AxeFx 2 XL+ on board tuner

Andrew Male said:
I've never really figured out whether to tune to the initial pluck of the string (when it's sharp) or let it ring out (will go flat), what do you guys do? I think some string manufacturers suffer more from the sharp->flat phenomenon than others, but I could be wrong.
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When tuning, I ALWAYS turn the machine head flat, and then tune the string up to pitch. Even on a floyd, I turn the tuning screws flat, then tune to pitch. I also use Big Bends Nut Sauce on the nut and the bridge saddles. I play with the whammy bar in my hand, almost all the time. It is critical for me and my tuning that the strings do not bind in the nut slots. I hate to admit it, but I use the whammy bar so much, that even when playing a hardtail, I reach for my imaginary friend. Some people call it a "wang bar" but for obvious reasons I cannot bring myself to do that.
 
Tuning is an art that doesn't get discussed enough. I tend to tune the attack of the higher strings and the longer part of the note as the strings get lower. However, depending on the song or key, I may adjust. For example the B string, or the low E if I'm gonna hit it hard. I will tune to the position on the neck for a recording, but tune optimally for live. Thicker strings seem to vary less in pitch if you hit them hard. Of course a hard tail bridge helps, though I play a Strat as well as a Les Paul and Phantom (hard tail).
 
I use the tuner all the time.....but then that's no surprise for a guitarist.
It would be cool if you could use the mod wheel to select different tunings or even make custom ones because I can never remember some of the wierd ones I come up with.
I find the axe far more accurate than a headstock tuner but the headstock tuner gets the job done when your acoustic.
 
Given "perfect" tuning wont be perfect after you play your first chord is reason not to obsess over it too much.

In my younger days I always wondered why these rock stars used things like this "inaccurate" Boss tuner, and why if they had so much money they didn't all have Peterson's etc, which I of course bought, along with a Turbo Tuner etc, only to find that my 20 minute tuning session perfection never lasted.

0.001 cents etc is kind of useless really. Just 0.1 cent is plenty close enough for rock n' roll, and besides, no one enjoys watching a guitar player take forever to tune
 
Agreed. 0.1 cent accuracy is fine. Keep in mind that you are aiming at a moving target. Take a fast/sensitive tuner and hit the same string with varying attack strengths and watch the tuning vary all over the place with it. The harder you hit, the sharper it gets pulled and then settles back down. As you play dynamically, your attack tuning will vary with it. Even if you do get "perfect" tuning on your open strings, the second you fret a note that is gone. Unless you are a robot, fretting pressure differences while you play can easily exceed 0.1 cents, especially with tall or jumbo frets. Add to that, no guitar will intonate perfectly across the whole fingerboard, so 0.001 cent accuracy is pretty much overkill. Some people prefer to tune to the decay, some to the attack. Depends entirely on your playing style.
 
I noticed that my Axe FX and my Polytune seemed different. I, for no good reason, had it in my head that that the Polytune must be more accurate. But I believe the Fractal units allow you to tweak the tuner, so that should allow me to negate the differences. I haven't bothered though. lol
 
From an earlier thread:

Admin M@ said:
I find that our tuner's precision is very very high.

The Axe-Fx, with its spinning 8-BALL has the greatest precision of any tuner we offer. Using a test oscillator plugin in Logic, I was able to see differences in the speed of the spin between in changes as ridiculously small as 440.00 Hz and 439.99 Hz. The center "dot" offered on the Axe-Fx and AX8 is also extremely precise, registering a shift of one pixel when the pitch changed from 440 Hz 439.96 Hz. The ARROW indicators have a slightly more coarse precision. In my test, the left arrow switched off at 439.28 Hz -- so even this more granular indicator is still very precise.

So in short, I think the AX8 has an extremely precise tuner -- probably more precise in my opinion than you would need for guitar intonation, given that even the best instrument in the world will be out of tune by a greater degrees with the variation from one pick strike to the next, or as you change your posture, move, etc.
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I've found the Axe Fx tuner to be great but the MFC not very accurate... So I only use the front panel tuner.

However, I recently upgraded to an XL+, so after reading this thread I've decided to give it another shot.
 
I like the AxeFX tuner just fine, but I prefer my Peterson Strobostomp. Partly because it mutes the signal while tuning, partly because I find the pseudo strobes on the Peterson super easy to read, and partly because the Peterson is a little bit tweakable.
 
StickMan said:
I like the AxeFX tuner just fine, but I prefer my Peterson Strobostomp. Partly because it mutes the signal while tuning, partly because I find the pseudo strobes on the Peterson super easy to read, and partly because the Peterson is a little bit tweakable.
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The Axe Fx tuner can also mute the signal...
 
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