Stay Tuned

My guitar tuners keep breaking.

Over the last year I have become a total slave to tuners – battery powered gadgets that fit on the headstock of a guitar. You pluck a string, turn the tuning pegs, and a little display tells you when the string is just right.

But the goddam things keep breaking.

I’ve gone through two of them in the last twelve months or so. Before that I’d always used a standard tuning fork that, when whacked against a hard object, vibrates at 440Hz, producing the commonly accepted pitch for the note A. (There is an argument for using 432Hz instead. The subject is surprisingly controversial; some people conflate it into a kind of Illuminati conspiracy. I won’t touch that with a ten foot pole. Still others who favor 432Hz say that it’s mellower, or more natural – something like that.)

In any case: I should just stick to the tuning fork, and thereby improve my ear. I get that.

Like I said, though, I have become a slave to these damned tuners. They do a really good job, but they keep breaking. They only cost about twenty bucks, so it’s not a catastrophe when one breaks. What’s annoying is that it’s usually the cheapest components, something on the plastic clip, that break. The tuning software and display itself are fine.

The first tuner I got was a Snark, much like the one in the top photo. It had a ball and socket pivot, allowing you to move the display around for optimal viewing. After about a month, a piece of the socket snapped off. I tried gluing it back together, then tried putty to attach the damned thing. No go.

As a replacement I bought a different type. Basically the same as the Snark, but with a hinged thing instead of the ball and socket. It seemed better. And indeed it lasted a lot longer, eight or nine months. But it too broke. This time, a teeny plastic nub that holds the clip attachment in place snapped off.

So I ordered yet another replacement, and currently await its arrival. This one is a Korg, like in the above photo. It isn’t made to attach to the guitar. I hope that will make a difference.

The video below describes more than you ever wanted to know about guitar tuners. (The one I’m awaiting delivery on is the third one shown.)