It can “hear” the note either through a built-in mic, or you can plug your instrument into a 1/4″ input. It automatically recognizes the note you’re playing. Since I like to play with a lot of sustained notes, my preference is for the latter. The strobe tuner allows you to tune to either that initial strike, or to let the note ring out slightly and tune to that pitch.

On a Rhodes, you get a certain pitch on the initial strike, and then the pitch often wanders. I found that really useful in tuning a Rhodes. But part of the beauty of a mechanical strobe tuner is that it responds instantly. There are lots of decent electronic tuners and apps. But for the rest of us who don’t have golden ears, this is a great tool.) (I’m sure there are some of you who can use a single tuning fork and tune a Steinway grand. It can make the difference between having a very nice-sounding instrument and a great-sounding one. When the disc stops, the note is perfectly tuned.Īfter using it on all my instruments, I can say that each now has a “sparkle” that wasn’t there before. (Okay, well, not the Hammond, which doesn’t need tuning.) It has 1/10 cent accuracy, and using it is as easy as can be: If the strobe disc spins to the right, the note is sharp. My Peterson AutoStrobe 490 allows amazingly quick and precise tuning of all my instruments.

For me, this device has really made that all the more enjoyable. I spend a lot of time buying, rehabbing and playing vintage keys.

Peterson autostrobe 490 strobe tuner