logo
  • Home
  • Main Categories
    • Accessories
    • Amplifiers
    • Band & Orchestra
    • Bass
    • DJ & Karaoke
    • Drums & Percussion
    • Guitars
    • Keyboards & Synthesizers
    • Live Sound & Lighting
    • Microphones
    • Studio & Recording Equipment
    • Traditional Instruments
  • About
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Accessories
Last updated: 2 Feb 2022

Bringing Forth The Best Stringed Instrument Tuners for Beginners

Best Overall
logo
KLIQ Music Gear UberTuner
Shop now
Runner-Up
logo
Fender FT-2 Professional Clip-on Tuner
Shop now
Honorable Mention
logo
Snark SN5X Clip-On Stringed Instrument Tuner
Shop now
Also Consider
logo
D'Addario Stringed Instruments Tuner
Shop now
Jack Stoneybrook
By Jack Stoneybrook
Published 4:31 pm
Show contents
  • 1 KLIQ Music Gear UberTuner
  • 2 Fender FT-2 Professional Clip-on Tuner
  • 3 Snark SN5X Clip-On Stringed Instrument Tuner
  • 4 D’Addario Stringed Instruments Tuner
  • 5 Donner Clip-on Stringed Instrument Tuner
  • 6 Real Tuner’s Chromatic Clip-on Tuner
  • 7 Mugig Clip-On Tuner for Stringed Instruments
  • 8 Tuner On Guitar’s Clip-On Stringed Instrument Tuner
  • 9 GUITARX X5 Clip-on Tuner
  • 10 So There Rechargeable Tuner for Stringed Instruments

The chromatic tuner apps on our mobile phones have totally outdated the idea of owning the physical tuners - yet still not entirely. Some people still like to keep one in their collection - at least the folks who hate scouring through their mobile phone in front of an audience. Plus, owning one saves time too, and allows people to have a tuner right at their hand's reach, especially when playing live. Therefore, in this article, we're bringing you the finest stringed instrument tuners of 2021. So whether you're a guitarist, violinist, ukelele-ist, bassist, cellist, or more - these tuners will have your back! And don't worry if you've never purchased one before - we've got a detailed buyer's guide at the end of this article that'll help you choose the one that best fits your needs. So, without any further ado, let's get going!

Comparing the Most Premium String Tuners for 2021

1

KLIQ Music Gear UberTuner

– Best Overall
img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

This clip-on tuner for all instruments with multi-key modes is fast and accurate, has a super bright display, and comes with a 3-year manufacturer’s guarantee! It’s easy-to-use – all you need to do is turn it on and clip it on, and you’re good. Since it works by picking up the instrument’s vibrations, the ambient room noise or crowd noise will never disturb you. 

Moreover, the tuner’s bright LCD display allows you to clearly see if you’re in tune, out of tune, sharp, or flat. It’s good for both hobbyists and professionals and we love it!

Pros
  • With 3 points adjustment, you can position the screen in any way you prefer
  • Comes with a 3-year manufacturer’s guarantee
  • It has a strong built and the clip is durable to withstand heavy use
Cons
  • The slide and snap battery replacing technique is bit of a hassle
2

Fender FT-2 Professional Clip-on Tuner

– Runner-Up
img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

Available in five styles and four colors – this beautiful, double-hinged clip-on tuner is excellent for ukulele, guitar, bass, violin, and features chromatic tuning modes! It has a colored LCD screen with an easy-to-read tuning needle that moves live along with the vibrations! The clip-on tuner comes with a CR2032 battery.

Pros
  • It handles the noisy environments with ease – thanks to the built-in vibration sensor
  • The dual-hinged design allows you to mount the tuner on either side of your instrument’s headstock
Cons
  • The clip is very stiff to squeeze open
3

Snark SN5X Clip-On Stringed Instrument Tuner

– Honorable Mention
img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

This guitar tuner by Snark comes with a full-colored display and features a frequency range tailored to bass and guitar! The tuner rotates 360 degrees and can be mounted on the front or back of the headstock. You can get your hands on this tuner in a bunch of styles and patterns!

Pros
  • Features a tap tempo metronome
  • Has a high quality LCD display and the screen can be rotated 360 degrees
Cons
  • The rubber tab keeps pulling off 
4

D’Addario Stringed Instruments Tuner

– Also Consider
img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

This micro clip-on tuner is a highly precise, ultra-lightweight, discrete, and compact tuner that hides behind your headstock – your audience will never know there’s a tuner on your guitar! Plus, you can either buy it individually or buy it in a pack of 2 – it’s available in three styles! Moreover, it has an easy-to-read, tri-color backlit screen display! We love this small and compact good boy.

Pros
  • Features a 360-degree swivel mechanism and an adjustable padded clamp
  • Has an auto-off function that helps optimize battery life
Cons
  • It buzzes with certain notes and that’s a problem when playing a small instrument like the ukulele
5

Donner Clip-on Stringed Instrument Tuner

img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

This chromatic tuner is available in two variations; green display and colored display. It’s a clip-it, turn-it-on, and start using sort of tuner – simple to use and durable enough to withstand abuse when on the road! Plus, the tuner comes with an a sensitive vibration clip that helps become it highly precise. So whether you own an acoustic guitar, bass, violin, or a ukulele, it’s an excellent tuner to have by your side!

Pros
  • The tuner screen has a rotational clip design
  • Comes backed with a 6-months guarantee by Donner
Cons
  • The clip-on has cheap plastic which becomes prone to breakage overtime
6

Real Tuner’s Chromatic Clip-on Tuner

img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

Available in two colors; white and black – this tuner for stringed instruments has a stylish design with a bright-colored display that’s simple and easy to read! It offers excellent accuracy and sensitivity. You’ll notice the quality of its preciseness right out of the box. The best part? It provides easy access to all the functions right on the front panel – there are no hidden buttons! It’s hands down an excellent gadget to have in your gig bag!

Pros
  • Offers full 360-degrees rotation
  • Comes with a no-questions-asked 3-years guarantee
  • Comes with the battery
Cons
  • The clip-on may not open wide enough for some violins
7

Mugig Clip-On Tuner for Stringed Instruments

img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

Mugig’s tuner comes with 5 tuning modes catering to different instruments, including the chromatic tuner mode. It has a flexible rotation design, allowing it to move around 360 degrees and 135 degrees bent. It is also accurate and fairly quick – comes with this highly sensitive vibration sensor that helps simplify the job! All you have to do is turn it on, press the A4 key, and start tuning.

Pros
  • Comes with a nice colored display to give you a good view from every angle
  • Adjusts to almost any angle you want
  • Comes with a battery
Cons
  • The clip-on part is designed without the consideration of it fitting seamlessly on violins
8

Tuner On Guitar’s Clip-On Stringed Instrument Tuner

img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

Easy and intuitive to use, fast and accurate, has multiple tuning modes, excellent display, and comes with a 3-year manufacturer’s guarantee – this tuner by Guitar on Tuner is everything you may be looking for! It can rotate to 360 degrees, is small in size, and can be used for both standard and drop tunings! It’s available in two colors; black and red. 

Pros
  • Offers an energy-saving function
  • Comes with the battery included
  • 3-color LCD display with a decent backlight
  • It’s backed with a 3-year manufacturer’s guarantee
Cons
  • There is no way to adjust the frequency
9

GUITARX X5 Clip-on Tuner

img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

This tuner is equipped with an advanced microprocessor and an excellent vibration sensor – this makes it an easy-to-read and super accurate tuner for all your stringed instruments! It is fully adjustable with 125 degrees tilt adjustment and a 360 degrees angle adjustment. Just clamp the device on the headstock and you’re ready to go!

Pros
  • Works perfectly as a clip-on for violins
  • Has a large, full-color display that makes it easy to read from all angles
Cons
  • The on/off button is a bit too small
10

So There Rechargeable Tuner for Stringed Instruments

img
Check Latest Price
THE SCOOP

This is the only rechargeable tuner on our list and that’s exactly why we had to include it! It charges with a USB cable and gives about 5 hours of runtime. It has a compact, high-quality, lightweight design and offers 360 degrees of angular rotation. The super-bright colored LED display adds to its overall look and makes it easy to read. Lastly, it’s fast, accurate, and breezy to use!

Pros
  • Comes a money-back guarantee with no questions asked
  • Supports five tuning modes
Cons
  • Not good for a 5 stringed bass

Buyer's Guide to Finding a Clip-on Tuner for Stringed Instruments

We've hooked you up with our favorite tuners for all our musician fellas - whether you're a guitarist, have a thing for the uke, like doing those cool bass riffs with your sunglasses on, or if you're a violinist fond of throwing buttery sweet tunes out there.

In this section, we'll shed some light on general information about tuners that every musician should know about. Let's start by helping you pick up the right tuner for yourself.

What to Look for When Buying a Tuner

Before you choose a tuner, it'll pay you well if you're mindful about a couple of features in advance. Here's what to look out for when buying a tuner:

Extra features

Many tuners come with a couple of other features as well - the most common of which is having a built-in metronome. If you're not the sort to carry multiple gadgets with you, this could be a great way to have both in the same device. Besides this, some metronomes come with multiple tuning modes that make the product a lot more versatile.

Settings

If you're buying a chromatic tuner, it'll probably be sensitive to any chromatic pitch and display accuracy. However, some tuners out there will be instrument-specific - a guitar tuner for instance will only be good for guitars and even bass. Make sure to scour through these tuning settings beforehand so you know what you're getting yourself into.

Type

There are three primary types of tuners; chromatic, polyphonic, and strobe - we'll be explaining these in a while.

Clip-on

If you're buying a clip-on tuner (usually works by picking up vibrations off the headstock), you need to ensure that it fits right on your instrument. Many a time, mostly with violins - customers experience an issue with fitting a tuner on the violin. This is mostly because the clip-on tuner opens very little as compared to the violin's headstock's thickness. Make sure the tuner you're going for doesn't give rise to similar issues for your instrument.

Accuracy

This is seldom an issue but some faulty devices may have frequency accuracy issues that may make it impossible for you to tune a certain instrument. To be on the safe side, always opt for tuners that come with a money-back guarantee or some sort of manufacturer's guarantee to replace the gadget. 

Durability

When you're touring or using your tuner live, it's more exposed to being damaged. It's also very easy for it to fall while you're clamping it on - so make sure you're buying a decent product. Similarly, the clip-on should be manufactured out of durable plastic that doesn't break with some mere hard-presses.

The Types of Tuners Out There

There are three primary types of tuners out there, based on how they deal with sounds or different frequencies.

Chromatic

The chromatic tuners compare the incoming signal to one of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale and can only process one note at a time. This is the simplest and most widely used type of tuner - the limitations with this type of tuner work well for most people.

Strobe

As opposed to the chromatic tuner, a strobe tuner can be set to custom temperaments and frequencies. If you are planning to play outside of the standard western scale, a strobe tuner will serve you well. 

The strobe tuners also prove to be very useful if you're planning to experiment with various pitch standards - for instance, basing around 432Hz instead of 440Hz. This type of tuner is the most expensive and specialist option of the three!

Polyphonic

Polyphonic refers to a tuner that can process multiple notes simultaneously. This type of tuner is highly useful when playing live since it allows you to strike all the strings together so you can ensure that all is well and everything is lighting up green.

Pitch-sounding vs. Microphone vs. Clip-on Tuners

The pitch-sounding tuners are used to play the correct note, to which you can then match the notes of your instrument. This is done for all the strings of your desired instrument until it's fully tuned. 

This is a very tough and many a time, very frustrating way to tune your instruments. Firstly, the surrounding noises on stage don't really let you hear this type of tuner. Secondly, you need a good eye and decent playing experience to tune the instrument by using your ears. This one's our least favorite among the three in this discussion.

The 2nd one - microphone tuners usually just pick up the sound signals out of your source and use those frequencies to signal green as soon as the correct note for a string is hit. These are very desirable too and work perfectly at home, in situations where there isn't any ambient noise.

However, at concerts or when you're playing in front of an audience, you need something that is not affected by the surrounding noise. This is where the clip-on tuners step in and this is exactly where you will find your smartphone tuners to be very limiting. That's why we've reviewed the top clip-on tuners of the market in this guide. You'll usually find them to be most precise, error-resistant, and easy to use!

Stringed Instrument Tuner FAQ

Q: How much does a guitar tuner cost?

A: It will cost you anywhere between $10 to $50 - the $50 ones are usually the ones with big screens or those with a metronome or multiple types of tuning modes in them. If you're looking to buy a tuner you can make do with, a $10 to $20 product will be just as good! Just make sure to zero in on a durable and reliable piece. If you're confused, feel free to scour through the list we've narrowed down for you.

Q: Can I tune my electric guitar with the same tuner I use for acoustic guitar?

A: Absolutely! If you have a chromatic tuner, you'll be able to tune most of your stringed instruments with it. Acoustic and electric guitars share the same set of notes so tuning them is exactly similar. No rocket science there.

Q: Why does my guitar keep going out of tune?

A: Your stringed instruments have strings that are strained to a specific tension for them to produce the desired notes. If your headstock is placed inappropriately - in a way that makes the tuning keys rotate, it'll mess up the tuning. Sometimes, the tuning keys are lost and since strings are naturally very tight, they get loose over time, disrupting the tuned instrument. It's better if it doesn't happen but don't worry even if it does! Just fine-tune it back again and continue playing!

Jack Stoneybrook
By Jack Stoneybrook
Jack has been a touring guitarist for almost 20 years, playing in a number of country music and rock bands. Jack loves the road and defines himself as a never-ending student of the guitar and other important instruments or tools that make a musician.
You May Also Like
img
The Best Guitar Strings on Amazon
img
Reviewing the Best Viola Strings for Beginners
img
Amazon’s Best Guitar Tuners
  • Contact
  • About
logo
Copyright American Songwriter © 2022
  • Privacy Policy