Crazy-good (and cheap) polyphonic clip-on tuner

spinland
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:26 pm

As one who recently discovered this gadget I feel I should mention it for those who don't yet know: the TC Polytuners are Da Bomb Diggity.

I hear the pedal and mini pedal kick ass but, for those of us who don't (yet) use a pedal board, the clip-on is killer. I no longer need to lug my bulky old Korg tuner around, nor jack in my PRS because the Korg's mic can't hear it over ambient noise. Tuning is quick, painless and spot-on, and the strobe tuner is good enough that I used it to set the intonation after I replaced the bridge on my PRS.

Oh, and it's cheap. Win win!

http://www.tcelectronic.com/polytune-clip/


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auntlynnie
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:53 pm

I clicked on it (I should know better by now) and all I get is a big ad, testimonials, and no prices.
I hate that.
Lynn


unclewalt
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:06 pm

auntlynnie wrote:
I clicked on it (I should know better by now) and all I get is a big ad, testimonials, and no prices.
I hate that.
Lynn
Agreed, but I searched on it. It's $50 on Amazon, and carried widely by music retailers at abut the same price.


spinland
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:06 pm

Well, honestly, I expect few people actually buy from the manufacturer. I linked their page for help in assessing the device's potential but not a particular vendor so as not to be in the position of endorsing any particular one.

Amazon, Sweetwater, Musician's Friend...I expect the sources for actually ordering one are legion. :side:

For quick reference the street price seems to be around US$50, and here are a couple of well-known vendors:

Amazon

Sweetwater

Hope that helps!

Mark


spinland
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:08 pm

unclewalt wrote:
auntlynnie wrote:
I clicked on it (I should know better by now) and all I get is a big ad, testimonials, and no prices.
I hate that.
Lynn
Agreed, but I searched on it. It's $50 on Amazon, and carried widely by music retailers at abut the same price.
Yepper! :side:


spinland
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:41 pm

Apologies for any unintended annoyance.

When I bring up things I figure people might be interested in, my general approach (after gushing about my own liking for them) is to provide the initial pointer to get folks started and then to step back while they research for themselves whether they are also interested. I try to avoid muddying the waters with personal bias with respect to details. In the case of products such as musical gear, where personal tastes and opinions vary widely, I figure simply pointing to the original source is sufficient and that folks will take it from there if they so desire.

I'm also a veteran of decades of online shopping and the associated research when making buying decisions (which really just means I'm set in my ways), so to me it was second nature simply to link the manufacturer and expect people would then do some searching and/or take that information to their vendor of choice.

I get that everyone has their own preference, and it's all good. B)

Mark


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auntlynnie
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:52 pm

No worries, and sorry, I'm probably just having a crabby day, and should have just hit delete instead of posting.
Cheers,
Lynn


spinland
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:54 pm

No worries here, either.

Best wishes and big smiles for the day getting better! :lol:

Mark


wrsomers
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 7:30 pm

All of these new tuners are great except for one thing...a guitar cannot be tuned to perfect pitch, It won't sound right because most of the thirds will sound sharp. My favorite tuner is free...it's an app called PitchLab Pro and is an app for Android phones. It is amazingly accurate and allows you to tune to the best temperament for an acoustic guitar which is (6th string to first): E 82.3; A 109.7; D 146.6; G 195.6; B 146.4; and e 329.0. All of these frequencies are 3 cents lower than perfect pitch and have worked really well for me. Give it a try. If your guitar has good intonation, I think you will be very happy with the results.

I think any tuner that doesn't indicate cents is just a guessing game.

Bill


spinland
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Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:50 pm

Cool tip, Bill, thanks!

I do well remember that thread here about tunings and found the insights fascinating. I still tune to standard for now, mainly for simplicity, but as I learn more I expect to start exploring that level of fidelity.

The TC does indeed do cents, and in strobe mode you can fine it down to within 0.02 cents plus or minus the target, and define those targets. I also just found an iPhone app (also free) that sounds similar to yours and I shall be checking it out soon.

So much coolness out there. :side:

Mark


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