Joyo clip on tuner = piece of crap

[project_c]

Just a heads up, bought one of these yesterday, it worked for an hour, took it to a rehearsal tonight, and it had no idea what's going on. Display is just blank, showing random notes occasionally, absolute sh!te. Was unable to tune my bass all night. It's a pbass with flats, not exactly unusual. Waste of time and money, if you're thinking of getting one, don't bother.

[ahpook]

Yeah, they're not great are they ?

If you mute the note and strike it again it tracks in better...but not much cop really. Mine lives on my acoustic guitar, which it's OK for.

Some of Joyo stuff's great, some....

Edited March 13, 2016 by ahpook

[gjones]

Clip on tuners can be hit and miss for basses. I was given a tuner, by my brother in law, who raved about it (he's a guitarist). It couldn't tune my bass to save it's life and ended up being given away. Snarks on the other hand are great for bass, but their scrawny, swiveling, necks tend to snap off in gig bags. I've had an Intelli clip on tuner for a a few years now. They're tough and are pretty good at picking up low frequencies. I recommend them.

[Urban Bassman]

I have a Snark and it works well. Can't comment about its gig-worthiness though as I only use at home.

[project_c]

Guy in the shop said they were 'brilliant' for bass. These things literally have one job to do. And they can't do it. Absolute toilet.

Wish I hadn't lost my Boss TU88.

[neilp]

Can you guys really not tune a bass?

[ahpook]

A violinist I play with uses a Snark and it seems to track bass really well - bought one of a mate as a present he loves it.

I've got one on my birthday list !

Edited March 14, 2016 by ahpook

[project_c]

[quote name='neilp' timestamp='1457914832' post='3003051']
Can you guys really not tune a bass?
[/quote]

Why, do you have perfect pitch? You'd usually need reference for at least one of the strings to be in tune with everyone else. Plus have you tried tuning a bass in a sweaty rehearsal room full of musicians setting up and getting ready to play? Good luck hearing yourself amongst that car crash.

[Kiwi]

Joyo do some great stuff. Have you thought about sending the tuner back on the grounds its faulty?

[project_c]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1457932693' post='3003067']
Joyo do some great stuff. Have you thought about sending the tuner back on the grounds its faulty?
[/quote]

it's not faulty, it's just terrible. I experimented with it a bit last night at home and even when it does find a note, it lags, it's not very accurate and you have to wait patiently and mute the strings and start over, it's a tedious and laborious process, defeats the whole point. I am taking it back for a refund for sure.

[EBS_freak]

Is it a case that it tracks for guitar and not for bass?

[neilp]

Do you not tune to the other musicians in your band then? As a matter of fact I do have perfect pitch, but I still always check tuning with guitar, keyboard etc. If you can't get the rest of your band to shut up and tune up, not much of a band IMHO

[rmorris]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1457916414' post='3003060']
Why, do you have perfect pitch? You'd usually need reference for at least one of the strings to be in tune with everyone else. Plus have you tried tuning a bass in a sweaty rehearsal room full of musicians setting up and getting ready to play? Good luck hearing yourself amongst that car crash.
[/quote]

+1
It's seldom about not being able to tune by ear.
But often it's not practicable (drum soundcheck !) without finding somewhere quiet - plus if you need to adjust tuning between songs it's a lot better if you can do it silently rather than 'entertaining' an audience with it.
btw - out of curiosity and something I've wondered about - re 'Perfect Pitch' - if you do 'have it' are you able to apply it to pitch reference other than A=440Hz ?

[wateroftyne]

Look out for this epic new advancement in tuner technology coming soon. I hear they're really good.

[project_c]

[quote name='neilp' timestamp='1457957481' post='3003283']
Do you not tune to the other musicians in your band then? As a matter of fact I do have perfect pitch, but I still always check tuning with guitar, keyboard etc. If you can't get the rest of your band to shut up and tune up, not much of a band IMHO
[/quote]

Thanks for your insightful critique of the band, I will pass it onto the other members and we will have a mass debate about it.
Yes I can tune to whoever, but it's not the point, this was an introductory jam with a new band - full of excellent musicians who were waaaay above my league btw - and I didn't want to start things off as the fumbling out of tune guy who didn't come prepared. Capiche?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1457958094' post='3003293']
Look out for this epic new advancement in tuner technology coming soon. I hear they're really good.


[/quote]

I totally agree with this sentiment, which is why I was lamenting the loss of my trusty Boss TU88, which is basically just like that thing but with a metronome and a headphone output included. In fact I'm just going to go ahead and buy another one, no more clip-on silliness for me.

[ahpook]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1457952680' post='3003212']
Is it a case that it tracks for guitar and not for bass?
[/quote]

Mine seems to track faster, but it's still not great. Fine for the living room though !

[neilp]

Didn't mean to offend anyone! If anything I would think more of someone who wanted to tune the band as a whole, and I'm not suggesting we should do without tuners. I just think maybe we all rely on them too much. Even the very best orchestras often tune up between movements.

Regarding the perfect pitch thing, I can transpose in my head, but It takes a LOT of concentration!

[TheGreek]

Part of the problem with "cheap" Chinese tuners is that you can buy them for 99p but the replacement batteries are about £2.00...false economy especially when you can pick up a Yamaha YT100 for about a fiver - nothing wrong with them.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1457940903' post='3003085']
it's not faulty, it's just terrible. I experimented with it a bit last night at home and even when it does find a note, it lags, it's not very accurate and you have to wait patiently and mute the strings and start over, it's a tedious and laborious process, defeats the whole point. I am taking it back for a refund for sure.
[/quote]
If it was me, I'd send it back anyway if it's not well designed.

[LayDownThaFunk]

Just buy a Pitchblack.

[discreet]

Had a Joyo for a while and it was fine, but then it suddenly went tits-up for some reason. It's fine for electric guitar though. I'm currently using a Korg PitchClip which is the best clip-on I've had so far for bass, but I'm still looking for the perfect clip-on.

The problem I have at noisy gigs is that the bloody thing picks up vibrations other than through the headstock, thus compromising accuracy... what's needed is some kind of battery-operated box or pedal that you can plug the bass into directly. Perhaps it could have some kind of switch or button that mutes the bass output while tuning, too. Are you listening, manufacturers??

Edited March 15, 2016 by discreet

[Mykesbass]

Do those of you that use clip on tuners leave them on while gigging?

[discreet]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1458073492' post='3004492']
Do those of you that use clip on tuners leave them on while gigging?
[/quote]

Switched off, yes. Mainly because if I take it off and put it down at a gig I'll never find it again.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1458074553' post='3004517']
Switched off, yes. Mainly because if I take it off and put it down at a gig I'll never find it again.
[/quote]

Hadn't thought of that side of things, and yes, can see that being a big problem (I've lost count of the number of plug in ones I've lost).

Reason I asked is that it just doesn't seem right to me - way too modern and hi-tech for my taste!

[discreet]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1458075244' post='3004533']
Reason I asked is that it just doesn't seem right to me - way too modern and hi-tech for my taste!
[/quote]

I have mine clipped to the back of the headstock so you can't see much of it from the front anyway.