Following on from my review of the Peterson Stroboclip for Ukulele I took a look at the TC Electronic Unitune Clip strobe tuner
Video here
And a link to the Peterson Stroboclip is here
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The brightness of the TC tuner is handy when playing outside.
ReplyDeleteCertainly brighter, though the Peterson HD is no slouch
DeleteIn the USA, the UniTune is $29 (from Sweetwater) and the Peterson if $70 (from everywhere). UniTune works great for me. I see Phil Doleman using these as well.
ReplyDeleteI have the Peterson and it is a GREAT tuner and WELL worth the money
ReplyDeleteI have used a TC Polytune on my guitar for several years but always in “unitune” mode. It was so much more accurate than my run of the mill clip tuners that I started to use it on ukuleles and mandolin too. Its fine accuracy is very noticeable on the mandolin’s paired strings (especially the A string for some reason) where the tiniest imperfection is so, so obvious.
ReplyDeleteQ. If a ukulele player and a mandolin player fall from a great height which reaches the ground first?
A. The ukulele player every time as the mandolinist has to stop twice on the way down to retune!
I use a Unitune, and agree that the hinging in one plane is a limitation. But I always clip mine so that the display is behind the headstock where that limitation is much less obvious and it can be much easier to read.
ReplyDeleteNice review, Bad! Maybe the TC polytene would have been a good choice for comparison - it's in a similar price range with the Peterson but has more functions which are nice. Above all, I really appreciate the TC for its decent clip - the first ever clip-on tuner I have come across that is built to last! I agree that it's not super-flexible, but I have no real issues with that as I use it in different angles, which works for me. And finally, it's super-accurate, (as probably the Person also is, haven't tried it yet).
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, as I understand it the additional feature on the is the ability to strum and see the tunings of all strings at once - BUT - it's for guitar tuning EADGBE - not four string uke.
DeleteThat is, by and large, correct (apart from some other minor settings you can adjust). But, to some extent, it also seems to work on the ukulele giving you a rough idea, which strings are out of tune.
DeleteVery good review, Baz. Thank you. I own Snark, Korg, TC, D'Addario and some cheapie electronic tuners. Unfortunately, the Peterson strobe tuner I purchased and returned never seemed to work out all that well but in all fairness, that could simply be a matter of what my eyes, ears and brain were used to. For my eclectic collection of guitars and ukuleles, any one of the tuners I have will suffice for string changes and practicing at home or noodling with others, especially on less expensive laminate or alternate material ukuleles where the intonation is good enough but certainly not great. Now, if I were good enough to perform or record, naturally I'd use one of my better ukuleles and my TC Polytune. For me and my actual old man needs though, all of the tuners I have all work very well. It's just that some are easier to use and read.
ReplyDeleteVery good review Barry. I have the Peterson Desktop Strobo Plus HD Tuner as well as the Strobo Clip HD. The Stobo Plus has some nice features, but it's priced pretty high these days.
ReplyDeleteThe sweetener for ukulele may have changed over the past 4 years. According to the Peterson website, it was originally based upon a Concert ukulele. They had a tenor sweetener that you could download, but you could only access it using a Chrome browser, which I do not use.
I use it at home to tune my ukes, but I have found that if I use the Peterson at my uke club or gigging with friends, I am slightly out of tune with the other players—almost all of which use a Snark. Not by much, but I can hear it.
I can't help but wonder if any standard 4:1 peghead tuners can actually be adjusted to 0.02% cent? Maybe an 18:1 tuner. But a 4:1?
Thanks for the comparison review. I'd heard good things about the TC, but hadn't actually used one. The only other negative comment I have heard about it is that the spring in the clip is too strong.
Got this based partly on your review. Thanks as always, you've never steered me wrong!
ReplyDeleteOn the ergonomics and the odd angle for viewing. I've found that if I attach it "upside-down", i.e., on far side of headstock so it opens towards me under the headstock, the viewing angle is pretty perfect. Problem solved for me. 8-)