Author: claire70
Date: 2008-03-14 11:47
Does anyone else have a problem with electronic tuners?
The conductor of the orchestra where I play likes me to use a tuner when I give the A so everyone knows it's at 440 and no-one can complain. For a long time I borrowed other people's tuners, as I hadn't got round to buying my own - these were usually of the design of having a row of about 10 LEDs, with a green one for in tune, red ones either side. If you played an A, you might get a couple of the reds on one side of the green, but the green would stay on too.
I then decided to go and buy one of my own, but the design described above seems now to be outdated, and no-one is selling them any more. Instead they have little electronic screens with an arrow which points to the top (and a green LED) when you're in tune, and goes off to one side (and single red LEDs each side) if you're out. It also displays the note it thinks you're playing. The one I bought first (made by Stagg) is a) crazily over-sensitive, and almost impossible to get to stick on the upwards arrow without wobbling around (even if my ears/lips are telling me I haven't changed the note at all), and b) has a blind spot for oboes - it almost always tries to tell me that I am playing a D, an Eb or a Bb, when I am quite definitely not! And then that that is sharp or flat (surprisingly). I can only imagine it has a problem with the overtones of an oboe and it's picking up those instead - if I sing at it or play the piano, this doesn't happen. However, I did once get a fellow oboist to play at it, and it didn't do this to her (maybe it was having a good day that day). I've even changed my oboe since then but it still happens, so I"m beginning to think it's me!
So I then decided that this Stagg tuner was just crazy, and went and bought a new one of a different make (TMI). It is doing *exactly the same thing*. I am beginning to despair....
If anyone else has this problem, I would be interested to hear I am not alone! If not, can you recommend any particular makes (preferably not too expensive!)?
Post Edited (2008-03-14 11:48)
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
