Choosing the right equipment
There are lots of tuners on the market, new and used, for you to choose from. You can find the older ones on many of the web sites (eBay, et al), music stores, piano tuners, or similar resources.. Here is a description of some of these devices to help you make the best choice:
1) An older Peterson tuner, model 400 (ca. 1975). This is an analog single-wheel system that is manually set from note to note. (One knob sets the correct note, the other knob adjusts the cents sharp or flat.)
2) An older CG Conn model ST-11 (ca. 1980). Another analog single-wheel system that is manually set from note to note. The large display window makes it a bit easier to see if the unit is set behind or above the workbench.
3) An early CG Conn Stroboconn model 6T5 (ca. 1972). This tuner features 12 wheels, one for each note of the chromatic scale. A bit noisey, but the multiple wheels are a plus. Note the old microphone!
4) A current Peterson model 5000 multiple-wheel tuner. This system uses digital circuitry and features an LED menu screen that provides information about the sharp or flat qualities in cents, and allows other global settings. Enables numerous functions, offsets, and Concert A frequency settings.
5) A current Peterson model 490 single wheel tuner. This system also uses digital circuitry and has the LED menu screen. The 490 features an "auto search" mode that detects the note and then changes the wheel to the correct speed to display the results of that note. It can also be set to "manual mode." (Systems 1 and 2 above are only manual and must be set to the desired note by hand.) This system also enables numerous functions, offsets, and Concert A frequency settings.
6) A Peterson "FLIP" introduced in early 2006. The flip is a fully digital system (no spinning wheel) that displays the sharp or flat qualities graphically. (While the FLIP is a great guitar tuner, wwe have found it to be less suitable for tap tuning than other systems described here.)
Friend and luthier Ron Saul is testing a Peterson VS-II (the device in the blue case to his left) for use in the tap tuning the backboard of one of his ukuleles. The VS-II is a digital system with an LED display window similar to the square checkered window shown in the Strobosoft® photo below. (See note #13 below)
Powerful real-time tuning can be done with the aid of a StroboSoft™, a software application from Peterson that runs on either Mac or PC and is virtually instantaneous. StroboSoft v2, released in December 2007, includes special tap tuning functions that lock the tapped note.
Key to using any of the electronic tuning devices for tap tuning is a "compressor." The compressor, such as this Behringer CS100, adds sustain to the note and allows the tuner to display the image for an extended period of time. This is also important for digital tuners that require a brief period of time to calculate and display the discovered note.
Notes and general comments:
1) Single-wheel analog systems are very functional. However, they require that you turn a selection knob to arrive at the right note. Once set to that note, they provide a very stable and easily visible image.
2) Multiple-wheel systems provide a view of the entire scale, including the overtone series (partials) because the whole spectum of the sound is displayed at once, each note displayed on its corresponding wheel. These systems lend themselves to high-production tap tuning operations.
3) "Auto search" modes are an advantage, but because of the slight time lag, they are only useful for tap tuning when the tuner is used in conjunction with a compressor.
4) With regards to the graphic displays showing sharping or flating qualities, for tap tuning purposes, the spinning wheel systems are generally more visual and more responsive than the digital displays. However, for just reading the note (i.e. "F#4"), Strobosoft™ is practically instantaneous and the "cents" window indicates the number cents sharp or flat. We recommend the advanced package with phono plug, etc. (Siminoff Part # 815)
5) For tap tuning, the compressor is a vital component for use with any of the tuners: digital or analog, software or hardware.
6) There are a few compressors on the market. In our tests we found the Behringer to provide the best signal and have the best range of adjustments.
7) The software tuners (i.e. StroboSoft™) work amazingly well. Our tests on a G5 Mac tower running MacOSX, with a Behringer CS100 compressor and RadioShack 33-3036 mic proved to be instantaneous and provided excellent, repeatable, and accurate results. The most recent version of StroboSoft has a special tap tune function that locks the tapped note and displays it on the screen. This version (released in December 2007) does no required the use of a StrobeTuner. These will work on laptop or PowerBook systems and the system would take up just about as much space on your workbench as a regular strobe tuner. (Or, you could choose to do your tap tuning where you keep your computer.)
8) While most dynamic microphones are acceptable for tap tuning, our #826 dynamic cardiod microphone is the best dynamic mic we have found, and we make adjustments to it to reduce the cardiod pattern (i.e. make it more directional). I also have found the RadioShack 33-3036 to work very well. ("Cardiod" describes the shape of the pattern - looking sideways at the microphone - in which the microhpone picks up its signal.)
9) As a convenience we also carry phono-to-phono extension cables and a 1/4" phono to 1/8" mini adapter (for plugging into a computer when using StroboSoft).
10) Connection: MIC --> COMPRESSOR --> TUNER.
11) Compressor settings (Behringer CS100): LEVEL: full, TONE: 1/2, ATTACK: 1/2, SUSTAIN: full
12) A full description of the set up and use of these systems for tap tuning is described in our new book The Art of Tap Tuning, Hal Leonard Corporation, Milwaukee, WI.
13) Click here for convenient connection to Peterson ElectroMusical's web site to download a version of Strobosoft™.
14) While the VS-II is a good digital tuner for tuning musical instruments and setting intonation, it didn't function as well as we had hoped for tap tuning purposes, even when a compressor was used.
15) For large production environments, we do offer the Peterson Model 5000 (but do not include it in our regular price list). The Model 5000 is our part # 811 and our price is $3,995.00. Shipping in USA is $22.00.
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© Copyright 2007 Roger Siminoff, Arroyo Grande, CA