The Best Clip On Tuner Under 20 Dollars - Guitar Tuners Part 2

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[christopherguzzi]

I started out using a tuning fork, piano, or dial tone of a telephone (yes, I'm that old, and yes, an old school landline telephone dial tone is a low E). So, anyone of these will work just fine, whatever is closest at hand.

[lenbones]

Out of all guitar gear vids over all the years I cant believe the stars have finally aligned and the one thing we all own that costs the least but may actually effect our tone the most finally gets a worthwhile shoot out.. haha props

[TheGorillafoot]

I have had a Snark for a few years now. Have taken it everywhere from BBQs to camping and it still functions flawlessly. I have a Boss Chromatic tuner, but the snark is so easy to just grab.

[joelabbott]

I have six other clip-on tuners Snark, Korg, Boss, Fender, and the Unitune Clip, $29, **in strobe mode** has changed the game and is all I use now.

[charleswallace]

I have one clip on and it's a korg. I have one on my board. Predominantly have used a piano over the years. When I was younger dad had an old analog tuner

[kaicho]

Good info... thanks.
I've been using that D'Addario Micro for years now and it's excellent. I got 5 clipped on the headstocks in cases. Good in noisy environment too; but a little hard to see in bright daylight for old farts like me. Also, this is a much improved to their older model that used up a battery every month or so!

For your nitro finish, after 7+ years it does not appear to affect the nitrocellulous lacquer. The only minor problem I had at first was the ratchet did not hold firmly in place and it would unknowingly just fall off. I just used a heat gun and tweaked the ratchet to hold better.

[ferdberfle]

I've been using a Joyo brand clip on for about a year now. I ran across them on Amazon and bought a 6 pack of them for $18! They seem quite accurate to me, they track right on with the 2 different pedal tuners on my boards. The 6 pack deal price has gone up a little. they're now $22.99, a single tuner is $6.99.

[NCtrailX]

Good review. Thanks for doing the work. Would be great to see a comparison of the Fender Bullet tuner. Looks like a well built simply option.

[majicman]

I have used the Snark and although the display is big and bright I have had the tuner break off the pivot ball so I agree the durability is not as good as others. The Korg I have is not a clip on and was the most accurate but it was an older model without an auto shut off and I killed more batteries than I could count. I love the D' Addario micro tuner and it has the features that flip the display 180 degrees, a metronome, etc. The display changes colors between red, green and yellow to let you know if you are flat, sharp or right on. There are also bars on each side of the pitch letter to help you dial it in to dead center. I leave it clipped on and never take it off. It fits in the case and I never lose it. It's like having a built in tuner. I have found the secret to using it is to clip it between the nut and low E string tuner so it is on the back side of the headstock. It is the most visible there to the user and also the least visible to others. Most people don't know you even have it. I was at a performance and a person in the audience asked "what are y'all looking at on your guitars?" One of the band members quickly responded "we're watching TV."

[davidrizzardi]

After buying and returning 3 D’ADDERIO micro turners because they didn’t work and when they did totally inaccurate. Broke down, spent the extra money and bought a Peterson strobe. It’s awesome and extremely accurate.

[jonathananthony]

Been using the Korg pitch clips since the Gen 1. Love them!!

[christophergallagher]

Both of my Snarks have trouble reading low notes. Both have needed repairs. Shrink tubing to the rescue. The protective pads have been reglued. Finaly the clip gave up. I cut back the pivit point, drilled a hole, and used an existing screw to fasten it to an amp. Now it reads bass notes!
I have been clipping it to amps for some time.
I think these units eat batteries.
My cat absounded with my little DD'ario. The clip is still on the guitar.

[steviegenoski]

I use a Snark Super Tight and a Boss TU-2 and have no issues with either on. I've dropped them both several times and they still function with acceptable accuracy. The Snark is more adjustable but the Boss is more sensitive and compact.

[alchristensen]

Cool, I was just shopping for one of these.

[curtisy]

I have a deltalab clip on tuner I bought for $13 like 6 years ago and it is very easy to use and easy to see and I have dropped it a few times and it is still intact

[thomasmoore]

The dadario is great for size and keeping on the guitar in the case. I put it down by the 6th string tuning peg. I use it but my martins don’t sound in tune with it. I have to adjust the tuning. My favorite is the tc electronics poly tune. To my ears my guitar sounds much more in tune with it.

[BrotherBrownMusic]

Great review, everybody should go in depth like this!

[katipunero]

Thanks for the honest and accurate review, I've been searching for best tuner, you helped me to decide what to buy.

[paulacurran]

Thanks, Dylan...this was interesting.My son restrung my other son's guitar for me and gave me a clip on tuner. I haven't played at all since i was very young and am looking forward to relearning how to play. I really enjoyed your discussion and how you tested them against each other and the rationale for choosing one over the other.

[Cryanoutloud]

This is such a great topic, and I really appreciate all the effort you put into this! ill throw my 2 cents in- the only tuner ive ever had issues with would be the snark. The “high accuracy” gold one only worked about half the time. It would turn on but not register a note. I noticed it being a little glitchy and should have sent it back right away but didnt. Eventually the ball and socket joint broke off so thats that. I have the daddario micro tuner and that is nice but I kind of prefer to leave that on a guitar for good. They arent as easy to put off and on, and you have to be pretty careful with how u position it to have the correct viewing angle.