Rich's favorite types of guitar tuners

When I say "guitar tuner" I'm not talking about the tuner keys that wind/unwind strings but rather small little devices that assist you with tuning your strings.

Before I list off the devices I do like, I'll list the ones I don't like first.

• Tuner-in-a-pedal- Complete waste of space, and bulky.
• Standalone box- These are little gray or black boxes that operate on battery that you have to plug your guitar into to use. These aren't bulky, but annoying.
• Rack-mounted tuner - Biggest waste of space there is. You're devoting an entire 1U rack space just for a tuner.

My favorite types of tuners

On-board to the guitar itself

Certain acoustic guitars have tuners built right in, such as Ibanez AEL20E. As far as I'm concerned, all electric-acoustics should have an on-board tuner.

Clip-on

The Snark Clip-On tuner is fantastic. Clip it on and tune up. And the display is just plain cool looking. It even comes in different colors like red and blue.

Headstock

The Planet Waves PW-CT-12 NS mini headstock tuner is just plain awesome, mainly for the reason you can leave it clipped to your headstock all the time if you wanted. Small, easily readable and stays out of your way. You can even leave it there when performing live so you can do super-fast quick tunings between songs.

Published 2012 Jan 21