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Topic: Peterson Tuners |
Wally Taylor
From:
Hardin, Kentucky, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2006 3:26 am |
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Does anyone have any info on a new tuner that Peterson is coming out with that is supposed to be better for tuning a steel than their current model?
Thanks,
Wally |
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Jerry Erickson
From:
Atlanta,IL 61723
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 23 Jun 2006 6:36 am
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Even if I won the lottery and felt like paying through the nose for one of these luxury items, I'm not sure I'd want to take the time to program in the presets unique to my instrument, copedant and ear. And what about my other guitars. Each is a little different. And I'm not sure I'd want to lug this big accessory around and mess with it at the beginning of every gig and every set. To me it just seems way easier and less expensive to tune carefully by ear a few times and check my Boss TU meter to see where the few exceptions to straight up are. Other than the fact that I tune all my strings a couple of Hz sharp to take care of cabinet drop and stretch tuning, there are only 4 strings on my uni that are "sweetened" by tuneing down to JI (the major 3rds on strings 2, 3, 6, and 10), and they are all tuned the same amount down (3 Hz). There are two or three levers and pedals that have unique tuning for their stops, but I only need to touch those up once a month or so, and I always do it by ear at home. That all seems so easy to remember that I just don't feel the need to lay out hundreds of dollars, and fuss with programing presets, and fiddle with this elaborate accessory every time I'm in a situation where I can't hear and have to tune by sight to a meter.
Furthermore, I don't trust tuning the open strings with no bar pressure. The lower strings seem to go sharp once I put the bar on them with enough pressure to keep them from buzzing. I get the open strings roughly in tune, then I hold the bar at the 8th fret (C fret on E9) for fine tuning by ear. If I can't hear, and have to tune to my Boss tuner by sight, I know to compensate for this by tuning the low strings a little flat. I suppose I could program the same compensation into the Peterson, but that is just one more complication I don't feel inclined to hassle with.
And if you tune everything straight up, of course you don't need a meter with factory or user presets. Any chromatic meter will do.
Finally, the fact that the Peterson can tune to 0.1 cent has no practical use. The rule of thumb is that anything within 5 cents (about 1.2 Hz) is acceptable. But of course you don't want one string 5 cents sharp and another 5 cents flat. So you could consider 2.5 cents (about 0.6 Hz) in either direction as acceptable. It is very difficult to tune closer than 2 cents (0.5 Hz) due to the mechanical gear ratios and slack in key heads (keyless heads are a little more precise). Then when you lay the bar on the strings, and warm them up with your hands and bar friction, they can go off by way more than 2 cents from note to note, even if your bar hand intonation is perfect (and whose is). So paying big bucks to get the 0.1 cent accuracy just seems silly to me.
Bottom line for me - tune by ear whenever you can, as steelers have done since the invention of the instrument. No presets or charts or memorization is needed, and it is quicker than tuning by sight to a meter. And occassionally compare your ear tuning results to what a simple chromatic tuner (like a Boss or Korg) shows, to learn those few strings and stops that need a little sweetening, for those times when you can't hear and have to tune by sight with the meter. But that's just me. If you like to spend money and fiddle with complicated accessories, buy one of these gadgets and have fun. 
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Student of the Steel: Zum uni, Fender tube amps, squareneck and roundneck resos, tenor sax, keyboards
[This message was edited by David Doggett on 23 June 2006 at 07:46 AM.] |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2006 7:22 am
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Any way a person chooses to tune is fine as long as one is happy with the results and the band agrees that the tuning is close to the other instruments. For myself, I find the Peterson tuners to be faster than tuning by ear. The new StroboFlip is TINY so space is not much of an issue. One of the nice features of a tuner is that it centers the tuning precisely so that if something drifts a few cents, you are only 2 cents out of tune versus maybe 6 cents if you were already 4 cents off to begin with. I can tune pretty well by ear but not in noisy environments. The tuner excels at this. It also works fast on setting up fretted instruments for intonation. Entering the presets is a one time deal and after that they consume no time at all. Also the low B on my 5 string bass is covered in normal mode by the StroboFlip and I do have trouble tuning that by ear.
I tend to slant the bar, vary bar pressure and play a little off the frets to stay in tune. This means that no method of static open tuning is going to make playing with a bar, centered on the fret, sound in tune.
Another factor is that it seems there is always at least one person in the band that can't tune his/her instrument and having a tuner makes the whole band sound more in tune if everyone uses it.
EVERY gadget lover should get the new Peterson StroboFlip. It is smaller, has more presets, is priced a little lower than tte VS-II was, auto power off, is protected with the lid closed, covers 5 string bass out of the box and has the coolest glow when running on AC power. The price is even more attractive when you figure it includes the leg attach bracket and remote tuning clip-on.
Greg
Greg's Web Page
MSA/Steel King Sounds [This message was edited by Greg Cutshaw on 23 June 2006 at 08:24 AM.] |
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Wally Taylor
From:
Hardin, Kentucky, USA
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Posted 23 Jun 2006 8:30 am
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Hey David,
You have convinced me! Everything you said makes perfect sense. Guess I was just looking for a shortcut and a cure all when there isn't one. Thanks for taking the time to fully explain tuning. I am relatively new to the steel and your detailed explanation helps me a great deal.
Man, do I really like the forum!
Again,
Thanks. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 23 Jun 2006 2:08 pm
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Well, Gregg has the device in hand, and has been using it, and he likes it and makes some good points. So I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from buying one. My comments were just to add a little perspective. It may be useful for some people, and might help people learn about some of the subtleties of tuning these beasts we play. Anything we learn about tuning is helpful, no matter how you learn it. I suppose once you get one of these all set up with your presets, it could be convenient. So maybe if I won the lottery I would get one.
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Student of the Steel: Zum uni, Fender tube amps, squareneck and roundneck resos, tenor sax, keyboards
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Wally Taylor
From:
Hardin, Kentucky, USA
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Posted 24 Jun 2006 4:47 am
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Thanks Gregg for your input too. YOu do indeed have valid points also in pointing out the size of the tuner and trying to tune in a noisy environment. So, as is so great with this forum, I have two sides to the story and it is great to get differing opinions. Thanks guys.
Wally Taylor |
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