TC Electronics Polytune

Buco · June 2

Just wanted to say, this thing has been a game changer for a few weeks that I used it. I have no idea how they do it, but they do it better then anything else I tried.

Every other tuner I have, once I tune each string according to the tuner, then I have to tweak by ear and split the difference. But I was never able to do it as well as the polyphonic tuning feature on this thing. It's amazing how well it does it.

Actually once you use polyphonic tuning feature, if you use the same tuner and check the strings individually, several will show as out of tune. So the thing has been built with the near perfect compromise in mind. I have a phone app tuner that has "just" tuning feature but it's nowhere as good as the Polytune.

This is a game changer for me. I've said before that I actually dislike the look of clipon tuners very much, but I'll tolerate this one. It's also a lot faster to just strum all the open strings, the display shows what's good, what's not and you tweak whatever you need.

https://youtu.be/nPJT7VggCBA

B25Gib · June 2

Buco- I agree!

Best tuner I've had now for about 4 years! Almost NO 'tweaking' at all necessary for overall chord balance on a good guitar and resonate clarity! Great Tuner!

jman · June 2

I have the unitune and the strobe mode has amazing accuracy. I am currently travelling with a guitar and I have deep regrets not bringing it, so painful using a phone.

flaco · June 3

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/121707#Comment_121707

Interesting on the strobe mode! I also have the Unitune. I like strobe tuners and still have my original Peterson stroboclip tuner. I didn’t care for the strobe mode on the Unitune at all. It seemed like it was just very slow to tune that way. Maybe I need to give it another try! I really like the Unitune in regular mode. It’s not as accurate as the Peterson but it’s close enough, very fast, and the form factor seems more robust than the other clip on tuners out there.

lorenzop · June 3

I like easy - any link(s) to purchase - making sure I get it right.

paulmcevoy75 · June 3

I have the unitune. Not sure what mode it's on but it's better than everything else I've tried.

The D'darrio ones are garbage.

Buco · June 3

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/121706#Comment_121706

Yes, my guitar is finally in tune! Or as good as it's gonna get.

@jman I tried the strobe only briefly. It's a neat way visually. So Unitune is either conventional or strobe, no polyphonic?

@flaco maybe it's a matter of getting used to it, but strobe mode wasn't as obvious as say dialing RPMs on a turntable. It did feel like it took me longer than what the concept intended.

@lorenzop I got it from Amazon but I paid $38, now it's $53.

https://a.co/d/fdHMrHg

billyshakes · June 3

Is this the same one? Showing ~$32.

https://www.amazon.com/TC-Electronic-UNITUNE-CLIP/dp/B08HQWB1G1/ref%3Dsr_1_5?crid=3HCBLBWE7WHE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2OKOu11LzCBLnEJDFcsy6CUug3H684OaSO_DhJ6fK9BatJV_2FbYwFKklAUXw4tBKEf8QD3ZRAJmxlhSGukl6bmqCczvVnFZJTJEoQA7O8_9r5os3eYqr5fmszdiY76fZVznm_sFmjin3D48y08dP0AZixMmd2auSOTAFXLIksPGl5EOdXTzS4U6losASz9BrEEKJ9sNuBQEJWNKve6dx_Cn-wB3kUG58wPWSeOcoBEZjmmnUYaJPBn2q6WrrwdYmH8sig6829Cza-d7TZ1Qlf7-70fNRNSfB0ZExL8J6x4.Z2-0S7aanqO89xPnddqShdTMJcm8h4GKF0LiUG5dBNg&dib_tag=se&keywords=tc+electronic+polytune+clip&qid=1748971552&s=musical-instruments&sprefix=tc+electronic+polytune+clip%2Cmi%2C45&sr=1-5

lucky · June 3

I used to have a polytune and it was great, like most of my tuners and picks it got lost along the way!

I was in a jam the other day (on arch top) and my tuner was out of battery so I had to tune my guitar to the piano and use my ear - and it sounded great. I don't know if I would have the bottle to do that again but it was instructive because my guitar was tuned to the piano rather than to 440hz on a tuner. I know violinists often ask for a D to tune to rather than use a tuner, so maybe there is something to be said for tuning to the other instruments.

Buco · June 3

@paulmcevoy75 I don't have a D'Addario but a few I have are in the ballpark of each other. They get you close to be in tune, or in tune with the open strings and in the open cords position but further down the neck the guitar doesn't intonate well.