Guitar tuner pedals are a must-have for any musician looking to assemble a pedalboard.
While not as outright exciting as buying a new guitar or amplifier, they’re essential for keeping you in tune and locked in with the rest of the band. An audience member may not notice the tonal differences between a Stratocaster and a Les Paul, but they'll certainly hear if your guitar is out of tune.
So, which tuner is the right one for you, and what things should you look for when choosing the best tuner pedal for your rig? We'll help break it all down here, along with an overview of some of our favorite options.
Table of Contents
- What Does a Tuner Pedal Do?
- What Qualities Should You Look for in a Guitar Tuner?
- Our Guitar Tuner Pedal Recommendations
- So, What's the Best Guitar Tuner?
What does a tuner pedal do?
A tuner reads the waveform of your input signal (in this case, your guitar) and analyzes it in reference to a pitch to determine if it's sharp, flat, or right in the middle. Almost all tuners have the default reference pitch set to 440 Hertz, which is commonly known as the A above middle C on a piano. Having a reference pitch guarantees a band is tuned to the same frequency.
Each tuner is designed to handle the task of tuning a little differently, but they primarily fall into one of three categories: Chromatic, Polyphonic, or Strobe.
Chromatic Tuners
The most common type of tuner is the chromatic tuner. These devices allow you to tune your instrument to any one of the 12 pitches in the chromatic scale. For 95% of players, a chromatic tuner is sufficient. They're reliable and easy to use, and that's critical when setting up a pedalboard.
Polyphonic Tuners
With polyphonic tuners, guitarists can strum all their strings simultaneously to see which ones are out of tune. Though not inherently better or worse than their chromatic counterparts, it can be helpful to see a complete overview of your intonation instead of checking each string individually.
Strobe Tuners
The most accurate of the three, strobe tuners are a favorite of luthiers and guitar techs who need the most precise tuning possible. Many can measure pitch within 1/10th of a cent.
While not originally offered in pedal format, modern pedal builders have developed strobe tuner stompboxes, bringing their precision out of the repair shop and onto the gigging performer’s board. For most players, though, the level of tuning accuracy provided by strobe tuners isn’t essential.
What qualities should you look for in a guitar tuner?
-Accuracy: How precisely the tuner measures pitch. If you’re regularly setting up and intonating guitars, you may need the surgical precision of a strobe tuner.
-Display: Readability is paramount when it comes to a good tuner pedal. It doesn’t matter how precise your tuner is if the display is difficult to see.
-Size: Some builders have miniature options for musicians looking to save space, others have larger pedals for better visibility. Either can be beneficial, depending on your needs.
-Durability: If you’re gigging often or traveling with your gear, you’ll need something that’s rugged and can handle a few bumps in the road.
-Additional features: Sometimes simple is great, but you may want additional DC power outputs, extra inputs and outputs, or multiple display options for added versatility.
-Bypass type: Bypass is often overlooked, but it’s important to understand when reading pedal specs. Pedals with buffered bypass preserve your signal's high-end clarity at the expense of some tonal coloration, even when disengaged. True bypass pedals don’t affect your signal’s tone at all when off, but you can lose some treble if using them with longer instrument cables. Certain tuners have switches that allow you to choose either bypass option for maximum adaptability.
Our Guitar Tuner Pedal Recommendations
Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner
The Boss TU-3 is the best-selling pedal tuner pedal of all time, and for good reason. It’s durable, it’s accurate, and it’s easy to use. You can’t ask for much more than that. Still, Boss equipped it with a number of add-ons that make it an outstanding tool for any guitarist.
One of the features we love is the extra DC output. With your Boss TU-3 powered, you can run a pedal power cable from the DC output to an additional pedal, supplying power to both units.
We’re also fans of the high brightness mode, a gamechanger for outdoor gigs, stages with fog machines, and low-visibility venues.
Complete with two outputs and the ability to change the reference pitch, the Boss TU-3 is great for musicians seeking a hardy workhorse with enough versatility to suit nearly any setting.
Boss TU-3W Waza Craft Chromatic Tuner
If you’re a fan of the TU-3 but want something even nicer, get the Made in Japan Boss TU-3W Waza Craft Tuner Pedal. It has the same precise tuning players love from the TU-3, but also has a switch that allows players to select between true or buffered bypass.
The big advantage to having a tuner pedal with switchable bypass is that you can change, modify, and adapt your pedalboard endlessly without worrying about getting a new tuner. You can choose the best bypass option to suit your needs with the TU-3W and never sacrifice accuracy in the process.
Plus, the black enclosure and blue LEDs give it an undeniably stylish appearance.
D’Addario Chromatic Pedal Tuner
Simplicity is at the core of the D’Addario Chromatic Tuner’s design. It has one input, one output, a single footswitch, and that’s it. No buttons to fuss with or settings to adjust, just reliable tuning time after time.
What we love about this pedal is the form factor and the display. Measuring in at 2.8” x 2.3” x 5.8", it’s narrow, making it a perfect fit for those awkward gaps on your pedalboard. Also, the large vertical display is a blessing, especially if your vision isn’t the greatest.
If ease of use and visibility are priorities for you, the D’Addario Chromatic Pedal Tuner should be at the top of your list.
Korg PB-X Pitchblack Tuner Pedal
The Korg PB-X Pitchblack Tuner is one of the most value-packed guitar tuners available on the market. It boasts an extra DC output and a brightness control, just like the TU-3. Remove the backplate, and you’ll find a bypass switch with true and buffered options.
Dive into the settings, and you can change the display mode from regular to half-strobe, strobe, or mirror. Regular is ideal for performing live, since it reads like a standard chromatic tuner. Then, when you’re at home changing strings or checking your intonation, set it to strobe for a detection accuracy of +/- 0.1 cents. You can also calibrate the reference pitch if you’re tuning to a different pitch than 440Hz.
For the musician who’s a jack of all trades and needs the equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife on their effects board, the Korg PB-X Pitchblack is the way to go. There's also a miniature version of the PB-X, the Pitchblack X Mini, which is handy if you're the space-conscious type.
Ibanez BigMini Tuner Pedal
Ibanez’s BigMini Chromatic Tuner offers all the features you need to gig worry-free without breaking the bank. It has multiple display modes to suit your preferences. A calibration button lets you switch the reference pitch. The enclosure is compact yet tough, saving you space on your pedalboard without compromising quality.
Unique to the BigMini is the “Flat” button, which cycles between one, two, and three semitones flat, a helpful tool for guitarists who drop-tune their instruments. The BigMini is also an excellent choice for players who use extended range guitars or basses, thanks to its wide tuning range of 27.5 Hz to 4186 Hz.
So, What's the Best Guitar Tuner?
There isn’t a right or wrong answer, since every musician’s needs are different. As a rule of thumb, though, figure out what your top priorities in a tuner pedal are, and purchase one that meets as many of those requirements as possible.
Like with any pedal, try to avoid tuners that feel fragile, or ones with a display that’s difficult to read. Do you play a lot of outdoor shows? You’ll want a pedal with a bright screen that you can see, even when in direct sunlight. Do you change your rig or pedalboard often? Maybe you'll need more outputs and switchable bypass options.
If you're still feeling confused, you can always gives us a call, send over an email, or stop by one of our locations and try out some pedals in person. We're happy to help you find the best possible option for your setup.
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