Buzz Feiten & tuners

[Pyrrhic Victory]

Hi all. I've been shopping Andersons for longer than I care to admit, and only recently realized that if I want to set my intonation on one myself (and I do) that I probably need a Buzz Feiten tuner. Alas, my pedal tuner (the very functional and price-friendly Hardwire Chromatic) is not Feiten-worthy.
I've looked at a few possible solutions but they are either price-prohibitive (I need all my wife-approved funding for my TAG) or they seem like poor alternatives (Planet Waves? Strobo-clip).
Is there any easier solution or am I just going to have to bite the bullet and build a clever mulitmedia presentation that will convince my wife why I "need" Feiten tuning and the extra funding?
Any help and/or mild ribbing about letting my wife control the funds will be appreciated (not sure which emoticon means chagrined... maybe this one :o ).
Thanks.

[dannopelli]

So you can sell the Hardwire tuner on ebay and net about $70 after fees. Then get a Turbo Tuner for $129. It is the most accurate one out there. No it is NOT BF ready. You have to program it yourself. It will take maybe eight or nine minutes if you stop midway to go get a beer. And any of a number of us can send you the presets.

So the out of pocket expense for a far better tuner is $60 or so. Tell her to buy it for you for Christmas, rather than the strings and picks you always get.

[tom]

that's pretty good logic form danno. i would have to say the the turbo tuner is my favorite pedal and i use it more than any other pedal. i know i know, you don't need to tune that much, but i'm always checking. once you've been really in tune, it's hard to tolerate any variation.

[Ray K.]

i know i know, you don't need to tune that much, but i'm always checking.Hi, my name is Ray and I too am a "tune-o-holic." ;)

[SonicGator]

If only YouTube could be full of Tune-o-holics....

[ehsaan]

Is it easy to switch between tuning modes on stage as one uses different guitars .

[Pyrrhic Victory]

This is good information. Thanks guys. I checked into the TT and it looks like a great product that fits the bill perfectly.

[dannopelli]

The Turbo Tuner has six presets. One, the Chromatic I believe is locked. Two others are marked Guitar and Bass, but I believe can be overridden. The other three are marked CST1, CST2, and CST3.

The unit comes from the manufacturer with Guitar, CST1, CST2 and CST3 all having the same tuning. CST1,CST2 and CST3 are designed for your altered tunings, but as I said, I believe the Guitar and Bass presets can be overwritten also.

What do I do live? I leave CST1 alone. I use that for standard tuning on all my non-BF guitars, (acoustics, Gibby's PRS, etc). I have CST2 programmed for BF open tuning, and CST3 for BF 12th fret. Since I never use altered tunings live, all I have to do is press the button once to switch from CST1 to CST2, or back.

[tom]

Also, the cst settings can have more than 6 notes so I made the "7 th" string be my drop D.

[Pietro]

If you can get a deal on a StroboStomp 2, they work REALLY well imho, for both tuning and intonation... but they are a pain in the neck to switch modes on. I leave it on BFTS Electric all the time and use the tuner in my HD 500 for everything else.

btw... the nice thing about the Strobostomp is that you don't have to switch modes for doing intonation. I think it "knows" what note is what from the open string to the 12th fret for each string, makes it easier. I think on the Turbo you have to switch modes.

Also the StroboStomp isn't the "it" tuner anymore (even though it works very well) so you might find a deal.

[Ray K.]

... but they are a pain in the neck to switch modes on. Nah, if you mean switching from BFTS to standard tuning during live use, there's nothing to it. I leave mine set to BFTS and when I need standard tuning, it's a one button press (the right one) to toggle back and forth.

I'll admit getting to other tunings (Sweetened, Bass, etc.) is a bit cumbersome, if that's what you meant.

Ray K.

[chriswhite]

its on my Christmas List this year... come on, mom, don't let me down :p

[Casper]

Pietro's right, the SS2 isn't hip and the TT is probably better, but Peterson has excellent customer service. My Strobostomp2 has been on my board for 6+ years now and I only sent it back once for repair. The built in DI has saved me when my amps died too. You can see the readout in ANY light condition (which is huge for me). I don't use the other features, but its nice to know I have them...This thing is dependable and road worthy! Just a lil love for the Peterson boyzzzz:D

[jem5150]

Does anyone use the Korg DT-7 like I still do ?

[dave]

definitely go for the TT - it's dead easy to enter the presets for tuning and intonation setting

[Pietro]

Does anyone use the Korg DT-7 like I still do ?

imho it works okay for tuning, not so much for intonation.

I lost mine, but it had been relegated to backup status when I got my StroboStomp.

[dannopelli]

imho it works okay for tuning, not so much for intonation.

I lost mine, but it had been relegated to backup status when I got my StroboStomp.
I still have two that came off pedal boards. (One is pretty chewed up.) Keep them in the drawer. I use them as a kind of go and grab tuner when just messing around alone. Would no longer use them for anything important.

[strat56]

Does anyone use the Korg DT-7 like I still do ?

Yep, I do. Works great, tunes my TAG's just fine.

[Casper]

Still have mine..great for bench work and have taken it to gigs in line with my pedal board (while my SS2 was briefly away). Korg also makes the "pitch black" pedal tuner which I had on another board...excellent as well!

[Pyrrhic Victory]

Does the Pitchblack do Feiten?
I recently took some of Danno's good advice and put the TT on the Christmas radar. We'll see what Santa's opinion is of me this year....
As for my Hardwire, it is quite effective and true bypass, so I wouldn't complain about it if it would do Feiten tuning (for the BF guitar I don't own yet :confused:). Anyway, I like the through output on the Hardwire for rehearsal. It helps me check mid-song if my strat's trem came back in tune after some whammy wiggle (spoiler alert: it didn't). Anyway, that's a whole (n)other thread, which I won't start now.

[Casper]

No the PB does not do fieten, but is true bypass..

[tom]

the planet waves virtual strobe is pre programmed for bfts. have not used it though.

[Pyrrhic Victory]

I looked at the Planet Waves, and if it comes down to it, maybe I'll do that, but I'd definitely prefer to buy US/small company, etc. The Turbo Tuner does look like the kind of pedal/company I'd like to support.
We'll see if Santa deems me beggar or chooser, I guess...

[strat56]

The Peterson Stomp Classic is true bypass, does Feiten and many other tunings and you can see it in sunlight.

[Pietro]

No the PB does not do fieten, but is true bypass..

You can program offsets into the bigger PitchBlack, and it doubles as an A/B box.

[Pyrrhic Victory]

Well, it arrived--my Turbo Tuner that is.
The thing is, I'm not sure I like it. Or maybe I'm not using it right. Or maybe I'm just not used to this level of accuracy?
The red lights don't seem to ever stop spinning. I tune it close in one direction then it goes the other direction. Back and forth she goes for a while and when I finally get it slow enough I give up.
I guess I keep waiting for it to lock in and say "There!"
Is this part of the adjustment period or does it just take longer to lock in to this level of accuracy?

[tom]

it is way more sensitive, but i would not call it fussy or too sensitive. i have found that the 16:1 tuners that we use sure make it easier than the 12 or 14:1 tuners that others use.
you also will get more comfortable with not having to have it come to a dead stop to feel like you're in tune.
also, i tune to the attack, only letting the string ring for a second or so, then re striking it if i haven't got to "in tune".

[dannopelli]

...
also, i tune to the attack, only letting the string ring for a second or so, then re striking it if i haven't got to "in tune".

Not saying you are doing this, but everyone I have turned on to this tuner has the same complaint. And that is because they are NOT tuning to the pick attack, they are tuning to the decay. They pick a note, adjust the tuners, but as they do this the string vibrations decay either sharp or flat. This can wreak havoc on your brain if your strings are a bit old. Once they learn to tune to the attack, they realize how quickly the turbo makes tuning.

In case you don't know, as Tom points out always tune immediately to the pick attack. Just keep picking about every second. Strings tend to decay a bit flat or sharp. Your quest is to get the tuner to settle when you pick.

Think about it. 99% of the time you are not going to sit on a note for more than a second. You do not want the guitar tuned to the decay. You want it it tune when the string is struck, not after.

Hope this helps.

[Pyrrhic Victory]

Thanks guys. I can't believe how much I don't know about guitar after playing, self taught for 20+ years. I always avoided forums and whatnot previously because of sites where you get slammed for any little comment you make. (In fact, I was nervous saying I didn't immediately love the TT.)
Your advice helps a lot. I'm still adjusting, but tuning to the attack makes perfect sense.