ilovefuzz.com

Hey guys! I'm sure there is a thread about this somewhere and I'm just blind. Whatever. I have a quick question for you 5+ string playing bass dudes. I play a 5 and have a Polytune Mini. It does not seem to track the B very well at all. I mean seriously. I have to hit the fucking string like 5 times for it to register sometimes. It's super annoying. What kind of tuners are you guys using? I used to have a Pitchblack and don't recall having this issue with it. I may just trade this one straight up to someone for a Pitchblack, but wanted to see what other options are good. Again, I want to be able to tune my B string without having to fuck with it for ten minutes. I mean, God forbid I want to drop to A. That would NEVER happen.

I've had a Boss TU-2 and a Sonic Research Turbo Tuner, the Turbo Tuner kicks the Boss's ass in every conceivable way, tracks almost instantly, smaller, true bypass. I just play 4 strings tho, and never tried the polytune or the pitchblack.

The TU-3 I have seems to pick up the low B on 5-string basses no problems.

It is a lot better than the dated TU-2.

The Pitchblack I bought for my girlfriend is great for low tunings / low strings too (equal accuracy specs as the TU-3).

Also: if you can't track the open B then use the harmonic at the 12th fret.

The Zoom B3's tuner is GREAT. It picks up the low B immediately. PLUS you get a ton more. I sold my Polytune because this tuner is so good.

Deltaphoenix wrote:The Zoom B3's tuner is GREAT. It picks up the low B immediately. PLUS you get a ton more. I sold my Polytune because this tuner is so good.

Really? I used the Pitchfactors tuner when I had that, but seriously a pain in the fucking ass to use. Click this and hold this for this many seconds. Blah, blah, blah. Not easy to use when you want a tuner right the fuck NOW. lol. Does the B3 has a one button push and go tuner or do you have to mess around with shit like on the Pitchfactor?

Dark Barn wrote:Also: if you can't track the open B then use the harmonic at the 12th fret.

A lot of times I actually end up doing this.

Here's a for instance for you. Just played my bass. Tuned it, I always check tuning every time I play. Dunno why...habit I guess? Anyway, tuned it, low B tracked fine. This time that is. So fucking WEIRD. Next time I tune the fucking will fight me I'm sure. It does that. Soooooooooooo annoying. Great tuner for all the other string and actually always tunes right when I use the 12th fret, but I want to be able to hit that open B and tune as well.

Sounds like Boss is the winner so far.

Push in a stomp switch for 2 seconds and the tuner is on.

That's really weird, because my Polytune Mini tracks my G&L fiver just fine, and I have the B tuned down to A most of the time, and it still grabs it. Is this for all of your basses, or just a specific one? Check out the EQ. One thing I've noticed is that it seems to track slightly faster when I flip my bass to passive. The active signal must be a little too hot, and it takes a second to grab the notes.

I tune to C standard on my 4 string and use a Korg Pitch Black and tunes really well

Dark Barn wrote:Also: if you can't track the open B then use the harmonic at the 12th fret.

That's a really good idea - I recently bought a 6 string and tuning the B with a TU2 was a real fuckin' pain in my arse.

bigchiefbc wrote:That's really weird, because my Polytune Mini tracks my G&L fiver just fine, and I have the B tuned down to A most of the time, and it still grabs it. Is this for all of your basses, or just a specific one? Check out the EQ. One thing I've noticed is that it seems to track slightly faster when I flip my bass to passive. The active signal must be a little too hot, and it takes a second to grab the notes.

I've found this to be the case as well.

I use the Polytune (regular) and I've tried the mini, and both track down to a low A. It will get picky if you have the EQ blasting it, as it'll take a little bit longer to recognize the note.

jwar - Try lowering the volume knob a bit (or passive mode on basses that have a toggle for active/passive)

jwar wrote: Tuned it, I always check tuning every time I play. Dunno why...habit I guess? A

Good habit. I do this as well, because I can't stand out of tune shit.

I will also jump on the pitch black train. Playing a five string, active or passive, it tracks B and A without fault.
I do want a polytune mini for guitar, though.

Dark Barn wrote:I've had a Boss TU-2 and a Sonic Research Turbo Tuner, the Turbo Tuner kicks the Boss's ass in every conceivable way, tracks almost instantly, smaller, true bypass. I just play 4 strings tho, and never tried the polytune or the pitchblack.

I tune my guitar to B, my bassist has used my turbo tuner a few times as well. Fully backed pedal.

My pitchblack is the shiiit.