Do you use a tuner or tune by ear

[Robert****]

Which way do most often tune your guitar, with a tuner or by ear?

I only use a tuner when recording or gigging, otherwise I tune predominantly by ear.

[markb]

Er, both. I'll use a tuner to "get a note" and then do the rest by ear. On stage it's silent electronic tuning all the way.

[sunvalleylaw]

Tuner, either my handheld Korg, my pedal tuner, my iMac, or my iPhone.

[Childbride]

tuner.

my trombone teacher said i had near to perfect pitch [whether he's right or not i have no idea and would not make that bet], and it makes me witchy about being spot on.

[Spudman***]

I'm a tuner guy. I can easily tune by ear and relative pitch and harmonics etc but it's so easy to just plug in and tune in 30 seconds that I don't want to waste time tuning - I'd rather play.

[Lev]

When I hear a string going slightly off I usually just correct it by ear but I'll always tune electronically before I start playing.

[wingsdad]

By ear, string-to-string is always the first go since it's easiest to get in the ballpark; as in the old saying "close enough for rock n' roll!"

But with a Boss TU-12H chromatic if an electric needs to be spot-on. For acoustics, a clip-on tuner (Intellitouch IMT-500) works very well. So does a tuning fork, working off the same principles of picking up vibrations. Tap it, rest the ball end on the bridge and match the 5th fret A harmonic; the soundwaves lock in & don't lie.

[M29]

If I have a tuner handy I will use that, if not I tune by ear.

[marnold***]

I can tune by ear and get it in tune with itself, but basically I'm with Spud. A tuner removes all inaccuracies and is much quicker. Why waste time?

[R_of_G]

I can tune by ear and get it in tune with itself, but basically I'm with Spud. A tuner removes all inaccuracies and is much quicker. Why waste time?

i'll third this

by ear i can tune a guitar to itself, but i'm never all that positive the first note is "right"

[Brian Krashpad]

Depends on setting and how close I am to begin with. Just picking up and jamming alone in the office there's no need for a tuner, but much more often I'm playing with others, either in practice or performance. In the former I almost always use a tuner, in the latter I always always use one.

[Tone2TheBone]

I hit the little button on the back of the Micro Cube Amp. It's either A440 or Ab. Tune the rest of the strings to the A.

[Monkus]

Originally Posted by marnold
I can tune by ear and get it in tune with itself, but basically I'm with Spud. A tuner removes all inaccuracies and is much quicker. Why waste time?

I'm with Spud as well. I always seem to have a funky G or B string that tunes well open, but sounds horrible with chords up the neck. Then I try to retune by ear. I'm kinda of a stickler with tuning though, I like it right.

[pes_laul]

I usually go by ear but when it comes to performances Ill use a tuner

[deeaa*]

I'm VERY particular about tune so by machine most of the time. I've spent hours intonating every guitar anyway...by harmonics etc. it never will get as well in tune as with a tuner...so whenever there is one handy, I'll use it.

However I often drop to D and make small corrections to, say high E etc. and you don't need a tuner for small adjustements or drop D etc.

[peachhead***]

i'll third this

by ear i can tune a guitar to itself, but i'm never all that positive the first note is "right"

I'll 4th it. My tuner is my friend.

[Plank_Spanker]

Tuner.......................

I keep my guitars set up accurately, so I know they sound right tuned up with my tuner.

[player***]

been using my ear for years But had a tuner that recently bit the dust so am looking at an Intellitouch IMT-500 to replace it and my trusty tuning fork.not sure I should pull the trigger on one just yet.

[kiteman]

I usually tune by tuner and a good one at that. In fact I have 3, one in each case. Where I play decides how I tune it, like at my friend's shop which was pretty big, I tune up a little sharp because of the way I hear it, it's like a doppler effect. My guitars will be tuned by tuner and as I play I'll be tweaking the keys to get the tone.

You'll know what I mean when you get the chills.