Is the Peterson StroboFlip the best tuner?

Colin Cherot · Post by **Colin Cherot** » 4 Oct 2007 3:24 pm

I am goign to purchase a tuner for my S12 and I wanted to make sure I get the right one. The Peterson StroboFlip seems to be the best as far as I can tell. Unless someone can convince otherwise I think this is what I am going to get.

Maybe this would be a good "poll" question...

Any one?

James E. McNealon · Post by **James E. McNealon** » 4 Oct 2007 5:46 pm

I have one & it's great. It has tempered tunings for E9 & C6.
I noticed that your using a S-12. They are about to come out with a rack mount peterson strobo tuner that will have a tempered universal tuning.
your choice.
Jim

Roger Crawford · Post by **Roger Crawford** » 5 Oct 2007 4:06 am

Is the Peterson StroboFlip the best tuner? The "best" is what floats YOUR boat. For my needs, the Flip is my tuner of choice. Very easy to read, very usuable presets, very accurate, doesn't take up a lot of room in the seat, etc. Is the Peterson StroboFlip the best tuner? For me, yes.

Larry Scott · Post by **Larry Scott** » 5 Oct 2007 4:47 am

love mine

Ulf Edlund · Post by **Ulf Edlund** » 5 Oct 2007 4:47 am

I have a strobostomp and am very pleased with it.
The stomp and flip are similar exept for the physics.
I chose to have it on the floor.

Uffe

James Mayer · Post by **James Mayer** » 5 Oct 2007 9:48 am

I'll sell you mine at a nice price. It's a few months old and the only "used" part of it is that I've removed the rubber feet and added velcro.

PM or email me if you are interested.

tom anderson · Post by **tom anderson** » 5 Oct 2007 10:06 am

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 5 Oct 2007 2:26 pm

My main gripe is that the custom temperaments are only for a single octave, and they repeat each octave. I'd rather be able to program every note individually. For example I temper my E9 7th (F#) string differently than I tune my first string. That requires that I switch between settings if I want the tuner to help me tune both notes. I'd rather it be hands free.

This tuner apparently lets you program every single note:

http://www.turbo-tuner.com/

and so does this one:

http://www.precisionstrobe.com/

I figure it's just a matter of time before Peterson gets on board with this feature.

Does anyone know if the "flip" can have its software updated if Peterson makes future improvements?

Brad

Neil Getz · Post by **Neil Getz** » 7 Oct 2007 12:15 pm

If you have a high output pickup on your guitar, like a ToneAligner or a Wallace True Tone, the input protection diode of the StroboFlip will cause substantial clipping distortion on your output circuit when the tuner is turned off. Turn the tuner on and the distortion will disappear. I sent my (under warranty) StroboFlip back to Peterson to have the diode removed. The work was done quickly and free of charge.

Another issue with the StroboFlip is that even with the unit turned off the power supply still causes noise on the through-output of the tuner. This problem can be circumvented by placing the tuner in parallel to the signal from your guitar or pedal and not using the through-output, or by operating the tuner with batteries. [Note that neither the parallel nor the battery solutions will get rid of the distortion problem.]

In a recording situation, if you can control your cue mix you can feed the tuner with your cue signal. An A/B switch can also be used to switch the tuner in and out of the output circuit as necessary.

Like Brad I have to switch temperament programs for E9 F# tuning; one temperament for the 1st and 7th string F#'s to go with the open B-chord, and another temperament for 4th and 8th string E->F# changes on my C-pedal to go better with the BC-pedaled F#m. I've set other notes in the two temperaments the same so the switch just needs to be done once in my tuning process. After a couple of times this is pretty easy to do.

Being able to assign more than one octave of a custom temperament would not solve the above problem since both my 7th and 8th string F#'s are F#3's. A more generally useful feature would be the ability to assign and uniquely name any number of notes in a temperament program, e.g. F#3opn @ -17 cents and F#3bc @ +14 cents.

Louis Vallee · Post by **Louis Vallee** » 7 Oct 2007 12:27 pm

The Peterson StroboFlip is the best tuner for me.
Verry good precision, easy to use and easy to read in the dark or outdoor.

The only problem the signal output is not clean. Little buzz witn tuner ON in AC mode and distortion with tuner OFF in battery or AC mode.

"I try it with Jerry Wallace, Bill Lawrence or George L's pickup and same problem"

I use a/b switch between tuner and volume pedal.

"Jerry-Rig" by Jerry Harkins is the best for Steel Player...

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 7 Oct 2007 8:44 pm

The Stroboflip, like all Peterson units, is so accurate that ironically you hardly ever have to use it. That's a nice irony.

Paul Warnik · Post by **Paul Warnik** » 7 Oct 2007 9:13 pm

Chris LeDrew wrote:The Stroboflip, like all Peterson units, is so accurate that ironically you hardly ever have to use it. That's a nice irony.

-And that is why I do not keep mine on in line of my signal when playing-A good guitar will hold it's tuning-If I have to use the Peterson between sets it is no problem for me to back off the volume pedal and unplug the cord and put it into the tuner-If you must have the tuner on in line all the time get the Strobostomp-it has a true bypass and will not affect tone

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 7 Oct 2007 9:23 pm

Paul, that's exactly how I use mine......

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 8 Oct 2007 10:06 am

The best tuner for me is the little $20 korg thing. It's small, accurate, and when I lose it it's easy to replace.

Don Sulesky · Post by **Don Sulesky** » 8 Oct 2007 12:30 pm

I've had a dozen types of tuners and by far the Flip is the easiest and most accurate one I've owned.
I would not be without it.
The days of tuning by ear are behind me.
Don

Michael Haselman · Post by **Michael Haselman** » 9 Oct 2007 8:12 am

I ordered a Strobo Stomp yesterday, am looking forward for programming for pedal tuning. I read a few negative reviews on reliability. Anyone had a bad experience with these?

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 9 Oct 2007 12:05 pm

Neither Peterson nor any retailers
have published any data on product
failure rates, so problems that
you may have read are anecdotal at best.
So here is mine. I have owned both the
original Strobo Stomp and traded a Strobo Flip for the Strobo Stomp 2.

The original stomp had a flimsy
battery compartment, but I gigged with it
for two years and have not broken it.
The Stomp 2 has a hinged battery compartment. It also has a broader range of adjustment
and more PSG presets. Both have true bypass, whereas the Strobo Flip does not have true bypass.

Michael Haselman · Post by **Michael Haselman** » 9 Oct 2007 1:11 pm

Thanks, Jon. I believe I just missed out on your Flip. So, before I get it, can I set up a preset for all my pedal tunings? I've been using Newman's tempered tuning for years and it would sure be handy to have all the pedal tunings on a preset.

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 9 Oct 2007 1:48 pm

Stephen Silver · Post by **Stephen Silver** » 9 Oct 2007 5:36 pm

I really like my Flip.

And with the Fender Steel King, I have a tuner out patch that means I can leave it on all the time without the distortion issues mentioned above, and it's always ready to go for an instant tune up.

Also, the Newman tempered tuning is already preset from the factory.

It also occurs to me if you use a Hilton pedal or a pedal with stereo outs, you could connect one of the pedal outputs to the tuner as well.

YMMV

SS

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 9 Oct 2007 6:43 pm

After years of using needle style tuners,I could not imagine going back again after using The Peterson VS-II style tuners.

I keep mine connected to the tuner out on my FSK and it's very nice to be able to mute the amp with the footswitch and quickly touch up a string in silence while the leadman is doing his thing or the frontman is talking.

The presets work great for me too.

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 9 Oct 2007 7:33 pm

50 bucks buys a Fender Stomp tuner with very bright LEDs a Red one for zero.

NO noise in-line, and On. No Buzz. No Distortion.

Pretty easy to figure out which strings you want flat or sharp.

I tried every other straight up tuner I could find.

Wish I'd tried one sooner.

Try one at GC.

EJL

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 11 Oct 2007 11:16 am

I like my flip! Got it for $146 from Musicians Friend(scratch n dent)

But, I have my doubts about the peterson tuners being 30 times more accurate.

Terry