This New Tuner Day is a couple weeks late, but I thought I would put it through its paces before offering my opinion. Before getting into it, I'll acknowledge there are a lot of choices (even in my house). I have a couple practice amps with built-in tuners I don't use. I have a tuner phone app I just don't use. I have a multifunction pedal with a tuner that I don't use. Why? Because they're either not right there in the moment, or are not very accurate. I also have a couple of Snark tuners I've had a very long time. They've been good, except for a couple annoying factors. First, when trying to quickly tune a guitar, it's annoying for the little rubber foot of the tuner to come loose and need reattaching. Happens to me often. Second, I have simply had it with replacing CR-2032 batteries! What year is it that I need these around? Finally, my living room Snark started to need to be smacked to actually start registering a frequency at random times. So I went shopping for a USB rechargeable tuner that might be just a step above the Snarks, and I believe I found it:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... tock-tuner
I've stopped using the Snarks in favor of this PRS headstock tuner every day for 2 weeks, and I'm sold. The display is a little better (despite PRS's self-aggrandizing bird icon) and that was Snark's strong point. The several modes of operation gave me choices, and although I know it's not actually a strobe tuner, I find the strobe mode to suit me best. It seems more accurate than the Snarks. It's all very good. I've charged it only once, and the display indicates a full charge 2 weeks later - awesome. The only annoying aspect is that I want to keep its USB cable with it so as to not confuse it for another device's cable. I can live with that, and I think I'm finally done with Snarks.
Edit: Never mind all that, the head broke off after less than a year, and it's garbage now.
NTD: PRS
- solteroblues
- Reactions:
- Posts: 208
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 2:57 pm
I have that one, too. I think it's pretty good. Maybe I haven't charged it long enough, but for me, it seems to die pretty quickly... at least it is rechargeable easily enough!
- Rollin Hand
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1443
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 1:38 pm
PFFFFT!
That tuner doesn't have a 10-top.
That tuner doesn't have a 10-top.
"I'm not a sore loser. It's just that I prefer to win, and when I don't, I get furious."
- Ron Swanson
- Ron Swanson
- BatUtilityBelt
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1722
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 4:25 pm
Well I take it all back. I now call the PRS tuner garbage. Just trying to tilt it back for visibility, the head popped off and doesn't go back on. There appears to be a tiny screw that held it on, recessed into the head. And there is no clear path to opening it up, that's probably not intended. Nothing to unscrew, and an exacto in the seams does not find leverage to pop it open. Not good, PRS.
- solteroblues
- Reactions:
- Posts: 208
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 2:57 pm
That sucks. It's never happened to mine... but I still can't get the battery to last beyond one tuning. I can charge it up fully, use it to tune, turn it off, and the next time I need to tune, its dead as a hammer.
- BatUtilityBelt
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1722
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 4:25 pm
That's really bad. Sounds like maybe it has a short that drains it when you're not using it. When I bought mine, Snark didn't have a rechargeable battery version, but now they do. I just ordered one for $20. We'll see. My backups are still older Snarks, so we'll see how the new one is.solteroblues wrote: ↑Fri Jul 21, 2023 1:20 pm That sucks. It's never happened to mine... but I still can't get the battery to last beyond one tuning. I can charge it up fully, use it to tune, turn it off, and the next time I need to tune, its dead as a hammer.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... p-on-tuner
- uwmcscott
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1482
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 1:45 pm
- Location: Northern Wisco
- Gearlist: A few LP's, a Strat, a Tele and a few acoustics.
I am still working through the stash of the Reverb branded Snark knockoffs that they sold for $2.97 each during a sale. Back in the good ol' days when AGF'ers used to share deals and pile on when they came up - like the $159 AL-2000 frenzy I think I bought 10 of these and they have been dispersed, broken etc.
AGF Survivor Champ Emeritus (Ask TVVoodoo )
- BatUtilityBelt
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1722
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 4:25 pm
This was completely not worth doing, but my R&D curiosity and its associated ego wouldn't let it go. So I worked out how to pry the snap-fit case apart without breaking it. First, the front tinted cover came off easier. But I found removing it did me no good at all, wasted effort. But it did show me how the case snapped together. So with more work (and some angst) I got the back cover off and found the attaching screw accessible. I screwed it back onto to the clip solidly, and it feels firm. It no longer spins like a dreidel. It had always spun too easily, which was annoying when I just wanted it to remain upright. Putting it back together it is functional once more, and I'm just posting this for anyone else who has this issue. With an exacto knife and micro screw drivers, you can pry the covers off as pictured below and fix the issue. But I think I'll still prefer the Snark when it arrives, because it never put me through this unnecessary waste of time and effort over a cheap tuner.
- solteroblues
- Reactions:
- Posts: 208
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 2:57 pm
I bought like 5 of those, not a single one of them would ever even turn on. I got a refund for a couple of them, gave up on the others LOLuwmcscott wrote: ↑Fri Jul 21, 2023 2:38 pm I am still working through the stash of the Reverb branded Snark knockoffs that they sold for $2.97 each during a sale. Back in the good ol' days when AGF'ers used to share deals and pile on when they came up - like the $159 AL-2000 frenzy I think I bought 10 of these and they have been dispersed, broken etc.
rvb.jpg