View Full Version : Tuners......
Lockjaw
10-25-2003, 09:19 PM
I'm looking into buying a rack tuner, however my budget is small. I like the korg dtr's but wouldn't like to pay that much. Can anyone suggest another good tuner, with a lower price. Thanks
Slave 2 the Axe
10-26-2003, 01:33 AM
When it comes to rackmount tuners, there isn't really a wide range to choose from...the only ones that come to mind are Korg and Sabine...
You can always look at ebay if you want one cheaper.
I will say this...DO NOT have the tuner in your signal chain...Any tuner, I don't care how expensive it is or how quiet they say it is, will add noise to your setup.
Always run a seperate signal to your tuner.
jimfowler
10-26-2003, 05:55 PM
get a peterson vs-1. it's incredibly accurate. best tuner you can buy and if you buy used, they're probably close to the same price as the korg or sabine hunks of junk.
why waste an entire rack space by fitting a tuner in? a tuner's electronics don't need that much room...why give it up?
-jim
Zeromus-X
10-26-2003, 06:25 PM
Originally posted by jimfowler
why waste an entire rack space by fitting a tuner in? a tuner's electronics don't need that much room...why give it up?
-jim
Because it's got a lot of lights! The lights per square inch of rack space ratio is extremely high with a tuner!
:p
Seriously... used ones can be found cheap. Someone just sold a beat-up DTR2 for like $60 bucks on the bass forum not too long ago, if it was even that much. Sabines are nice, and cheaper, but they don't track bass notes as well from what I've heard, if that's an issue for you.
Furman has (had?) a power strip with a built-in tuner that was supposed to be decent for guitar (but again, couldn't hold bass notes too well). That means you've got rack lights, power strip, and tuner all in one space... definitely worth a look. They were way cheaper than the Korgs and Sabines, too.
I went with a DTR2000 -- I figured hell, I only have to spend the money once. I'll never lose it, I'll never need to change the batteries, and I'll be able to sell it for half its value if I ever need to... probably even more than that. It's the last tuner I'll have to buy. That's worth the $250 to me, even if a handheld strobe tuner would be more accurate.
TheChopsyWanker
10-27-2003, 12:41 AM
Originally posted by Zeromus-X
I went with a DTR2000 -- I figured hell, I only have to spend the money once. I'll never lose it, I'll never need to change the batteries, and I'll be able to sell it for half its value if I ever need to... probably even more than that. It's the last tuner I'll have to buy. That's worth the $250 to me, even if a handheld strobe tuner would be more accurate.
That's the tuner I ended up getting. And damn am I glad I got it! There's so many options on that thing, and it tracks pretty well. Plus, it looks so damn cool in the dark. :D
And Lockjaw, I've only seen Sabine and Korg rack tuners like what Slave said. I was originally going to get one of the cheaper Sabine tuners, but I figured why not spend the extra bucks on something that will last longer, has more options, and is probably more accurate. And if I decide to sell it later (which I highly doubt will happen), I'd probably be able to get close to what I paid for.
Hepburn
10-27-2003, 05:41 AM
I use a Korg DTR-1 (i think, the better one!)
anyway you can pick them up for about 2/3 of the price if you haggle, as there seems to be a huge mark up on these things.
I bought a DTR-2 a while back and don't use it any more. It was no more accurate than the tuner in my 2120 or my G-major.
jimfowler
10-28-2003, 05:53 PM
go back and read what you're writing...you say "it has lots of options" and my question is this: what options do you need?! it's a tuner. that's all it needs to do.
"it tracks pretty well" great...sounds like a "pretty good" tuner, but the peterson tracks incredibly well, thus making it an "incredible" tuner.
a tuner's quality is based on accuracy, not the volume of lights, "cool" options, or how it looks. buy accordingly.
-jim
tuvokzeta9
10-28-2003, 06:32 PM
I bought the Peterson VT 1... I absolutely hated it. The thing was a complete bitch. It is an awkward shape, the screen can only be read at 1 angle, it is too big for a pedal board and won't fit nicely in a rack, it wibbled like all hell and was a total pain to use. I give it an F-... the thing sucked. I usually agree with Jim on lots of stuff but here I gotta rant. You are better off tuning your favorite CD. I am sure the REAL Peterson Strobe tuners like the 490 Model kick ass... but the VT is a POS. Sorry Peterson... you could have done much better. Sold it for porn and drugs...:rolleyes:
Zeromus-X
10-28-2003, 08:01 PM
Originally posted by jimfowler
go back and read what you're writing...you say "it has lots of options" and my question is this: what options do you need?! it's a tuner. that's all it needs to do.
Why do people need cameras, color LCD displays, and eight hundred downloadable ringers and games on their cellphones?
I bought my DTR-2000 tuner for three reasons -- it's rackmountable, which means I never have to worry about leaving it at the gig; it's got the brand-name reputation which also leads to it having a great resale value; and it has plenty of features which I like.
What kind of features?
Front and rear input. I can keep the thing wired into my rack and still allow the guitarists to use it to tune because they lost their $20 handhelds somewhere in between North Carolina and Maryland.
Large display. I use a wireless; I don't always want to be a foot away from my gear to check my tuning. If I know I bumped into somebody and threw my low 'E' out of whack, I'd like to be able to glance from wherever I'm at and see how off I really am.
Footswitchable mute. Because no one likes to push a button to do it.
Down-firing LED light. This allowed me to bypass having to get a rackmount power strip/light unit and go with one of the higher quality power conditioners that doesn't have lights. The light on the DTR-2000, in hindsight, sucks pretty bad... it's just a single white LED. But it lights up the 2-space rack drawer immediately under it, and that's exactly what I needed it to do.
Chromatic tuning. Lots of the cheap ones seem to just do EADGBE. That sucks when you're tuning to C#.
Accuracy. The Sabines that I tried couldn't hold a C# on the bass.
All of these things contributed to me purchasing the DTR-2000.
TheChopsyWanker
10-29-2003, 01:36 AM
I couldn't have said it better myself Zeromus-X.
And Jim, the more options the better in my opinion. Sure, all I really need it to do is tune, but it's nice to have the added features in the DTR-2000 such as: two sets of inputs, 5 types of open tunings, support for dropped tunings, 3 types of display, reference pitches, built in mic, among others. It's not like I bought the damn thing for the looks. I'm just saying that it adds to the coolness of it. And when I say it "tracks pretty well," I mean that it tracks better than the handhelds and the TU-2 I had. No need to fuckin talk down on me man.
jimfowler
10-29-2003, 09:08 AM
listen bud, you got me wrong...i wasn't talking down to anybody. just asserting my opinion and i apologize if i came across the wrong way. no hard feelings i hope.
tuv- i think the wiggling can be attributed to the sensitivity of the peterson. that having been said, mine doesn't wiggle at all.
and as far as options go, the peterson will support any sort of altered tuning as long as you know the notes. the range easily incorporates low B bass notes. it has reference pitches, built in mic, audio i/o, about ten difference tuning styles (tempered, "guitar" - where the 4ths and 5ths are paid more attention to -, and a bunch others...check the website) but all of those are terribly useful depending on the instrument you're playing. the backlit lcd never gives me trouble.
anyhow...i suppose that if the DTR suits your needs then that's the tuner for you, but i strongly advocate people at least giving the peterson a shot.
-jim
tuvokzeta9
10-29-2003, 10:34 AM
Jim, I just think that the strobe technology does not lend itself well to an LCD display. It was a cool idea and the feature of a zillion types of tuning methods is great but, for me it just didn't work. I usually do my final tuning by ear anyway.
Teles_rules
10-29-2003, 10:42 AM
Originally posted by tuvokzeta9
I bought the Peterson VT 1... I absolutely hated it. The thing was a complete bitch. It is an awkward shape, the screen can only be read at 1 angle, it is too big for a pedal board and won't fit nicely in a rack, it wibbled like all hell and was a total pain to use. I give it an F-... the thing sucked. I usually agree with Jim on lots of stuff but here I gotta rant. You are better off tuning your favorite CD. I am sure the REAL Peterson Strobe tuners like the 490 Model kick ass... but the VT is a POS. Sorry Peterson... you could have done much better. Sold it for porn and drugs...:rolleyes:
You forgot about the smell of the rubber boot :D ;)
No seriously, it is an excellent piece of gear IMO. I love it, though I have to admit that is has a very mediocre building quality.
tuvokzeta9
10-29-2003, 11:43 AM
Dude your quote about bombing for peace is the best thing I have ever read...:D
Welcome to Crazy World...:rolleyes:
JoeyD
10-29-2003, 12:01 PM
I just bought the Korg DT7 for home use and intonation, since it has the BFTS setting and that's what my Suhr has.
For live I have G Force in my rack and that works fine for on the fly tuning.
Joe
I own a Korg rackmount tuner. It has been replaced by a blank rack panel with my name on it, because I bought a Perterson VSAM. The best tuner I have ever owned, or ever will own. It could NOT be simpler to use, and I can read it at gigs even when my rack is offstage. I will never ever go back to the piece of crap Korg rack tuner. Ever.
Ughh... I feel better now!
CJ
Fezziwig
11-05-2003, 04:27 PM
CJ,
How have you integrated the VSAM into your rack based effects? Does it sit in the rack in a way that you can see it, or do you keep it on stage with you?
Lockjaw
11-05-2003, 07:41 PM
I'm up to buying anyone's Korg dtr rack mount tuners from anyone who wants to sell...