Snark SN-5 Tuner for Guitar, Bass and Violin (Black)

I HATE being out of tune. I also tend to get a little heavy-handed with my playing style, and do a lot of string bending, so it's not uncommon for me to have to tweak a "G" or "B" string after a few minutes of aggressive playing. So I have no idea why I didn't put much thought into finding a convenient, efficient, and affordable tuning option for my guitars. Seriously, I own dozens of effects pedals (including two pedal tuners), but what about all of those other times when I'm not using a full pedalboard?Problem solved for less than $10: Enter the Snark SN-5. This thing is crazy fast and accurate. I guess I did not fully realize (or appreciate) that clip on tuners work by contact vibration, not ambient sound (like the way the free tuner on you iPhone might). So you can tune an unplugged electric guitar before you even turn on your amp and hear those awful resonating detuned chords!I think my favorite aspect of this tuner, however, is the speed and stability of the reading. That's a major problem with most audio-based tuners, as they tend to flutter all over the place. The SN-5 identifies and holds a reading for the note you are playing, and responds smoothly as you tighten or loosen the string. It's quicker, more effective, and more affordable than most of the alternatives. When I ordered mine, I wondered why I didn't already have one. Now, I'm wondering why I don't have one for every room I play guitar in!

Wow! This might be the Best Tuner I ever owned! And I have owned a lot of Tuners. The Problem is that their cheap chinese engineered alligator clamps break off... but, yes, I shouldn't blame the Chinese, for, after all, they are only driven by the American Capitalists who give their Design and Manufacturing Contract to the Absolutely LOWEST Bid. American Capitalists only want to buy the Cheapest Crap... well, that is what they get, and what we All end up getting. But, well, if We don't blame China, then maybe China should Blame Itself, for, after all, of all this Cheap Crap that breaks has "Made In China" stamped on it. How Good can that be for the China Brand. Maybe it has a little bit to do with China's recent Stock Market and Currency Collapse. I hope so. That sounds nasty, but I have simply been filling up too many trash cans with relatively new Broken Stuff "Made in China". It is annoying and I can't help but to wonder why the Chinese don't seem to Care. Even if the American Capitalists are mostly to Blame, well, the Chinese seem to be Willing Partners in the Rip Off Scam.Anyway, Somehow, this SNARK Tuner somehow dodged that Bullet. AND THE SNARK TUNER IS STILL PROBABLY THE MOST AFFORDABLE TUNER ON THE MARKET... without have been designed and manufactured to be intentionally CHEAP. The Alligator Jaws are large, short and Beefy, and the Spring not Stronger than the Plastic (most Tuners have Strong Springs and Weak Plastic.... they Break Themselves simply by Design).And, the Swivel Flexible Neck Design and Overall Appearance is ATTRACTIVE. It is a Tuner you can put on the head of your Bass or Guitar and not worry about it being discordantly Ugly. It even looks Kind of Cool.And... it SEEMS to even have a different and Better Electrical Engineering. MOST tuners CANNOT tune the Big Fat B String on a 5 String Bass, or, if they eventually can, it is because you have to pluck the string again and again so that the Tuner Circuit can Integrate a great many Samples so it can finally spit out a Reading. You know... Basses are NOT guitars. Strings are not free swinging Pendulums. To get a Bass String 'going' you have to pluck it... and Bass Strings are under Less Tension than Guitar Strings, and so that causes one to have to Cause More Spatial Displacement of the String in Plucking it... that is to Exert More Tension On the String... and THAT Sharpens the Note. Every Bass Players hears it..... the First Instant after Attack is ALWAYS sharper than the Sustain. So, what does a Bass Player Tune for? ... the Attack or the Sustain. Well, most of the time one is moving and playing so quickly from note to note... it is better to Tune for Attack. BUT to tune for attack, you need a Tuner with a Short Integration Time, and this SNARK has the shortest Integration time I have ever seen in a tuner. you can actually SEE the string, on Strike, go from Sharp and then flatten out. So you can chose to Tune on either Attack or Sustain,,, depending on the tempo and feeling of the song you are about to play.So, I LOVE my New Snark.... oh, if it Breaks... I'll be sure to let everyone know...

I was impressed with this little tuner. It’s the SN-5 which is set up for a standard 440 frequency low E tuning. It clips securely to the head of my guitar and the display pivots to face me so I can easily view the bright screen while tuning the guitar.There is a single button to turn the tuner on. Pick one of the strings and the display shows a meter that is color coded with a green point at the center. There are about a dozen red increments to the left and yellow to the right. It is very responsive and continues measuring the note during sustain. During tuning you can watch the indicator which fills up the dial. When it is centered on the green marker and it’s in tune, the note is clearly displayed in text which tells you if it’s flat or sharp. You can tell at a glance by how many increments are on the dial how in or out of tune you are. Red means it’s tuned low; yellow means it’s high.This tuner makes tuning a guitar very simple, takes the guesswork out of it and allows me to get my guitar in tune very quickly.I know there are a couple of other slightly more expensive models that allow you to set other frequencies and tune a wider variety of instruments. I am still a beginner and am just learning the guitar so this is all I need.What’s more, it has battery saving features. The screen dims after a while and the SN-5 shuts off if you leave it alone for a while. I’m amazed at how well it works and how affordable it is. I also like that you can just leave it on the guitar; it’s small and light weight and doesn’t draw attention to itself but is always there when you need it.I highly recommend it.