electric and one for my neice's violin. Wow, I just clip it on the head of the guitar and cannot believe that it picks up the vibrations on an electric without the need to get it closer to the strings. This is really amazing to me, and the backlight is just an AWESOME plus. I truly recomend this! It is much smaller than what it looks like, it is about 1.5" square. You don't need anything else if you play violin or guitar as a hobby and if you're a traveling musician, you will still want this along with your other types of tuners. As a matter of fact, I used it for my Oud (an Arabic predecessor of the lute instrument). You'll love it! Take care and keep playing :)

Excellent guitar tuner
If you only have one tuner this is the one you want. It is cheap to buy, easy to use, and small and out of the way if you leave it on the neck. I have lots of tuners and this is my favorite, even though it costs less than the others. Highly recommend.

Great Tuner
This tuner was very easy to use. The display is clear and being able to attach the tuner to the guitar was much better than having to sit it in front of you. Also a great value.

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Korg GA1 Guitar and Bass Tuner

Korg GA1 Guitar and Bass Tuner

The Korg GA1 offers the same excellent features as the top-selling GA30 tuner but with a new enhanced design. High accuracy and superb functionality have made Korg tuners a worldwide favorite. With even more features--like a pitch reference tone and quinta-flat tuning--the Korg GA1 tuner packs basic functionality and convenient tuning functions into an ultra-compact body.
An Easy-to-Use Dedicated Guitar and Bass Tuner
The Korg GA1 is a dedicated guitar/bass tuner that lets you select either Guitar mode or Bass mode for truly easy operation with automatically detected pitch. The wide detection range supports 7-string guitar (7B through 1E) in Guitar mode, and 6-string bass (Low-B, Hi-C) in Bass mode. A high-sensitivity mic is built in, allowing easy and accurate tuning of acoustic guitars.
Ultra-Compact Body with a "Tilt Slit"
Although the Korg GA1 is small, thin, and light, don't let its pocket-sized body fool you. The GA1 can accurately tune any guitar or bass. From studio to stage, tuning is easy and convenient. The back of the unit includes a unique arc-shaped tilt slit that lets you insert a plastic card to use as a handy stand. The meter section uses an LCD needle, combining the accuracy of an LCD with the easy visibility of a needle, and providing a stable display. LEDs that indicate pitch deviation provide additional visual feedback.

High-Precision Display and Sound
The meter section uses an LCD needle, combining the accuracy of an LCD with the easy visibility of a needle, and providing a stable display. Additional visual feedback is provided by LEDs that indicate pitch deviation. In addition to visual tuning via meter, the GA-1 can play reference pitches from its internal speaker (Sound Out) for tuning by ear. Each press of the Sound switch will cycle the output sound through 7B->6E->5A->4D->3G->2B->1E in Guitar mode, or LB->4E->3A->2D->1G->HC in Bass mode.

Quinta Flat Tuning Mode--A World-Wide First
The Quinta Flat Tuning mode supports lowered tunings used in heavy metal styles to give more weight to your sound. Until now, dedicated guitar tuners have supported a maximum of only four semitones below standard pitch. But the GA-1 gives you five steps of flatted tuning, extending as far as five semitones below standard pitch, and supporting even super-long scale guitars that are five frets longer than conventional guitars.

Power-Saving Functions
If you leave the unit powered-on for 20 minutes without performing any operation, the Auto Power Off function will turn the power off automatically, avoiding unnecessary battery consumption. Low-power consumption design allows an amazing 100 hours (approximate) of continuous battery life (A4 continuous input, Meter mode, zinc-carbon batteries).

Customer Reviews...

Wonderful !!
I am new to playing the guitar, and became extremely frustrated with trying to tune my guitar by ear. It was impossible for me, and my guitar sounded horrible! Then, I got this electronic tuner, and my guitar sounded like an actual guitar. It is very, very easy to use. All you have to do is play each open string, and tune it by the guage on the tuner. I could not be happier with this small little investment. I would highly recommend it - especially for people who are apparently tone deaf.
One of the best !!
Being this low priced I didnt think it would work as well but it is very nice. It has LED lights to go by as well as a meter to use. There is also a jack to plug in your guitar or bass. Easy and simple to use I highly recommended it.
Great Tuner, Great Price !!
This tuner is very easy to use and works real good. Whether you are a seasoned guitar player or a beginner, you will find great use out of this. Since they are such a great value I have purchased 3 of them over the years. Simply plug in the guitar to the tuner, pluck the string, and start tuning. It's that easy. I would highly recommend this tuner because it is made well and is very affordable.
Excellent tuner!
Great compact tuner. The Korg shipped with batteries and worked great right out of the box. Allows user to tune electric or acoustic guitars, by either 1/4" input cable or via the built in microphone. And since I own and play both, my purchase worked out great. It also has a built sound emulator, which allows you to tune by ear. So, forget buying an expensive tuner! This little sucker tunes perfect every time. Thanks Korg for designing such an inexpensive and user friendly product. And of course thanks to Amazon for selling. I love it and highly recommend it.

Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuner for Strings

Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuner for Strings

Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuner with backlight is designed to tune Acoustic guitars, Basses, Violins, Banjos, Mandolins and more without interference from ambient room noise. And it does this all without the use of wires, microphones or pickups. Tuning in noisy environments is easy because the unique, flexible clamp uses the instrumentsvibrational energy instead of relying on sound. Plus, the swivel allows a perfect view of the backlit display. The best part is that this quality tuner costs a fraction of what other similar tuners cost.
Tune Like a Pro
Whether you are in a nosy environment or a quiet one, the Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuner is the right tuner for your musical instrument. This tuner clips onto your instrument headstock and allows you to tune it using the vibrations of your strings. This wireless device is indispensible when you are on the road and warming up in a noisy venue. More sensitive than its predecessors, the IMT500 accurately senses even the vibrations of bass notes on dreadnought sized guitars.

Easy to Use and Read

Place anywhere on the headstock.

Small enough to stick in a pocket, the body of the tuner is about 2.25 inches diagonally. The meter screen itself is square at about 1.25 inches diagonally. The scale is easy to read, and is typical for many electronic tuners and easily understood. It has a calibration feature, which takes it from a 430 to a 449-A reference. It also has a flatting feature for use in tuning with a capo. It doesn't matter where you put the IMT500 on the headstock--just clip it on and pluck a string since it already knows which string you are tuning. The jaws of the clip have soft rubber pads to protect the finish of your instrument.

Vibrations Are the Key
Older clip-on tuners used to have sensitive microphones. Not the IMT500. Unlike tuners that use a built in microphone, the IMT500 doesn’t have any problems with interference from ambient noise. This tuner uses nothing but the vibrations of the plucked string. Everything else is automatic. The vibrations themselves tell the IMT500 what string is being tuned and if it is flat, sharp, or just right. The calibrate button to the right of the display screen is used to tune an instrument to a pitch other than 440 Hz. (440 Hz is the default pitch, which equals C with no flat.)

Saves Time and Money
You'll see Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuner at festivals, indie concerts and jam sessions because they are worth their price and more. Less than half the cost of their predecessors, the IMT500 works a whole lot better. The price allows the serious musician to get two--one for practice, and one for the instrument case. Never forget to pack your tuner again.

Customer Reviews...

The Best Tuner I've Ever Had
I'm not a professional, just enjoy strummin' == this tuner is so easy to use! I've had it for several months now and haven't found any limitations or problems with it. It clips on the head of your guitar, uke, etc. I've used tuners that you place nearby and they pick up other sounds while you are trying to tune. The head of the Intell tuner rotates so that you can find the best angle for viewing.
Finally! Amazon offers the Intelli IMT-500
The Intelli IMT-500--The tuner that killed the Intellitouch!

There are scores of chromatic tuners on the market. Most work by using a small built-in microphone that picks up sound waves. In order to be used effectively, the tuning space must be relatively quiet. Many of these tuners have input jacks that allow electric guitars to be connected directly and tuned by the electronic signal they produce. A bunch of years ago a variety of clip-on-microphones began to be marketed. The microphone could be clipped to any instrument and its cord attach to an electronic tuner. Now, anyone could tune an instrument no matter what the background noise.

Then, the Intellitouch tuner hit the market. The entire tuner clipped onto the instrument. One could tune an acoustic instrument in a noisy environment. There was no cord to deal with and the instrument could stay clipped to the headstock or quickly removed and slid into a pocket or case. Talk about convenience. Jams and festivals (bluegrass, folk, whatever) became seas of Intellitouch tuners.

Intellitouch owned the market even though there were so many situations where they did not work well. In particular, they have trouble with the bass notes of dreadnought sized guitars. The more overtones an instrument produces, the worse the tuner behaves. The bass string of a Martin rosewood dreadnought was near impossible to tune without using one of the many workarounds that owners developed. So, it was very much a love-hate relationship. The shortcomings were huge, but the convenience meant that they were tolerated.

Then, came the Intelli. It was an Intellitouch that worked, if not perfectly, then a whole lot better. The amazing thing is that the switch from Intellitouch to Intelli wasn't gradual. Within six months of its introduction, jams and festivals became seas of Intelli tuners. People were throwing their Intellitouches into drawers (if they weren't lucky enough to find a die hard holdout willing to buy one second-hand) to get the Intelli. That's a considerable investment to abandon. But, why not? The Intelli is half the price of the Intellitouch and works a whole lot better. They are so inexpensive that it's easy to justify getting one for the practice area and one for the case so that you don't have to worry about forgetting to pack it.

Anyone who will ever have to tune an acoustic instrument in a noisy environment will quickly find this tuner indispensable. And it works darn well in a quiet environment, too!

Highly recommended!
So easy, even a beginner can understand it
1st off, I have 3 months of guitar experience. I barely know the difference between an "A" and an "E". Tuning was a pain because I havnt developed an ear for it yet. I just received the IMT-500 and its great. Just clip it on and pluck a string. It alreaady knows which string you are trying to tune. When the note is in tune, the tuner line is centered and you move on to the next string. I should have bought this when I bought the guitar. Its small, compact, and the screen lights up a bright green and easy to read. Since it works off vibration, its probably more accurate than a microphone tuner and its MUCH more accurate than when I try and match a tune off a tuning fork.