Instrument Tuner: iStroboSoft

I’ve been using my BOSS TU-80 for a while now and I thought I was making a good deal to have a metronome and tuner in one.  However, I didn’t look too far into the specifications.  Don’t get me wrong, it does the job but the digital display doesn’t fine tune your instrument as well as the analog equivalents.

Now, what’s a cent?  A cent is 1/100 (the hundredth root) of an equal-temperament semi-tone.  This means between C and D there are 100 steps.

1 octave = 12 semi-tones
1 semi-tone = 100 cents
1 octave = 1200 cents

Here are some of the features:

• Exclusive strobe display allows you to achieve an unmatched level of accuracy.
• Note/Octave window displays the correct note and octave for the note being tuned.
• Cents display allows you to see how far out of tune your note is in cent values.
• Glowing flat/sharp indicators assist when tuning a note very far from the target position and it is difficult to gauge which direction the strobe is moving.
• Noise filter: Use the noise filter when utilizing an external mic or clip-on tuning device to help reduce the effect of extraneous environmental noise during tuning.
• Input boost: The input boost will raise all input frequencies by +24dB.
• Calibration mode: iStroboSoft can be calibrated to an external source guaranteeing 1/10th cent accuracy.
• Drop/Capo mode: iStroboSoft will auto-transpose notes up or down to one full octave.
• Full screen mode permits the strobe display to be maximized on screen to allow better viewing from a distance.
• Adjustable Concert A: Change the Concert A reference of the tuner to accommodate tuning to a fixed instrument, such as a piano, or tune instruments that do not utilize the typical Western A440 reference.

I was very pessimistic at first but then I tried it out.  I tested it out on an electronic keyboard as a test drive then I plugged in my bass and went at it.  This tuner is pretty accurate for an iPhone application.  (I’ve tried the other applications and those didn’t work out as much as this does).  This is one of the things you have to try out for yourself.  This round, I figured that it wasn’t as expensive as buying the other Peterson Strobe products.  I can’t wait for the guitar input directly into the iPhone.

Now, would I buy this if I didn’t have an iPhone or iTouch?  Probably not.  I’d probably go with software or hardware tuners.  Then again, I love mutifunction devices.

Enjoy!