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How many people don't own or use a tuner?

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  • BloodEagleBloodEagle Frets: 5320
    If you need a tuner to tell you that you're out of tune youve got bigger problems than need addressing
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    If you need a tuner to tell you that you're out of tune youve got bigger problems than need addressing
    In a band context with bass and keys and another guitar I can often hear that something is out of tune but not 100% sure what. I know it's not the keys so a tuner is there to give me reassurance it's not me ( well, ok it might be but it's about 90% certain it's our singer's guitar). 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    If you need a tuner to tell you that you're out of tune youve got bigger problems than need addressing


    I prefer a tuner to tell me I'm in tune.
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  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Always use one at gigs, but never at home. 

    I've got decent guitars that stay in tune and I can get to within a few cents of concert by ear so I don't see the need.
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    The other benefit of a tuner is that you get used to being in tune so then you hear it when it's a bit off.  When I was younger, I was playing guitars that were rarely properly in tune, and I didn't know any better.  When I got a tuner, I got used to hearing an in tune guitar, and now hear when something is off where I wouldn't have in the past.
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  • I use a Korg Pitchblack and my Blackstar has an in-built tuner for redundancy. 
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  • We don't use tuners since we tune by ear to the synths - which is just as well because they are a bit out of tune.
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31368
    We don't use tuners since we tune by ear to the synths - which is just as well because they are a bit out of tune.
    You can calibrate most tuners, A doesn't have to equal 440.

    If you're tuning to a synth which is not quite at concert pitch you may as well set your tuner to the same pitch, so you can tune silently in advance.
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31368
    If you need a tuner to tell you that you're out of tune youve got bigger problems than need addressing
    What if your job involves being in tune and ready to go on a silent, darkened stage?

    I'm perfectly capable of telling whether my guitar is in tune or not, but only if I'm allowed to hear it.
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  • koss59koss59 Frets: 845
    If someone is paying you to play then you should not tune out loud unless you are a folk musician or in an Orchestra.
    Facebook.com/nashvillesounduk/
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516

    I can't really see why anyone who plays live would not have a tuner. 

    It's not as if they're hugely expensive or some kind of massive inconvenience.  Stick one on your pedalboard, if you don't have a pedalboard get one of those clip-on things.  Insisting on not having one just seems like Luddism.

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71957
    Philly_Q said:

    I can't really see why anyone who plays live would not have a tuner. 

    It's not as if they're hugely expensive or some kind of massive inconvenience.  Stick one on your pedalboard, if you don't have a pedalboard get one of those clip-on things.  Insisting on not having one just seems like Luddism.

    It depends what you mean by 'playing live'. If I do an open mic I prefer not to use a tuner. I find it more irritating watching someone staring at a tuner for twenty or thirty seconds while no sound comes out than it is to hear a quick check of the guitar by ear, which is much more useful to let people know why you haven't started yet :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    ^  Yes, if it's an environment where you can actually hear the guitar easily enough and there's nothing else to hold the audience's attention, I guess that makes sense!
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Jimi Hendrix used to tune up at his gigs.
    I've heard him, it didn't take him long and the crowd didn't seem to mind. Certainly no-one walked out in disgust.
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  • GuyBodenGuyBoden Frets: 733
    edited August 2015
    Thinking back, many bands played out of tune for years in the 1970's, nobody seemed to care that much. Just listen to some of the old Rolling Stones live gigs, they're way out man.
    "Music makes the rules, music is not made from the rules."
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71957
    edited August 2015
    Philly_Q said:
    ^  Yes, if it's an environment where you can actually hear the guitar easily enough and there's nothing else to hold the audience's attention, I guess that makes sense!
    Yes, it's very much horses for courses. I wouldn't ever try to play a proper gig where the house system has been blasting 'background' music until five seconds before you're on without one, nor a professional gig (eg a wedding) where you're supposed to be providing the entertainment rather than being the focus of the show yourself.

    For most other things it's more about being in tune than how you get there though! I like a bit of interaction and distraction, and hearing musicians tune - as long as they do it in a way that doesn't involve twanging away interminably on the same note - can be part of the 'performance' too. Of course the trick then is to use a tuner but not mute the guitar if you don't want to :).

    As usual ;) I don't disagree that most guitarists can benefit from a tuner - in fact I own several - I just slightly disagree that they're always a requirement, and I do sometimes purposely prefer to use other methods. I even don't *always* mind if someone is a bit out of tune, sometimes it doesn't really matter that much. Live music isn't always about perfection.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • p90fool said:
    We don't use tuners since we tune by ear to the synths - which is just as well because they are a bit out of tune.
    You can calibrate most tuners, A doesn't have to equal 440.

    If you're tuning to a synth which is not quite at concert pitch you may as well set your tuner to the same pitch, so you can tune silently in advance.
    Yes, that is a good suggestion.
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9983
    tFB Trader
    Being of the repair man persuasion I have has a very accurate Seiko tuner for years for setting up intonation. I now use a Korg Pitchblack live ... and at home for practice as it lives on my pedal board. No excuse for being out of tune these days.
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    JezWynd said:
    Best musical invention in the past 50 years.
    After the g string
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4945
    edited August 2015
    Surprised that there is a discussion about tuners! Every guitar player should be able to guarantee that his guitar is in tune. Full stop. I had a pub/wedding band in the 1970s. And I depped in other bands too. Tuning guitars was more hit and miss back then even though I used the harmonics method [shown to me by one of the Showbands guitarist], not perfect as it involved string comparisons. The chances of two guitars being perfectly tuned was slight, three guitars virtually nil. So if you don't have an electronic tuner, get one. And use it every time you pick up a guitar to play.
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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