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Eighteen dollars, and no excuse

D'Addario Eclipse Clip Tuner

A compact clip-on tuner with a display that rotates to face the player. At eighteen dollars on the American store, it is among the cheapest things in this catalog that improves how an instrument sounds.

D'Addario Eclipse clip-on guitar tuner in black

D'Addario Eclipse Clip Tuner

A compact clip-on tuner with a display that rotates to face the player. At eighteen dollars on the American store, it is among the cheapest things in this catalog that improves how an instrument sounds.

Type
Clip-on tuner
Display
Rotating, for reading from the playing position
Use
Guitar and bass
Amazon reference
B01IBI88R4 (identical on 6 markets)
EAN
0019954191580
  • Eighteen dollars on the American store, with almost no spread across the six measured
  • The rotating display means it is readable whether you are sitting or standing
  • No stated accuracy figure in the listing, so none is reported here

Best for: A first tuner, a spare tuner, or the one that lives in the case.

≈ $18
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Type
Clip-on tuner
Display
Rotating, for reading from the playing position
Use
Guitar and bass
Amazon reference
B01IBI88R4 (identical on 6 markets)
EAN
0019954191580

There is very little to say about an eighteen-dollar tuner except that every instrument should have one, and most do not.

It clips to the headstock, reads the string through the wood, and shows the note and how far off it is. The display rotates, which sounds like a marketing line until you try to read a fixed display on a bass headstock while sitting down.

D’Addario does not publish an accuracy figure for this model, so this page does not quote one. For tuning an instrument to itself and to a track, the precision on offer at this price has not been the limiting factor for years.

The reason to buy it is not performance. It is that a tuner in the case is used and a tuner on a desk at home is not.

The questions players ask

Is a cheap tuner accurate enough?

For tuning a guitar to itself and to a recording, comfortably. Where accuracy figures start to matter is intonation work — setting the bridge saddles — and that is a job where a more precise tuner or a strobe is worth having.

Why own two?

Because the one in the case is the one you have when the one on the desk is missing. At eighteen dollars, the redundancy costs less than one missed practice session.

Instruments it is stated to fit

More tuners & metronomes

  • Korg Pitchclip PC-2 clip-on tuner attached to a guitar headstock

    Korg Pitchclip PC-2

    Korg’s compact clip-on tuner. It clamps to the headstock and reads string vibration through the wood, which makes it immune to the noise of a room full of other people tuning.

    Type
    Clip-on, vibration sensing
    Mount
    Headstock clamp
    Brand
    Korg — a tuning reference brand
    Amazon reference
    B07DZRSV54 (identical on 5 markets)
    EAN
    4959112179103
    • Works in a noisy room, which no microphone-based tuner does
    • Korg has been making tuners longer than most of this catalog’s brands have existed
    • A clip-on cannot tune a wind instrument or a voice — there is nothing to clip it to

    Best for: Guitar and bass, especially anywhere other people are also tuning.

    Search Amazon for this model

Elsewhere in the cupboard

  • DMSKY black acoustic panels, 18-pack of 12 by 12 inch tiles

    DMSKY 18-pack 12 × 12 in

    Eighteen polyester-fiber panels rather than foam tiles, with edges chamfered at 45 degrees so they butt together without a gap, and adhesive already on the back.

    Quantity and size
    18 panels at 12 × 12 × 0.4 in — 1 cm thick, the thinnest on this shelf
    Material
    High-density polyester fiber, not foam. DMSKY states it has better ductility and wear resistance and does not deform easily
    Edges
    A 45° chamfer, which DMSKY states leaves no gap between panels — the only edge treatment published on this shelf
    Mounting
    Adhesive already applied; the backing is peeled off
    Absorption
    DMSKY states the effect is better than ordinary material and publishes no NRC figure. No panel on this shelf publishes one
    Thickness
    0.4 in. One panel on this shelf publishes 5 cm (2 in), and its page notes that thickness is what reaches lower frequencies
    Fire
    DMSKY puts nothing in writing on this. One panel on this shelf publishes a fire claim
    Color
    Black
    Coverage
    18 square feet in total
    Manufacturer reference
    None published
    Amazon reference
    B08PVTC9G4
    EAN
    0798797224944
    • Polyester fiber rather than foam, which DMSKY states resists wear and deformation
    • The only panel on this shelf with a published edge treatment — a 45° chamfer so panels butt without a gap
    • At 0.4 in it is the thinnest panel on this shelf, and thin material does nothing to bass

    Best for: Killing flutter echo on a small wall where the panels have to meet each other cleanly.

    Check price on Amazon
  • Donner DK-1 universal sustain pedal with polarity switch

    Donner DK-1

    A damper pedal for digital pianos, keyboards and MIDI controllers, with a polarity switch on the body. That switch is the difference between a working pedal and a keyboard that appears to be broken.

    Type
    Universal sustain / damper pedal
    Connector
    6.35 mm (0.25 in) jack
    Polarity
    Switchable
    Use
    Digital pianos, keyboards, MIDI controllers
    Amazon reference
    B01M9DYQL0 (identical on 6 markets)
    EAN
    0600346316812
    • The polarity switch makes it work with any brand, not just one
    • A 6.35 mm (0.25 in) plug, which is what nearly every keyboard pedal socket uses
    • A light pedal can slide on a smooth floor while playing

    Best for: Any keyboard or controller that did not come with a pedal — which is most of them.

    ≈ $51
    Check price on Amazon
  • Dragonpad USA 6-inch dual-layer pop filter with clamp

    Dragonpad USA 6 in studio filter

    The only filter here that publishes how it works: two layers of nylon mesh with an air gap between them, six inches across, on a metal gooseneck with a tension screw.

    Layers
    Two layers of nylon mesh with an air gap between them, which Dragonpad states reduces popping and lisping without dulling the sound — one of two filters here to publish a layer count
    Diameter
    6 in — the only filter diameter published on this shelf
    Gooseneck
    Metal, which Dragonpad states is strong enough to hold position and still easy to adjust
    Mount
    A universal bracket with a tension screw, stated to fit virtually any microphone or stand
    Stated purpose
    Plosives and lisping, and keeping saliva off the capsule — Dragonpad notes that saliva contains corrosive salts
    Clamp capacity
    Dragonpad puts nothing in writing on this. One filter on this shelf publishes shafts up to 18 mm (0.71 in)
    Material
    Nylon mesh. One filter here is metal, one is foam and one offers all three
    Weight
    14 g (0.5 oz) in the product record
    Amazon reference
    B00XQFOSZE
    EAN
    0634972184415
    • Publishes the mechanism: two layers of mesh with an air gap, which is how a pop filter actually works
    • The only published filter diameter on this shelf — six inches
    • No clamp capacity published, so the stand question is still open

    Best for: A close vocal where the filter should be big enough to stay in front of a moving head.

    Check price on Amazon

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