Boss TU

This is a review for the Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner. It replaced the popular TU-2 that Boss put out many years ago. The TU-3 has a noticeably easier to read display and better accuracy than the old TU-2. There is also a strobe tuning feature, which may or may not be a new feature?

I was a longtime user of the TU-2 and when I heard the TU-3 was coming out I sold my old TU-2 for $45 and upgraded to the TU-3 for $80 total. I believe I bought it through Guitar Center's website when they had a special discount coupon.

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I like that the unit kept the features I loved from the TU-2 like the sturdiness and only improved up in with adjustable brightness and better tuning accuracy.

There isn't anything I do not like about it. Boss did their homework and put out a sturdy, amazing pedal. Some people complain that the pedal isn't true bypass and that buffered bypass is not the same. I believe I have a decent ear and I do not notice any signal loss whatsoever.

Rock solid! You could throw this off a cliff, then go find it and take it to your gig. The battery life is great too.

Bottom Line if you need a pedal tuner I really would like you to consider this one. There are fancier tuners out there, but like it's older brother, the TU-3 will soon become the industry standard in guitar and bass tuning.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The TU-80 is the latest model pocket or case tuner from Boss. It is slim, lightweight and can be used as either a tuner or metronome.

I found this at Best Buy for $24. I didn't know they sold music gear.

I can plug into the tuner to tune or it has a built in mic. It makes a beeping sound when my note is in tune. This feature would appeal to setting up the intonation of your instrument, new guitarists or well anyone that has trouble hearing notes.

The tuner has a chromatic mode, so say I want to tune to a C note I can do that.

The unit runs on 2 AA size batteries. I prefer this over AAA as double AAs last longer and are easier to find when they die.

The buttons are a little stiff, but I assume they built it this way so the tuner doesn't go on and off all day inside your pocket or gigbag. I guess you don't want your bag to start ticking either if you want to board a plane!

The tuner is slim and fits easy into my hands. I'd compare it to the feel of a smart phone or remote control for a cable box.

The buttons really take some effort to press, but I can live with that.

I have nice a few fine scratches have formed. I have only had this tuner for a year. Oh well it keeps on working just fine.

A very accurate and portable tuner metronome combo.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Boss TU-2 has been a great tool for tuning on the fly in gigging situations. Before this unit, I was using handheld tuners with little or no functionality built in for drop tunings. Playing both classic and modern music means you either carry way too many guitars around or you have a versatile tuning device such as the TU-2 to help. The features such as cent and stream make tuning in darkly lit venues a bit easier than using it in chromatic mode. It also has flat and double flat tuning which is great but for today's modern music, that is not totally sufficient which is a bit of a downside to this unit. I have manual handheld tuners that can be set for five flats to accommodate some of the crazy down tuned stuff out there today. Yes you can tune to a note but it’s a bit of guess work unless the unit is set exactly for that tuning as other units can accommodate. I think Boss has addressed this in the TU-3 but not sure but it is definitely worth doing the research as this feature would entice me to make a move. This unit also seems not to affect tone or suck bass too much but maybe slightly. True bypass would be a great addition if possible. All in all this has been a great asset to me thus far and I've not had any reason to want to replace it yet so thumbs up for the most part. If I were to jump to a modern rock band I might seek out something else but until then, this is doing the job. The output and by-bass jack are also a nice feature of this unit so you can use it based on the situation.

In the days before guitarists could step on a pedal and tune their guitar on the fly, their best option was either an expensive model from the Peterson 400 Strobe series, or the small needle-based Boss TU-12. Neither were a very convenient option for a variety of reasons. The strobe tuners were difficult to read unless one was educated in how to use them, plus they were bulky, and setting them on top of your amp would still have you turning your back to the audience to tune your guitar.

The TU-12 needle tuner was an improvement in simplicity and size, but compromised in accuracy. Another downside to these tuners was they didn't have the capability to mute the guitar signal coming from the amp while the player tuned. As a result, the unpleasant sounds of a guitar being tuned could be heard by everyone.

The Boss TU-2 revolutionized stage tuning by placing the tuning solution on the guitarist's pedalboard where, with a step of the foot, mute their guitar signal, and tune the instrument utilizing a series of LED lights and Digital note readout. Pretty soon the TU-2 became standard equipment in every guitarist and bass player's pedalboard.

The TU-3 was designed to be everything players had come to love and expect from the TU-2, while addressing common complaints about the TU-2. Boss succeeded beautifully in making the classic TU-2 design even better.

The TU-3 sports a 21 LED readout, as opposed to the 12 LED readout of the TU-2, allowing a much more precise readout of microtonal deviations from the note. The display is also considerably brighter than the TU-2, allowing it to be read even on bright outdoor stages. Another improvement is response. The TU-3 tracks the signal pitch considerably faster than the TU-2. It also has a wider Vernier range than the TU-2, allowing a reference range of A436 to A445.

All of these improvements are housed in the same familiar aesthetic and functional design of the TU-2. It still sports the mute/bypass jacks, mode change, and stream/cent switch of the TU-2. With these updates, The TU-3 is destined to become the new standard in pedal tuners.