A terrible plague is upon us, fellow musicians. This pox—tuneus outofwhackus—is spreading like wildfire. Its symptoms are feuding fundamentals and horrible harmonics that result in a veritable clashing cacophony of out-of-place notes. While it seems to be focused among the younger members of our proud union, more experienced players fall to the infection as well. Thankfully, the cure is readily available. It’s the compact, easy-to-use, personal electronic tuner as perfected by Korg.

Korg has many models that range from as small as a Post-it® note to professional-size rack units. Each Korg tuner is made to be reliable for musicians on the go and offer tuning capabilities as flexible as they are accurate. That’s why they’ve sold over 20 million tuners! The family of compact Korg tuners includes models for every player’s application.

GA-30

Korg Compact Tuner GA-30 Korg Compact Tuner GT-4   Korg Compact Tuner DT-4

The GA-30 is an affordable, reliable tuner with a precision LCD needle meter that’s easy to read. A trio of LEDs just above the LCD reinforce the needle position by lighting when you’re flat, in tune, and sharp, respectively. Just plug into the standard instrument jack and play a single open string. You can tune down five semitones flat and tune seven-string guitars and six-string basses. The GA-30 can also tune baritone guitars down to five frets longer than a standard guitar. For acoustic players the GA-30 has an integrated microphone and produces a reference tone for audible tuning.

GT-4 and DT-4

The GT-4 and DT-4 are innovative and unique, while offering a lot of functionality in an extremely compact tuner. Despite their small size, both are easy to read thanks to the round tuning meter that circles the entire 2-1/2" face. Bright LEDs display the note name in the center while a ring of LEDs surrounding it indicate whether the note is sharp, flat, or in tune. Each has a 1/4" input and a condenser mic built-in for tuning acoustic instruments.

The DT-4 is the more versatile of the two, as it is a chromatic tuner with an adjustable calibration range of 410Hz-480Hz for support of all concert pitches and a wide detection range of A0-C8 (that’s all 88 notes on a piano). The GT-4 is designed specifically for tuning guitars and basses. It offers many of the features of the GA-30 in a unique form, including five-semitones flat tuning.

The GT-4 and DT-4 both have three modes for tuning: strobe, mirror, and meter. In strobe mode, the LEDs surrounding the note name rotate in a clockwise direction if the pitch of your instrument is sharp or counterclockwise if it is flat. The LEDs stop moving and the two tuning guides light simultaneously when your instrument is in tune. In mirror mode the ring of LEDs is split into halves and when the LEDs align at the center position, you’re in tune. The brighter LED will move to the right of center if the input pitch is sharp or to the left if it is flat. Meter mode is the most conventional of the three. You simply tune your instrument until the ring LED aligns with the tuning guide arrow in the center and the two tuning guides light.

LCA-120

Korg Compact Tuner LCA-120

The LCA-120 is for musicians and instrument techs looking for seriously impressive tuning capabilities. This high-performance chromatic tuner has a huge backlit LCD screen in a cool flip-top design. The large LCD is very easy to see and makes tuning effortless. The LCA-120 has a 1/4" input, built-in condenser mic, and 1/8" headphone jack, and produces a four-octave reference tone. Like the DT-4, it has an A0-C8 tuning range and adjustable calibration range of 410Hz-480Hz. It adds a Focus Tune function that zooms the LCD meter into the ±10 cents range like a magnifying glass. The LCA-120 also has a programmable Temperament Program function to let you specify the tuning pitch for each note, with indicator marks for perfect major and minor thirds. A Sound Level meter on the LCD measures the volume of the signal. You can use the Sound Back mode for ear training with the use of an optional CM-100L mic.

Korg Compact Tuner DT-10BR

The big brother of the group is the near-indestructible, stage-ready DT-10BR. It brings the precision and versatility of Korg’s professional tuners to your pedalboard. The bright LED meter is extremely accurate and quick. The note display is also bright and large enough to be read easily on a dark stage. The thick, extruded aluminum chassis is extremely rugged and should endure years of stomping. It has a 1/4" input, two 1/4" outputs, AC adapter jack, calibration switch, flat switch, and single footswitch. The included cascade cable lets you power other pedals on your board with a single power supply.

The DT-10BR has dual outputs to give you options for your signal: one is a bypass that always outputs the signal while the other mutes your signal when you engage the tuner. The calibration switch accommodates different reference pitches so you can match the key of any song. The flat switch lets you tune down seven semitones flat. On a standard guitar you can tune all the way down to A with precision and ease.

Whether you’re just starting out on an acoustic or electric or are a two-handed, seven-string shredding machine, good tuning is integral to your playing. It not only counts for what your audience hears, but makes a big difference in the development of your ear as well. Do yourself—and your audience—a favor: get a Korg Tuner and do your part to eradicate the evil scourge of tuneus outofwhackus.

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