New player needs advice on tuners

Joe Huggins · From: Bear River City,Utah, USA

Doug Ernest is building me a Stage One Guitar and just let me know it will be done in a couple of weeks. I would appreciate any advice I can get about tuners. They vary a lot in price so I assume a lot in capability. I would also love to hear any advice to a new player with vary little musical background. Not even sure where to start.

Bill Moore · From: Manchester, Michigan

All you need is a chromatic tuner, the cheapest ones will work fine. You should be able to find one for less than 20.00. go to this link:
http://www.jeffran.com/tuning.php
copy these charts and print them out. That's all you need. Tune your guitar every day, just to get used to hearing how it's done. Later on, you might find you want to make some adjustments to these settings, if so, try it and see how that works. I've played for 30+ years, and this works for me. Good luck.

Graham · From: Marmora, Ontario, Canada

http://www.petersontuners.com/index.cfm?category=37&sub=65

While more expensive than most tuners, you won't find an easier tuner to use for tuning a steel.
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Rebelï¿½

Clark Doughty · From: KANSAS

Hi Joe,
I have a couple chromatic tuners. I give you one if you send me your address by PM............Merry Christmas........clark

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

If you have a smartphone, Cleartune costs three bucks, and you can buy a Peterson adapter on Amazon for thirteen plus shipping and plug your guitar into your phone.
There are free tuners out there as well, and most of them work well.
Clark is a great guy and if he's gonna give you a tuner, that's a deal hard to beat.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Clark Doughty · From: KANSAS

Hi Joe,
It's on the way. You can get the instructions off the web. It's a Sabine NexTune-12Z Chromatic Tuner with Tone Generator. You can do anything you need to do with this little gadget......enjoy.....clark

John Sluszny · From: Brussels, Belgium

John Cadeau · From: Surrey,B.C. Canada

The best by far is the Peterson STOBOPLUSHD. It is the most accurate tuner I've ever used. It also has a list of sweetened tuning temperaments used by many well known steel players. Best tuner I've ever used.

Jason Putnam · From: Tennessee, USA

Peterson app for iPhone works great if you have one!!
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1967 Emmons Bolt On, 1995 Mullen PRP 3x5,Nashville 112, JOYO Digital Delay, Goodrich Volume Pedal, Livesteel Strings

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

The Peterson app on my iPhone5 was inconsistent. I have an adapter to plug a guitar cord into the iPhone so its not just from picking sound from the mic. I worked with Peterson last December on this and nothing was ever resolved.

Although pricey for a new steeler, the Peterson is probably the "Cadillac" of tuners for pedal steel.

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

Petersen Stroboplus HD !
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14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases.

Joe Huggins · From: Bear River City,Utah, USA

If one of you guys could clue my wife about a Peterson, Christmas is coming and if Doug gets me the guitar before Christmas I'll be the first one up that morning. I cant wait. But I have never played a stringed instrument of any kind so this is a huge leap.

Thanks for all the help and as soon as i get the thing I'll have a thousand more questions.

Gary Sill · From: Mt. Zion, IL, USA

The newest model is the Strobo Plus HD. I carry them in stock all the time as a dealer. Once you start with the Jeff Newman presets in the tuner, you will be in tune and no worries about tuning past that.

Please check out my website:

www.sillmusicsupply.com

Tel: 217 433 7455
Gary Sill
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A beautiful Laquer Mullen G2, 2 Nashville 112's, Evans 10" R150 Amp,1982 Emmons Push Pull D-10, Hilton Pedals, 12/8 MSA Superslide, Green LDG, S-6 Fender 1956 Lap. , Gretsch Country Gentleman, red Gibson 2019, ES 335, Quilter, Gretsch Resonator, Eastman Mandol

Arty Passes · From: Austin, TX

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner

Arty Passes · From: Austin, TX

Sonic Research Turbo Tuner

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

PEOPLE, REALLY?!?
You're telling a newbie that, after buying a 4 figure guitar, a hundred fifty dollar volume pedal and a couple hundred on an amp, that he NEEDS to spend between 120 and 180 on a tuner? ANY chromatic tuner will work as long as it either has a real needle or a display of a needle. There's no need to spend more than $30.
Next thing, someone will tell him he NEEDS a Black Box or an Izzy.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Dick Sexton · From: Greenville, Ohio

Quote: "I would also love to hear any advice to a new player with vary little musical background. Not even sure where to start."

I remember the evening I picked up my little Cherokee S10 3&4 from one of the best players/builders in my area. I had never had my hands on a steel or even seen one up close. But I was ready. About 6 months before that night, I had bought Winnie Winston's book "Pedal Steel Guitar" and had read it cover to cover several times. Set up and tuning as well as many many months of study and history of the instrument were covered in that book. A good place to start for any beginner and sold right here on the forum. Tuner? You have several right there on your computer and you've already paid for that.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Good point, Dick. There's a lot of good prose in the Winston Keith book and you can understand the terms and such before you get a guitar. B0b sells that book on the forum. Buy it.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

A newbie needs all the help he/she can get starting out. Tuning and learning how to tune is an essential basic part of the process. Anything that will make that easier is a plus.

I can tune with the Cleartune in my iPhone if I want but I would rather have a dedicated tuner. I can also tune with my old TU 12 tuner. But the Peterson makes it so much easier. The Turbo Tuner mentioned is another one. I have both but like the Peterson best (because I can program it with my PC, not a manual process like the Turbo Tuner).

Arty Passes · From: Austin, TX

They're both great products - that's a definite plus, but once I programmed mine when I bought it I haven't had to mess with it. I have the stomp box version but the other version has some built in PSG tunings and a built in mic.. I like it because it's a true bypass, a true strobe, faster and easier to read, especially in dark situations.
Bottom line is that you can't go wrong with either one.

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

thank you lane! what he said. you'll be fine with the generous free gift tuner.
if you think you need something else in a year, fine ...go for it.

starting out on steel is a fun and adventurous endeavor. don't sweat the finer details until you've got some basics under your belt.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

So the newbie tunes up to 100% accuracy with his brand new tuner, then.........

he leaves the house to sit in with a small group of fellow musicians and he's totally out of tune?

Then what? Confused

Dick Sexton · From: Greenville, Ohio

Merry Christmas Ray, always enjoyed anything I've heard you play.

I think all of the narrative above, only aims to help a new player. This tuner or that is really a moot point if he can't at least be in tune a little when he plays. Instrument in tune/playing in tune = to different things. I believe few on the forum here have any more experience then you in either respect.

I for one would like very much to hear your perspective on getting in tune, staying in tune and playing in tune. I believe others would also. What do you say, lets help this fellow out.

One point... A question asked on an open forum will likely get many responses. Hopefully, some from very experienced players, some from not so experienced steel player/owners. It will always be the responsibility of the questioner, to gleen through the dribble to get to the meat of the subject. Why? Because all who mean well, ultimately may or may not have the correct answers, but will have an opinion. I personally like to see as many responses to any question as possible...

Micky Byrne · From: United Kingdom (deceased)

Hi Joe...I don't know how well your "Ears" are trained for pitch, but Any Cheap tuner will do...Just get all your E's and B's to 440 ....then use your Ears to do the rest of the open tuning and then with your pedals and Knee Levers. If that's good enough for Mr P.Franklin, it will be good enough for us too. Also try to practice in the dark or put a blind fold on...Not joking here, it does train your "Ears" Very Happy

Micky "scars" Byrne U.K.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

What Lane and Ray Montee said. A new player doesn't "need" a $200+ tuner. I use a $24 Seiko chromatic tuner. On the fancy gigs I pull out the Boss TU-2 that I found at a pawn shop recently for $30.

I was using the Peterson Iphone app ($10), but the connector cable seemed to not stand up well to road use.

I see a lot of guys totally angst-ridden about their tuning/tuners in the sterile environment of their music rooms, spending the big bucks preventing cabinet drop, hysteresis, et al. Finally, after deep meditation on the Newman mantra, they achieve tuning Nirvana.

Then they get onstage with the lead guitarist with 009's on his Telecaster, and the fiddle player who's been practicing for a good month or two now and should be ready to gig. Being in tune with oneself is comparatively easy on a modern guitar, being in tune with an ensemble is a whole 'nuther ball of twine.
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

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