Korg Pitchblack Vs T.C Electronic Polytune

[chris2401]

which one do u think is better ? i have the pitchblack and im probably giving it for the polytune.that tuner seems to kick ass!

[cm261]

Well the polytune is obviously better but if you already have a perfectly good tuner do you really [i]need[/i] the polytune?

[Alien]

[quote name='cm261' post='851053' date='May 29 2010, 12:50 PM']Well the polytune is obviously better...[/quote]

I wouldn't necessarily say it was any better, just different.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the Polytune. Sure it's very clever, it can show which strings are in or out of tune all at the same time, but you can only turn one machine head at a time so I don't really see it speeding up the tuning process much.

Flavour of the month gadgets like this tend to be a waste of money IMO.

A

[cm261]

[quote name='Alien' post='851242' date='May 29 2010, 04:44 PM']I don't really see it speeding up the tuning process much.[/quote]
To be fair it does actually make tuning a lot quicker once youve done it a couple of times, but if you already own a tuner such as the pitchblack this time saved and the novelty factor isn't worth shelling out £75 quid for. If you don't have a tuner pedal then go for it by all means, but it's not THAT much of an upgrade that you actually need to replace your current tuner with it.

[Alien]

[quote name='cm261' post='851244' date='May 29 2010, 04:49 PM']To be fair it does actually make tuning a lot quicker once youve done it a couple of times, but if you already own a tuner such as the pitchblack this time saved and the novelty factor isn't worth shelling out £75 quid for. If you don't have a tuner pedal then go for it by all means, but it's not THAT much of an upgrade that you actually need to replace your current tuner with it.[/quote]

I guess if 3 out of 4 strings are in tune you'll know straight away instead of checking them out individually. That'd speed things up a bit.

A

[cm261]

Exactamundo. And I think you meant 4 out of 5

I jest of course.

[Al Heeley]

Once you realise you can just strum all strings together and quickly tweak the tuners u can get every string in tune in a few seconds, great for tuning in between songs during a gig rather than having to do each string separately. Its a good piece of kit.

[chris2401]

truth is,i do play allot of gigs so it could be useful for that the pitchblack is surely an awesome tuner but that damn polytune impressed me.hm...

[cm261]

Well if you are going to be gigging that much then you may well find that the polytune is worth it, I guess you need to decide if tuning at lightning pace is really that crucial or whether you'd sooner keep hold of the money (less what you would presumably sell the pitchblack for).

Edited May 30, 2010 by cm261

[Prime_BASS]

Well even I'm pretty tone death and I can tell when a string is out (not marginally however). Also I know the tension of the strings on my basses so I can tell by that being any tighter or loose.

It would be good to just strum the strings and see which is out, but £75, no thanks.

I use a boss TU-2 anyway.

[BassPimp66]

I own a pitch black and wouldn't change it. I just love the BIG display that is perfect for live situations.
I don't have tuning problems with my basses so, speed to tune between songs is not a worry for me.

[throwoff]

TU 2 for me!
and always will be!

[BigRedX]

From what I can see in the downloadable manual, the Polytune only works in polyphonic mode if you use standard tunings (EADGBE) or drop tuning where you transpose all the strings down by the same amount (up to 5 semitones). I does appear to be able to cope with 6 string bass where the highest string is C rather than B, but that's the limit of alternate tunings.

I sometimes use DADA tuning on a 4-string bass. I certainly won't allow me to tune that in polyphonic mode.

[Grand Wazoo]

Well I must admit the Polytune is the dog's bits. Never mind the ability to show u all the strings at once it does a lot more in the way if tuning and here is someone's testing them both

[Silent Fly]

Interesting review.

The only thing that doesn't convince me is when he says: [i]"Taking apart the Pitchblack revealed that its not true 3DPT switch, its a pad that touches a motherboard mounted no/off switch. Polytune has a true 3PDT switch..."[/i]

True bypass can be achieved with any switch. Even momentary switches (I think Lovepedal implements true bypass in this way). MXR uses DPDT for true bypass (e.g. Blowtorch). [sfx] uses 3PDT or DPDT depending on the type of unit. In other words, the [i]type[/i] of switch used has nothing to do with the quality of the bypass.

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='862976' date='Jun 10 2010, 09:52 AM']From what I can see in the downloadable manual, the Polytune only works in polyphonic mode if you use standard tunings (EADGBE) or drop tuning where you transpose all the strings down by the same amount (up to 5 semitones). I does appear to be able to cope with 6 string bass where the highest string is C rather than B, but that's the limit of alternate tunings.[/quote]

Interestingly, the polytune does have a built-in USB port, but the use of it is undocumented. I'd imagine that some suitably-motivated hacker could figure out how to reprogram the device to allow any tuning.

S.P.

[mcgraham]

I'm not so sure how doable that would be SP. My guess is that they are using Fourier transforms to identify frequencies, but then they'd also have to correctly group the corresponding fundamental and nth order harmonics together to identify all frequencies being emitted by a given string. Given that there will be six sets of such frequencies (for a guitar say), the Polytune has to correctly identify which frequencies are which order harmonics from which string. As such, I can imagine the maths involved in distinguishing overlapping/neighbouring frequencies of harmonics from different strings must be heavily dependent on interrelationship of the pitch intervals between strings (hence why it can do drop tunings with the same interval interrelationship between the strings).

If that is the case, I can definitely see why they've started with standard tuning just to get the product out in the marketplace. Nevertheless, I would supposit that it the future they might offer support for alternate tunings to make it more comprehensive.

This is all guesswork so feel free to disagree if you think I'm wrong

[Shambo]

The chromatic mode on the polytune has impressed me in that review.. more so that the pitchblack did, which was the one I was considering buying. If I already owned the bitchblack though I wouldn't be too bothered about buying a different tuner, it still looks very good.

[Al Heeley]

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='866755' date='Jun 14 2010, 09:37 AM']Interestingly, the polytune does have a built-in USB port, but the use of it is undocumented...[/quote]
The instructions sheet refers to this port for facilitating firmware upgrades. that's all it says about it.

[chrismuzz]

Reviving a dead thread here... But is the Poly mode totally useless to a 6 string player tuned ADGCFBb?

[digitalmetal]

just got to jump in and mention i use a polytune for bass (4 string tuned to BEAD) i needed something that handles a low B accurately and FAST and the polytune delivers, the speed in which it can detect is the fastest in any tuner ive ever seen and that was a high priority for me.
its so fast you can play a scale quite quickly and it will wizz through the notes, not seen anything else that can do this so well,
Yes the poly mode is pretty useless for bass, but as a general chromatic style tuner in needle or strobe mode its by far the best on the market - its a no brainer !

[RichF]

[quote name='digitalmetal' post='1090143' date='Jan 15 2011, 08:58 AM']just got to jump in and mention i use a polytune for bass (4 string tuned to BEAD) i needed something that handles a low B accurately and FAST and the polytune delivers, the speed in which it can detect is the fastest in any tuner ive ever seen and that was a high priority for me.
its so fast you can play a scale quite quickly and it will wizz through the notes, not seen anything else that can do this so well,
Yes the poly mode is pretty useless for bass, but as a general chromatic style tuner in needle or strobe mode its by far the best on the market - its a no brainer ![/quote]

no way want to be competitive - so whatever pedal does it for you then great - but the Polytune has been a revelation for me. I love its speed and accuracy for separate string tuning and I have grown to love the polytuning for quick check and tweak. Very good for low B as well.

[digitalmetal]

[quote name='RichardFoggo' post='1090653' date='Jan 15 2011, 05:19 PM']no way want to be competitive - so whatever pedal does it for you then great - but the Polytune has been a revelation for me. I love its speed and accuracy for separate string tuning and I have grown to love the polytuning for quick check and tweak. Very good for low B as well.[/quote]
so we are in agreement then

[Happy Jack]

It's horses for courses, as usual.

I don't have a single bass with a tendency to go out of tune, and I play in a band where the lead instrument is a slide guitar so there's a tuning break (or a guitar change break) before almost every song.

I chose the Pitchblack because it was simple in operation, and offered a daisy-chained power supply source (which that rather childish review video didn't mention) which is really handy on my small pedal-board.

IME any tuner will perform better on a Low B if you use the 12th fret harmonic rather than simply plucking the string.

[digitalmetal]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1090769' date='Jan 15 2011, 07:22 PM']It's horses for courses, as usual.

I don't have a single bass with a tendency to go out of tune, and I play in a band where the lead instrument is a slide guitar so there's a tuning break (or a guitar change break) before almost every song.

I chose the Pitchblack because it was simple in operation, and offered a daisy-chained power supply source (which that rather childish review video didn't mention) which is really handy on my small pedal-board.

IME any tuner will perform better on a Low B if you use the 12th fret harmonic rather than simply plucking the string.[/quote]

None of my basses wander out of tune either, but i still need to check an tune up before playing in case a machine head had been knocked, or if i have installed new strings, - thats really not the question here at all.

Theres nothing not "simple" about the polytunes operation either it works just like a normal tuner, or you can choose to use in poly mode or strobe, you have the choice but you dont have to use it any way you dont want to, best to at least be given the option.

Polytune can chain power too,


And why settle for using a 12th fret harmonic to tune when a polytune can do an open B ?

Fair enough for anyone that already has a tuner and they need a work around, but for anyone looking to buy a new one [u][b]NOTHING[/b][/u] compares, ive tried Korg, Boss, Pertersen, Artec, Fender and more tuners and theres no contest, try it once you wont go back