PRODUCT REVIEW

DIGITAL TUNERS

Like so many other products these days there is very nearly an arm full of options available to us from tuning forks, pitch pipes, chromatic, quartz, digital and of course the ear, should you be blessed with the ability to hear at pitch, all designed to make ones life easier, but do they?
I've spent the summer enjoying my guitar and at the same time comparing a variety of digital tuners. All of which relieve the frustration of keeping ones guitar in tune, especially, if like me you need that security blanket just to confirm that your original decision regarding pitch was correct.

IntelliTuner DCT-12L

This tuner is compact and very comfortable in the hand. The way it works is that if you sound the string you want to tune then the note that it's currently pitched at or nearest to will be indicated by one of the red lights below the letters on the front of the tuner. The aim is to make the light below the letter you want, light up. Having done that, you then need to fine tune the pitch with the help of the flashing vari-coloured light to the right of the letters. Orange indicates flat, red is sharp and green is to pitch. The orange and red lights will flash. The faster the speed, the further away you are in either direction. As the flashing begins to slow down, you know you are heading in the right direction towards that ultimate solid green light.

Sounds very complicated doesn't it, but it's not really once you have the knack.

To switch it on there is a 'cut out' strip to the right above the lights with the letters P/C embossed on it. You need to press this down for NO MORE THAN one or two seconds when you'll see the red light travel from left to right. To switch if off you do the same but the light will then travel from right to left. This is the one point that I would say could cause a problem. If you hold down the P/C button for too long, it can automatically jump to the next command. In other words, you may actually have switched it back on again, thinking you have switched it off. The way around this is to whistle or quietly hum, quite amusing if one is in company, to make sure none of the lights display before you put it away.

Seiko STM-20 Pick Up Microphone.

This is an excellent little extra if you already have a tuner such as the IntelliTuner that is affected by other sounds. You simply connect the plug of the STM-20 into the input jack of your tuner, then attach the STM-20 to the headstock of your guitar, this is easily achieved as the STM-20 is a simple well padded clip. Now you can go through your tuning process without annoying your fellow musicians by telling them to stop playing their guitars while you're tuning up. What a feeling of liberation that can be.

Without the background interference you will find that the speed to pitch is noticeably increased. If you don't mind the wire from your tuner to guitar then it's a gadget that you would find very useful in a busier, more noisy environment.

Seiko STX1 Clip Tuner

A small, smart, easy to read, clip-on tuner that has two pick up options to choose from. When you press the ON/OFF button once, you get the 'Clip' option, where the tuner reads the note through vibration only (no background interference). Press it once more and you get the 'Mic' option, where the tuner picks up the sound around you. One thing to be aware of here though is that when in 'Clip' mode, to switch it off you have to press the ON/OFF button twice to get you through 'Mic' mode to off.

There is, however an auto power off function which goes through three phases. After 10 seconds the display goes slightly dim. After 5 more minutes the display goes black and one of the tuning lights starts to flash. After a further 15 minutes it switches off altogether. I'm not sure what the life of the battery is but 20 minutes and 10 seconds to switch off does seem a bit long.

The STX1 will also sound the note you wish to tune too if you prefer to do it by ear. The display screen can be angled up to 45 degrees and then rotated 360 degrees and the LCD screen very clearly identifies the note with travelling lights to the left to find the correct pitch. On the model I have been using however, I did find the clip spring to be very strong and the cushioning could have done with a bit more padding.

The Intellitouch Tuner.

A totally vibration sensitive tuner with a simple, well padded clamping system that, when attached to the headstock, gives good visibility and if you wish to leave it in place, it can be folded back out of view. You probably wouldn't want to leave it on an expensive or well treasured instrument though. The tuning display is very effective showing the note letter in the centre of the screen. Then either side of the letter you have up to three arrows pointing towards the letter that shows up depending on how close to pitch you are. For example, if you see one arrow to the left then the note is very flat. One arrow to the right of the letter means very sharp. You have to aim for six arrows in total, three on both sides of the letter. With this tuner it is also possible to programme into it's memory the pitch for other instruments which will be retained after it has been switched off. It also comes with a smart leather case that has a strap attachment at the back and the manufacturer offers a limited warranty of two years.

So there you go; 4 ways of tuning your guitar. All achieve the same result but in slightly different ways. If you like gadgets and are not too worried about the price then there are tuners that will appeal or if you just want a cheap efficient tuner there are manufacturers who will fulfill your needs.

Make your choice and most of all have fun!!!!

Item	Power Source	Good Points	Not So Good Points	Cost
IntelliTuner	2 x AAA batteries	Excellent value for money. Comfortable in the hand and adaptable to the STM-20	On/Off function a little confusing.	£15.86
Seiko STM-20	None	Not too expensive if you wish to upgrade your older tuner into a vibration sensitive device. Small, lightweight clip.	An extra device to carry and some may not like the wire between the tuner and guitar.	£14 ex vat
Seiko STX1	1 x CR2032 coin cell batteries.	Compact, easy to handle, good visibility and accuracy. Multi-functional and lightweight. Well worth the extra cost and very cute!	Clip spring a little strong.	£38 ex vat
Intellitouch	2 x CR2032 coin cell batteries.	Top quality product. Easy to handle. Clip well padded, OK to leave in place when playing. Leather pouch included for safekeeping.	Doesn't always find top E (better to use the harmonic at fret 12) and the price may be a little off-putting.	£31 ex vat