Electronic Tuner Guide

A good guitar tuner is a necessary piece of equipment for any beginner guitarist. Many new guitarists may not be able to tune by ear - but playing in tune is pretty important! There are a range of different types and makes, so let us a take a look at some to give you a more informed choice.

Guitar tuners fall into three categories:

• Clip-On Tuners

• Mic/Plug-in Tuners

• Pedal Tuners

Clip-On Tuners

Clip-on guitar tuners are becoming more and more popular these days. The advantage of using a clip-on tuner is that other noise will not affect you tuning up, as they work off the vibrations from your instrument, rather than the sound of your instrument. They are handy for loud situations where you may be surrounded by a lot of other instruments such as rehearsals or gigs. Just turn on your tuner and watch the needle as you tune each string. Most clip-on tuners are backlit, so they can be used in places where lighting is not great, such as on-stage.

Mic/Plug-in Tuners

Handheld guitar tuners were the choice for most players, before clip-on tuners became popular. These tuners work either by a small in-built mic and holding the tuner next to the guitar, or by plugging your guitar directly into them via a guitar lead. They are useful for tuning acoustic guitars, but can be a bit awkward.

Pedal Tuners

The last main category of tuners are pedal tuners. These come in the form of either a foot pedal integrated into another type of effects pedal or as stand-alone units. They are used with instrument that have pickups - either electric guitars or electro-acoustic guitars. The guitar is plugged into the input of the pedal with the option of plugging another lead into your amp. The handy thing about pedals for live performances is that they will have an option to mute the output signal. So between songs if you hit the pedal, it mutes the signal, and the audience will not have to listen to you tuning up.

Take a look at a full range of Tuners starting from as little as £10!