If you need a tuner for your guitar, bass, ukulele, violin or another instrument, you've come to the right place. From chromatic tuners and clip-on tuners to stage tuners, we stock it all and would love to help you find the perfect tuner for you.
Tuning Up a Guitar
You can tune a guitar in a few different ways. You can tune up with the help of a tuner that shows you whether the note is sharp of flat, or tune by ear using a reference note, a note played on another instrument - like a piano - that is already in tune. You can also use a tuning fork or pitch pipe to create a reference note.
Tuning a Guitar With a Chromatic Tuner
Chromatic tuners are the most common type of tuner and are able to identify all twelve notes of Western music. As such, any chromatic tuner can be used to tune up any Western string instrument. Clip-on models are basically clamped onto the headstock of a guitar or bass and detect the vibrations of the strings to measure the pitch, while stand-alone tuners ither have a built-in microphone which is perfect for tuning up acoustic instruments, or come fitted with a jack input for tuning up an electric guitar or bass. Then there are stage tuners that come in the form of a guitar pedal. A tuner with a built-in microphone can be useful, but is usually less accurate than a clip-on tuner or a tuner that you can plug your instrument into. Check out our Tuner Buyer's Guide for more extensive info and tips.
Non-Chromatic Tuners
While chromatic tuners are designed to recognise all of the twelve notes used in Western music and can be used to tune up various instruments, non-chromatic tuners are much simpler bits of kit. In fact, non-chromatic tuners are only designed to tune up a specific instrument, like a ukulele, and bring it to standard tuning. Non-chromatic tuners aren't able to identify other notes but are easier to use, since it's simply a matter of turning the machine heads of your instrument until the device says you've hit the right pitch.
Tuning Up an Electric Guitar
The standard tuning of any six-string guitar is E, A, D, G, B, E and there are a couple of tuners you can use to help tune up your electric guitar. You can use a clip-on tuner which is simply clipped onto the the headstock of your guitar so it can capture the string vibrations to determine the frequency of the note. Clip-on tuners are usually equipped with a handy display to tell you whether the string is in tune or too sharp or flat via a little display. You could also use a stage tuner: a tuner in the form of a guitar pedal that can be hooked up to your electric guitar using a jack lead. Just like other guitar pedals, tuner pedals need a jack cable and a power supply input.
Tuning Up an Acoustic Guitar
In addition to clip-on tuners, there are various specialised tuners for acoustic guitars and basses, like sound-hole tuners. Sound-hole tuners work just like clip-on tuners by picking up the string vibrations as they resonate inside the body, which means they can't be used to tune electric guitars, since they usually have a solid body. Plenty of electro-acoustic guitars also feature a built-in tuner.
Tuning Up a 12-String Guitar
Twelve-string guitars have the same standard tuning as six-string guitars, so E-A-D-G-B-E. While a twelve-string guitar has an extra four strings in a higher octave (E-A-D-G) plus two strings with the same pitch as standard (B-E), you don't need a special tuner to get it in tune since the notes don't differ from a six-string guitar. Check out our Tuner Buyer's Guide if you want to know more about guitar tuners.
Tuning Up a Bass Guitar
Bass guitars are tuned just like the four lowest-pitched strings of a guitar. The only difference is that your tuner will need to be able to identify lower notes. Fortunately, that's no problem for most tuners. The standard tuning of a bass is E - A - D - G.
Tuning Up Your Guitar Online or Using an App
You can also find tuners on the internet. Online tuners are usually tuner software incorporated into an app that uses the built-in microphone of your phone, making them less precise than clip-on tuners and tuners that you can plug your guitar into.
Tuning Up a Guitar by Ear
If you've got a well trained ear, you can also tune up your guitar by ear or by using a reference note. A reference note can be created using a tuning fork or pitch pipe. While some have accurate-enough hearing, most guitarists opt for a tuner.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tuners
What's a good tuner?
Both clip-on tuners as well as electric guitar tuner pedals and stage tuners are extremely accurate. A basic clip-on tuner can be picked up for less than a tenner. Read our Tuner Buyer's Guide for more information.
How do you tune up without a tuner?
You can tune up a guitar without a tuner using a tuning fork or pitch pipe to create a reference note. Need help tuning up? Head over to our blog: How to Tune Your Guitar or Bass.
How do you tune a guitar?
You can tune a guitar by tightening or loosening the machine heads. Tightening the tuners will increase the string tension which raises the pitch. The looser the strings, the lower the pitch. A tuner can tell you when the strings are in tune. Read our How to Tune Your Guitar or Bass blog to learn how it's done.
