OT: Rack tuners

[John Egerton]

Hey guys,

I am getting a custom case made for my amp and was considering having some rack spaces put in it, however the only thing I can think of right now to put into it is a rack tuner.

I've read about the korg rack tuner and was wondering. Is it any better than an ordinary tuner? If I wanted perfect tuning via an electronic device would I get just as good results with a boss tuner?

Are there any non rack tuners out there that are just as good?

If there is no use for a rack tuner then I can skip the rack spaces in the case and save weight and space.

Thanks guys...

John

[captntasty]

Either the Korg DTR1000 or DTR2000 will work great, I used to have one of the older models which could be a little dodgy but worked well enough - these models are updated and from what I've heard perform much better than the older models.  The 2000 has more bells and whistles most notably multiple tuning modes and 2 switchable inputs.  Korg also makes a pedal style tuner based on the DTR technology - sometimes it's better to have your tuner on the floor right in front of you instead of behind you... 

As for other rack tuners, Fender now makes one, no experience with it - Sabine has a few models, again no experience with them but I use a Sabine STX1100 (small type) which has been around for years and works great for my bench.  You probably can't go wrong with the Boss either, but I'm sure others have opinions that might help you more as I have never used it believe it or not - I vaguely remember hearing about a noise problem with the TU-2 but if it's out of your main signal path it wouldn't matter. 

There are plenty other small tuners out there (the rack tuners I mentioned are the only ones I know of) but these are the heavy-hitters.  Peterson might be worth a look - they are pretty much the standard by which other tuners are measured IMO.  They offer a virtual strobe stomp version which is probably great but only offers an LCD readout which I have heard second-hand is difficult to see on stage.  They offer a rackmount strobe that is probably EXCELLENT, but pricey.  Whew!   

[Seljer]

well how many times do you need retune in the middle of a gig and be able to see your tuner across half the stage (as opposed to walking over to your pedalboard...)? I'v heard from many people that they were under-impressed by their rack tuners (and ended up taking it out from their racks and putting something else in its place....)