Lesson 2...Tune a Guitar With Electronic Tuners

In this lesson on how to tune a guitar let's take a look at electronic guitar tuners. These handy little gadgets can be used anytime and any place to help you get your guitar in tune. There are many tuners on the market with different features and a wide range of prices.This lesson will explore some of the options available to help you make an informed decision.

How Do They Work?

Electronic tuners are very easy to use to tune a guitar. To use them simply plug your guitar into the tuner, play the string you want to tune and look at the meter to see if the string is in tune, flat or sharp. If you play an acoustic guitar there is a built in mic on the tuner to pick up the sound from your guitar.

Which One Is Right For Me?

That's a good question. How will this tuner be used? Do you want something simple and cheap to help you tune a guitar? Do you play in a band or plan to and need to tune a guitar on stage? Do you want to do your own basic guitar maintenance? The answer to these questions will help you to determine which tuner is right for you.

With those questions in mind let's explore some of the tuners on the market today.

The Qwik Tune tuners are the cheapest on the market. This model is chromatic which means it has the capability to read any note(sharps,flats). It's also hands free which means you can go from string to string and not have to touch the tuner. On some guitar tuners that are not chromatic(they only do the notes on a guitar or bass), you have to manually switch the tuner from string to string when you tune a guitar.

My experience with the Qwik Tune tuners has been OK at best. They do work but the needle has a hard time settling in on the pitch. If you are on a tight budget this tuner will do the job but if you can spend a few more dollars there are better alternatives.

Qwik Tune QT-9 Guitar Tuner

Here are a couple of Korg tuners. I have had good success with Korg products through the years. The GT 12 is a chromatic tuner and also has the ability to tune a guitar to open tunings.

Korg GT-3

Korg GT-3 Guitar Tuner

Korg GT 12 Chromatic

Korg GT-12 Guitar/Bass Chromatic Tuner

This tuner is a great idea for acoustic guitarists. This tuner can be attached directly to your guitar allowing you to have easy access at times. An ideal way to tune a guitar.

Sabine AX2000W

Sabine AX 2000W Guitar Tuner

My experience with Boss tuners has been top notch. If you want a great, reliable tuner check out Boss tuners. Not only will they help you tune a guitar, but they can be used for routine guitar maintenance(setting your intonation). Boss TU 70

Boss TU-70 Guitar/Bass Auto Tuner

The two pedals below are floor pedals, another option you have when choosing a tuner to tune a guitar. These babies are great for you stomp box users. A friend of mine used an Arion pedal for years. It's a cheaper alternative to the Boss pedal, just not quite as sturdy.

Boss TU 2 Floor pedal

Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner

Arion Hu-8500

Arion HU-8500 Stage Tuner

There are many different brands and price ranges of tuners available. These few that I have talked about don't even begin to scratch the surface of what's out there. The ones that I have listed are ones that I have had some personal experience with. I hope that you have found this info useful in some way. If you have any questions drop me a line at tune-a-guitar@learn-guitar-online.com.

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In the next lesson you will learn how to tune a guitar with harmonics.