Clip-on headstock tuners have become increasingly popular since the Onboard Research developed the Intellitouch tuner entered the market some 7 years. ago.
Since that product emerged, countless copies, of various quality, have entered the market.
I’m pleased to note that the Planet Waves Chromatic Headstock Guitar Tuner, is one of the better ones I’ve tried.
It is easy to use, obtains the pitch quickly and decisively and features a decent build quality.
To use it, clip it onto a part of the instrument that vibrates (for the guitar this will probably be the headstock), then press the “on” button on the front, play a note and tune it till the needle on the display points to the center and the screen turns green.
The tuner is back-lit and glows red when a note is out of tune, and glows green when the pitch is correct. This red-green back light feature, in addition to the traditional needle, makes tuning fast.
It uses a piezo transducer. Unlike cheaper tuners that pick up sympathetic vibrations (resulting in indecisive read-outs), the Planet Waves tuner does a great job of picking the principal note.
The result is a reliable, easy-to-use tuner that lets you tune quickly.
This tuner locked onto notes from my Tsuji quickly and decisively. It was slightly indecisive when I tested it with a cheap Yamaha C40, but I’ve seen worse.
This tuner is one of the smaller, if not the smallest, clip-on tuners I’ve seen. It only has 2 buttons, 1 on/off button on the front, and 1 calibration button on the back. The default calibration is A=440hz. But this can be changed at 1 Hz intervals. The LCD screen is of a decent size and is easy to read. It runs on a CR2032 battery.
There are only 2 drawback to this item. The screen cannot swivel and you cannot manually set the notes.
Some performers prefer to hide the LCD screen from the audience by placing it behind the headstock. This cannot be done with the Planet Waves tuner because the LCD panel cannot swivel. Clipping onto the back of the headstock makes it completely unreadable because the LCD screen will be pointed towards downwards.
Neophytes who aren’t familiar with the guitar’s E-A-D-G-B-E tuning, and don’t know what octaves are, may also have some trouble using this tuner, because it does not offer any manual functions. For better or worse, it is entirely automatic.
It is available for $36.50 from the friendly and helpful staff at Music Theme (this is an unpaid review by the way). Overall, the Planet Wanes Chromatic Headstock Tuner is a great product for the price. It is compact and easy to carry around. The build and performance quality is excellent too. Its moderate price tag also makes it an attractive buy.
Highly recommended for experienced guitarist looking for a moderately priced and well-made clip-on tuner that works flawlessly and allows you to tune quickly.
