Implemented Tuner: Add drop tuning functionality similar to Peterson tuners

dpeterson

dpeterson

Axe-Master
Love this on my Peterson strobe tuners. This with the addition of the bigger text makes it perfect for me.

What is it?

When referring to electronic tuners, drop tuning is a function by which the tuner shifts the pitch reference in half-step increments while keeping the name of the note the same.

Why use it?

Drop tuning is most used by guitarists who want to lower the entire tuning of their guitar without having to learn or get familiar with the relevant new note names. Many guitarists, when tuning, are familiar with the standard tuning notes EADGBE. However, many are unfamiliar with the note names that confront them during transposed standard tuning or when “tuning down”. Using a tuner with a “Drop Tuning” feature enables them to enter the degree of detuning as a numerical value (for example -2), whereupon the tuner internally shifts the displayed note names down by the required number of half-steps. This enables the player to tune to the same note name reference as before, but with aurally different results.

Such a function is useful for a guitarist in a stage setting when there is little time for re-tuning. Using the “Drop-Tune” function on the tuner makes the transition from standard tuning fool-proof and avoids embarrassing delays, mistakes etc.

More info here: https://www.petersontuners.com/beyond/?p=846
 
I don’t know man.... I’m certainly not versed on music theory etc, but even I know that D# is the same thing as tuning the low E string down half a step etc.

If you can learn standard tuning is EADGBE I think it’s not unreasonable to also know a full step is one note low, E to D, half step is D# or E flat

I’ve never had an embarrassing delay due to this and I’m not a technical guitarist in the slightest.

Seems better to spend 5 minutes learning the name of the strings and then for the rest of your life you can use ANY tuner.

I can also see such modes confusing people as well. If you have a drop tuning mode on, but it still gives standard tuning notes, and you forget that then your tuning everything sharp.....
 
I know the notes, been playing since i was 9. I just prefer seeing E knowing it's the E string, I dont care what the actual note is, when I have about 10 seconds to tune between songs.

It would be selectable like on the peterson tuners, you could turn off or on, nobody twisting your arm to turn on. Just like the offsets we have have now for those of us with Buzz Feiten guitars.
 
lqdsnddist said:
I don’t know man.... I’m certainly not versed on music theory etc, but even I know that D# is the same thing as tuning the low E string down half a step etc.

If you can learn standard tuning is EADGBE I think it’s not unreasonable to also know a full step is one note low, E to D, half step is D# or E flat

I’ve never had an embarrassing delay due to this and I’m not a technical guitarist in the slightest.

Seems better to spend 5 minutes learning the name of the strings and then for the rest of your life you can use ANY tuner.

I can also see such modes confusing people as well. If you have a drop tuning mode on, but it still gives standard tuning notes, and you forget that then your tuning everything sharp.....
Click to expand...

I would totally freak out if my tuner showed me E instead of D during a show.

But, obviously, there are people who prefer to have it set up this way.
 
I remember seeing a guitarist tune to D# instead of D because he was young and in a hurry. Ouch. That first chord was embarrassing for everyone.

I get Dave's point. Some people would use it, maybe most would not. Why not have it in there? If you don't want to use it, forget it exists. Lord knows the Box does 99% more than what I use or care to even think about. But, it doesn't hurt me in the least to have all the other stuff in there.
 
If you know that E flat is the same thing as "-1", then wouldn't one already have the knowledge required to understand how to tune ? If someone had zero understanding of the notes, and had no idea what "-1", "-2" meant, then what would they do if they looked at a tab that said a song was in E-flat, or what if the tab tuning said it was is D# ? Or what if it said it was in "D" ?? You'd need to know that those mean -1, -2, etc, in order to know to tell the tuner what you want adjusted, right ?

If we had this option though, I'd say take it even further. Have open tuning options as well. Don't know what the notes are for an Open G tuning ? I guess you select "open G" setting, and it reads out the normal EBGDAE, even though your really tuning to an Open G, or Open E etc. Then you wouldn't have to learn/remember what the tuning actually is....

As I said though previously, I can imagine this creating a big issue if you forget your using a compensated tuning, and expect to get an actual "E" or whatever note, and your really getting a "D"....

I'd ask myself, what I am more likely to forget in the heat of the moment; That D#/Eflat is a half step down from E, or that I previously set my tuner to a compensated tuning mode and failed to switch it back ?


Likewise, how do you adjust this on the fly ? Do you need to walk over the unit and enter a tuning option menu to turn it on/off ?? What if I tune to Drop D, the tuner is reading out a 1/2 step compensation, and telling me I'm getting EBGDAE, but I actually have a guitar I want with standard tuning ??

What would it tell me ? That all my notes are a half step sharp and I'd need to mentally remember what a half step ABOVE standard tuning is ??


Again, I'm not against the mode as an option, but I think it would cause more confusion and mistakes than it helps in most cases, unless someone played exclusively in Drop D tuning with every guitar
 
The only time I could see this making any real sense would be for polyphonic tuners, like the TC polytune. You hit all strings and all strings show up as being in tune (or not). Telling the tuner beforehand that the reference tuning is Drop D makes sense or the low E string would show out of tune when all the rest show in tune if the reference was standard. This is also how the TC Polytune work, where you select what tuning you're aiming for. I'm also almost certain that if you set the tuning on a TC Polytune to Drop D, and hit the low E string as an individual string, it would show up as D, not E, when it's in tune.

So yeah, if we ever get polyphonic tuning capability in the Axe Fx family, this would make sense (for the polyphonic tuning part), apart from that, it's probably more confusing than helpful.
 
The way it does it on the peterson tuner is, it shows the transposition number ie "-1, -2" or positive down in the left hand area. So you can see something is changed. It really is just a nice to have, but I use it all the time on my peterson tuner.. easier for me. Would naturally be an option... just have it at 0, increase or decrease. Someone would have to choose to use it, or not.

Also would work well for those who use capo's.

https://www.petersontuners.com/beyond/?p=846
 
I used it when I was using a Peterson Stomp Pedal tuner. I liked it and it had nothing to do with knowing or not knowing theory, note names etc. For the same reason that when a band tunes down and cranks out an open G chord nobody calls it an F# because the guitar is tuned down a half step. When you're tuned down most guitarists are still thinking the same way they do when tuned standard anyway. I always liked it because it reflected the strings name. Just seemed more natural than seeing D# on my tuner when tuning the E String. Nothing I'd lose sleep over but I think it would be cool.
 
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