Guitar Tuners: 4 Different Types for Guitar and Bass Players

A guitar tuner is essential for every guitar and bass player to keep in tune. There are many tuners available that are good in different situations. If you’re looking for a new tuner, we recommend a chromatic tuner that will display the nearest note. They also tell you how sharp or flat your string is. When choosing the right style of tuner, we recommend considering when and how you’ll be using it.

Snark SN5X Clip-On Tuner

One option to tune a guitar is a clip on tuner, such as the Snark SN5X Clip-On Tuner. These tuners clip on the headstock and detect pitch through a vibration sensor. They have a bright display to show your current note and pitch to make it easy to read. Clip on tuners work great, since background noise isn’t able to interfere with the vibrations in the guitar. They also don’t require anything to plug in so they work with electric and acoustic guitars.

Korg TM50 Combo Tuner

The Korg TM50 Combo Tuner is also a great solution. It has a ¼” input so you can use it with a guitar or bass. There’s also a microphone for acoustic guitars. This tuner has an easy to use display, but it’s not visible from a distance. This makes it great for practicing, but not live performances. There’s also a built-in metronome, making it easy to practice on beat.

Boss TU3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal

If you’re looking for a tuner for on-stage, a pedal tuner is a good choice. We recommend the Boss TU3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal. This tuner works like any other pedal. Simply press it down to activate. The bright lights are easily visible on stage. The tuner cuts out the signal so the audience can’t hear you tuning.

Korg PB05 Rackmount Tuner

If you're a professional musician, we recommend the Korg PB05 Rackmount Tuner. It is rackmountable and works great for studio or live performance playing. This is great for setups involving rack guitar amps. Since it requires a signal to be plugged in, this can't be used with acoustic guitars unless they have a pickup. It also isn’t very portable, so we don't recommend it as a practice tuner. With its larger size, this tuner is also very visible. You'll easy be able to see it on stage at a distance.


There are many more guitar tuners available, such as those built into an acoustic guitar or phone applications. We’ve decided to cover these standalone tuners, since they can be used by anyone.