Very Quick
"The ball socket on the back of the tuning head broke fairly quickly when I forgot to remove it from the headstock before putting it in the gig bag (Protec Contego semi-rigid hybrid case with a little more room around the headstock than your average padded bag)."
"Better to just get this functional clip-on cheapie, or invest in a good tuner with a backlit needle meter LCD display and audible metronome if your needs are more exacting."
"However, most people don't play softly, so they make the mistake that almost everyone makes: they pluck each string and wait like 15 seconds till the ringing fades out, & so they are generally tuning each string as it begins "softly" resonating."
"Either the "rubber feet" that come into contact with the head stock of the guitar will come off and get lost or the little ball joint that connects the tuner's head to the clip part will break."
"If the Snark doesn't fulfill all your expectations and prove to be the best "bang for your buck" out there in headstock-mounted tuners, pass it along to one of your friends- who will in turn probably love it and buy another dozen for their friends!"
"One suggestion for any younglings reading this: take it from an old f*** - electronic tuners are great, especially for tuning back stage or in other places where it isn't quiet but please, do yourself a favor, and learn to tune by ear."
"It has a nice bright easy to read display in any lighting situation and makes tuning a breeze and not a hassle (just as it should be - I've personally always hated those Boss pedal tuners)."
Snark SN-8 Super Tight All Instrument Tuner (Compare Deals from $14.99)
Quick
"The ball socket on the back of the tuning head broke fairly quickly when I forgot to remove it from the headstock before putting it in the gig bag (Protec Contego semi-rigid hybrid case with a little more room around the headstock than your average padded bag)... The indicator bars either side of the center pitch ("in-tune", dead center) are much wider and fewer, meaning a less granular and less precise display, but one that is very easy to read at a glance in any light... I've found that attempting to tune with loud background music or other instruments blasting through a PA will cause my instrument to vibrate at other frequencies - even if I successfully mute all other strings, making tuning with the SN-8 that much more difficult."
"The bar display is well set not only for showing relative pitch, but also movement of pitch, because adjacent bars light up and there's some flutter when pitch changes slowly... Angle fade on an unlit LCD tends to make one dependent on the three LEDs on some tuners, but then you're stuck with less feedback than you get from the Snark. Better to just get this functional clip-on cheapie, or invest in a good tuner with a backlit needle meter LCD display and audible metronome if your needs are more exacting."
"However, most people don't play softly, so they make the mistake that almost everyone makes: they pluck each string and wait like 15 seconds till the ringing fades out, & so they are generally tuning each string as it begins "softly" resonating... Then you check intonation by pressing VERY LIGHTLY (with JUST the TIP of your FINGER and DON'T TOUCH ANY OTHER PART of the NECK), on the same string, but 12th fret - and BOTH should be in tune the EXACT same... Go on u toob and search "scott grove tuning your guitar wrong" and u will find a video of a guy that claims to have owned over 3,000 guitars - & he spends almost an hour explaining all the details."
"I will keep my review short as there have been MANY factual and well written reviews for the various Snark tuners over the years... Sure, if you put it on a guitar and leave it there at home, it will likely last at least a year and maybe longer requiring a battery change one day if you are lucky... Either the "rubber feet" that come into contact with the head stock of the guitar will come off and get lost or the little ball joint that connects the tuner's head to the clip part will break."
"And I keep the tuner clipped underneath the headstock when I put the guitar in the case and I've never had a problem with any structural failure or breakage issues with this unit. And though I've been a fan of their initial "blue" acoustic guitar tuner from day one, I have to say that the new "Super Tight" all-instrument tuner (the black one) has an even better and easier to read digital display... If the Snark doesn't fulfill all your expectations and prove to be the best "bang for your buck" out there in headstock-mounted tuners, pass it along to one of your friends- who will in turn probably love it and buy another dozen for their friends!"
"I've been playing long enough to remember when "small" electronic tuners were the size of a paperback book and had prices approaching $100... It won't fall off while you're using it (or playing) and you shouldn't leave anything clamped to your guitar when you aren't using it anyway... One suggestion for any younglings reading this: take it from an old f*** - electronic tuners are great, especially for tuning back stage or in other places where it isn't quiet but please, do yourself a favor, and learn to tune by ear."
"The Snark SN8 works extremely well, and being chromatic, works on every stringed instrument I own (guitar, bass, banjo, violin) no matter what key the instrument is tuned to. I still use my Korg Pitchblack inline with my bass (also a very nice product), but that is mainly to get more cord length across the stage and still keep my signal strong... It has a nice bright easy to read display in any lighting situation and makes tuning a breeze and not a hassle (just as it should be - I've personally always hated those Boss pedal tuners)."
Less Quick
"Edit: I've had to downgrade my star rating a bit, so I've revised my review- full explanation below, but in short, this just doesn't work as well for me as the SN-1... The ball socket on the back of the tuning head broke fairly quickly when I forgot to remove it from the headstock before putting it in the gig bag (Protec Contego semi-rigid hybrid case with a little more room around the headstock than your average padded bag)... However other than the broken socket, this has been one of the best tuners I've ever used... Despite what I feel is a weakness in the design (the fragile socket), I still felt so good about the functionality of the product that I ordered another, this time the SN-8(B) "Super Tight" tuner... The indicator bars either side of the center pitch ("in-tune", dead center) are much wider and fewer, meaning a less granular and less precise display, but one that is very easy to read at a glance in any light... I've found that attempting to tune with loud background music or other instruments blasting through a PA will cause my instrument to vibrate at other frequencies - even if I successfully mute all other strings, making tuning with the SN-8 that much more difficult... I'm not sure there is or isn't a defect or flaw here, perhaps it just didn't live up to my expectations (set high by my awesome experience with the original)."
"Sometimes they would read out a note that had nothing to do with the note I was playing... There's no point in pretending that this little unit is anything more than it is - a light-duty piece of equipment to efficiently fulfill rudimentary tuning and timekeeping demands. The banana arm between the clip and the display isn't robust and the ability of the ball joints to withstand the wear of repeated adjustments is suspect... The transpose system is clunky for anything but setting a capo on a guitar and the setting is reset to concert when the tuner is turned off... The bar display is well set not only for showing relative pitch, but also movement of pitch, because adjacent bars light up and there's some flutter when pitch changes slowly... Angle fade on an unlit LCD tends to make one dependent on the three LEDs on some tuners, but then you're stuck with less feedback than you get from the Snark. Better to just get this functional clip-on cheapie, or invest in a good tuner with a backlit needle meter LCD display and audible metronome if your needs are more exacting."
"However, most people don't play softly, so they make the mistake that almost everyone makes: they pluck each string and wait like 15 seconds till the ringing fades out, & so they are generally tuning each string as it begins "softly" resonating... To tune your guitar correctly, you really ought to pluck each string hard, like every 2 seconds and tune it that way - rather than waiting for the sound to fade out... Then you check intonation by pressing VERY LIGHTLY (with JUST the TIP of your FINGER and DON'T TOUCH ANY OTHER PART of the NECK), on the same string, but 12th fret - and BOTH should be in tune the EXACT same. If they are off (12TH & open), then your intonation is probably in need of adjustment... Go on u toob and search "scott grove tuning your guitar wrong" and u will find a video of a guy that claims to have owned over 3,000 guitars - & he spends almost an hour explaining all the details... Btw, if you can't get your Snark to tune your guitar: hint - it's not the tuner's fault... Then, your next 3 strings (d, a, e) should also look like another staircase going down."
"I will keep my review short as there have been MANY factual and well written reviews for the various Snark tuners over the years. Quickly though, I will start by also agreeing that for the price, it is hard to beat... I have owned about 5 of these Snarks and every single one has broken after about 3-4 months use... Sure, if you put it on a guitar and leave it there at home, it will likely last at least a year and maybe longer requiring a battery change one day if you are lucky. However, if you travel with it, take it on or off a few guitars a day, or frequently adjust it, it will likely eventually break. Either the "rubber feet" that come into contact with the head stock of the guitar will come off and get lost or the little ball joint that connects the tuner's head to the clip part will break. Best to get several of these at this great price and just keep one on each of your guitars."
"I was initially given a Snark tuner as a Christmas gift two years ago. I had it a week and immediately went on Amazon and bought six more of them and gave them out to my player friends... And I keep the tuner clipped underneath the headstock when I put the guitar in the case and I've never had a problem with any structural failure or breakage issues with this unit. And though I've been a fan of their initial "blue" acoustic guitar tuner from day one, I have to say that the new "Super Tight" all-instrument tuner (the black one) has an even better and easier to read digital display. Since trying the Snark, I've taken my ancient old Boss TU-12 tuner out of my guitar rack and tossed it permanently (it was broken anyway) and will never go back! If the Snark doesn't fulfill all your expectations and prove to be the best "bang for your buck" out there in headstock-mounted tuners, pass it along to one of your friends- who will in turn probably love it and buy another dozen for their friends! Frankly, tho- I don't think a headstock tuner can get better than this for even three times the price."
"I've been playing long enough to remember when "small" electronic tuners were the size of a paperback book and had prices approaching $100... The only complaint I've heard about this tuner is that the clamp is tight... It won't fall off while you're using it (or playing) and you shouldn't leave anything clamped to your guitar when you aren't using it anyway. You can't beat the price for a tuner this easy to use and it comes with a cleaning/carrying bag too... One suggestion for any younglings reading this: take it from an old f*** - electronic tuners are great, especially for tuning back stage or in other places where it isn't quiet but please, do yourself a favor, and learn to tune by ear. I've met too many young players that cannot tune a guitar without an electronic tuner... If a string goes sharp or flat while I'm playing I can tune it back without stopping."
"The Snark SN8 works extremely well, and being chromatic, works on every stringed instrument I own (guitar, bass, banjo, violin) no matter what key the instrument is tuned to. I still use my Korg Pitchblack inline with my bass (also a very nice product), but that is mainly to get more cord length across the stage and still keep my signal strong... It has a nice bright easy to read display in any lighting situation and makes tuning a breeze and not a hassle (just as it should be - I've personally always hated those Boss pedal tuners)... Also, buying this item from Amazon saved me quite a bit over the local Guitar Center, which is always a big plus. It feels tough too, this thing feels like it can easily handle the rigors of being tossed around, which is a very good thing... Fortunately mine arrived in perfect condition (no thanks to that paper envelope - seriously, they should use a stiff cardboard envelope or small tube or something). I could not be happier, at least until I buy another one to keep at the house while the first stays in my gig bag."
