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I am a new Luthier and I have been getting by with inexpensive chromatic tuners. Korg or Boss. What kind of tuner do the pros use and why? I see a lot of Luthiers and builders use Peterson strobe tuners that are around $200 the blue ones... What will work. I need many tools still so I dont want to drop 2bills or more on a tuner if it is less then a requirement.

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 I am going over to the local Music Store (Long and Mquades) to order a Peterson Stroboclip headstock clip on tuner. $72 bucks up here Canada way.  I know of many Luthiers and repair folks up here that have retired all their other tuners for this one... 

I have a peterson vs-2. If I could go back in time, I'd get a sonic research turbo tuner instead. The peterson is made in china and certainly looks, feels and acts like it. The turbo tuner is made in the USA.

I also have the Sonic Research turbo tuner and think that it sucks...  I bought it about a year ago and tied as I might to like the thing but the UI (user interface) and I don't get along very well.  So I gave it to a friend who wanted it and he tried it and gave it back....

Another friend wants to buy it from me and I'm just going to give it to him not being one to exchange money with friends.  Hope it doesn't come back once again....

So it seems that everyone is comfortable with the Peterson app. I just bought a snark it's awesome works better then my delta labs vibration tuner. But for those fine adjustments does the Peterson app work just as we'll as the vsf Peterson strobe tuner (flip top). How or why are the big expensive($1-$3k) tuners more accurate then let's say the Peterson app tuner.
I use the Peterson Stroboflip when I'm setting intonation, but mostly I use my tuning fork for general tuning or initial string tuning. Always trying to use my ears.

The Peterson app is no frills.  You can tune all manner of ways but no additional features such as a spectrum analyzer.

I'm an old marketing and computer science guy so I love technology... if it works... and from an engineering stand point the IPhone app from Peterson is fantastic in my view.

From a marketing perspective I think that Peterson shot themselves in the foot by offering this app that really is an excellent substitute in most, not all, instances for Peterson's pricier models.  On the other hand software is a game of "sunk costs" where development costs once absorbed can be amortized over sales and the life of the product without any additional manufacturing costs.  I could be wrong but if I were Peterson this app should be selling for in the $25 range...  Get em while we can before they read my recommendation to raise the price...;)

Before I ever considered purchasing Peterson's pricier hardware offerings again I would save some money and license the deluxe version of Peterson's StroboSoft for the computer, Mac in my case.  I have this software and it does more than the hardware versions of Peterson's offerings, cost less, has an excellent GUI (graphical user interface) and is feature rich.  

I've used it for tap tuning, diagnosing issues where a client or I believe that we hear something but need to quantify it, and many other uses.

The days of the hardware based tuner may be coming to an end.

Peterson VS2 on my bench. Works very well. I have a clip attachment for it, and the a bunch of different small clip-on brands. I still use the old fork once in while. Love that piano key tuner Harrison!

I have an older Android phone and found an app called Datuner that works very well. It is very accurate, easy to read and use, etc. I have the first model of digital strobe tuner made by Peterson and haven't touched it since I found this app. Both the Peterson and Datuner have tons of features I have not found a use for. Maybe if I was intonating historical or hysterical instruments they would come in handy.

The one thing I am lacking using Datuner is a cable to hook my phone up to a transducer. Android phones take a standard 1/8" plug. Anyone know of something that might work? I imagine I could change the plug on a regular clip-on transducer for a 1/4" jack but would prefer to find something already made. 

Doug, Have you tried using a 1/4 to 1/8th adapter? I wouldn't use one for playing  but they should be OK for this purpose.

I'd be careful - those jacks on phones can have a little voltage going through them, and you don't want to short anything out. Check what the manufacturer says.

Thanks, Mark. I hadn't thought of the voltage issue. It makes sense since I can plug both headphones or a credit-card swiper into the same jack! 

Korg tuners are probably one of the most reliable inexpensive tuners out there. I use one too but very rarely. I am a strong believer in Peterson stuff but money is always tight, so the dream will persist for quite some time.

Clip-ons are not bad for a player, but very inaccurate for what I do, the best one out there in my opinion is the Planet Waves NS tuner, I never got along with a snark. The NS does lie a little, I got my set at 439hZ altough in reality the guitar is referenced at 440.

One of the best tuners I have dealt with is within my Line6 GuitarPort computer interface, and I am dead serious. That thing never let me down, even the most prolific and experienced guitarist haven't complained about my settings and I do all my repairs with it.

For free stuff, nothing beats DaTuner for Android smartphones, incredibly accurate, plus fancy looks.

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