Snark SN5X Clip-On Tuner for Guitar, Bass & Violin (Current Model)
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2016', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I played the violin for years as a child but was never taught to tune it. This product is so simple to use and I get a perfect tune every time. My 9 year old is learning right now how to keep her violin in tune and sounding amazing independently. Very happy with the simplicity and ease of use.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-2 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I bought a Snark from Guitar Center a few years and still use it. I thought I would buy additional Snarks for each guitar and eliminate relocating or forgetting to take the tuner when traveling. This Snark is different from the original one I purchased a few years ago in the following ways. 1. The plastic is NOT the same. One of the units cracked at the back ball collet. I had to re-glue and permanently mount a cable tie to support the broken collet tang(s). The glued one held but cracked another tang during re-assembly. The original Snark is made from a matt finish elastomeric plastic. the new one is shinny brittle plastic 2. The electronics are different. It seems to take longer to find the string and indicate the correct bias. This is a minor issue.\nI suggest when purchasing a head stock mounted tuner you have first hand tactile examination. Snarks are convenient but are either offered in decontented versions or they have cheapened them up. Hope the former.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I have 4 headstock tuners (including the 2 Snark SN5X\'s that I\'m reviewing). One (non-Snark) headstock tuner mysteriously can\'t detect a "G" note. The other is a strobing tuner with a menu system and a monochrome display that\'s just a pain to use, especially on stage. I paid about the saem money for those 2 tuners as I did from the Snarks.\n\nAs soon as I got these Snarks, I slapped one on a guitar, and tuned it up. Achieving the correct pitch was easy, and the screen was clear and bright. I then plugged the guitar into my dedicated floor tuner that I use to do setups/intonation, and it showed that the Snark\'s tuning was right on the money. The second unit performed just as well.\n\nI also like that there\'s one big button on the front of the Snark tuners, and when I press it, the unit comes on or goes off. My other tuners have multiple buttons, including power buttons that need to be held down to turn the units off.\n\nOverall, I\'m really happy with these. They were cheap enough that when a bandmate wanders off with one, I won\'t be broken-hearted, and they\'re accurate, and dead simple to use.\n\nNice product.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I loved my old Snark tuner, but it was covered in a grippy rubberized coating that in hot, humid Taiwan became sticky after several years. I had to replace it a couple years ago, and got a smooth plastic one that didn't have the same problem. Excellent tuner, easy to clip onto my guitar's head; the Snark head swivels conveniently, it's easy to use, accurate, and runs forever on just one battery. Neither tuner ever stopped functioning (the first lasted at least 11 years, with only one battery change, and was still functioning at around 12 years when I tossed it due to the stickiness). CON: the upper rubber foot OFTEN fell off the 2nd one (contact cement failed to solve it, but cyanoacrylate (SuperGlue) seems to be working now, having held for six weeks so far.) The rubber foot (part of the lining of the clip so it doesn't damage the guitar's finish) was heat and humidity resistant, and never turned sticky on either of them despite the very high humidity and heat here. I've just bought a 3rd for my sons and will report back on whether the rubber foot now stays on better, after using it for a while. LOVE these Snarks!!!"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'This is my second Snark Tuner. I am still using the first one I bought and am very happy with it. I own and play an acoustic guitar, a classical guitar, a ukulele, a bass guitar and an electric guitar and this tuner works nicely with every instrument. I am not replacing the first one, just adding another one for the convenience. The display is bright and easy to read and rotates 360 degrees so this works for right or left handed players. The "grip" on the clip is sturdy and holds just fine on every head stock on every instrument I have. No frills added, just a good basic tuner that is reliable. The cost is very competitive making this a nice choice.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'SNARK gets 5 stars from me for the new model which makes the connection between the backside of the tuning device and it’s clip into the guitar stronger. The complaints I’ve read are largely due to this issue. Look for the words “current model” in the Amazon description. Also, when buying from a store, make sure that the round plastic part holding the ball on backside of the device is thick. See photos of broken Snarks on other reviews. Snark not only responded to complaints with a new design, they kindly replaced one I had received previously as a gift, which was broken. So these five stars are for ease of use, new design and customer service. I purchased one through Amazon last December for my grandson and it is the much improved version.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Had this since Feb 2017, and it served me well through October 2020 when I sat on it and broke one of the tabs off the back (tried to crazy glue but it broke again, *sigh*). It reads pretty accurately (at least as well as tuning with a keyboard/piano) and the batteries last fairly well. Best batteries to use as a replacements in my experience are CR2032 3 Volts (I used Energizer only after a while, but any brand should be fine).\nUsed for electric, classical, and acoustic guitars as well as for a guitalele, ukulele, and viola (applied to the back of the pegbox between the pegs in the middle).\n\nAfter about 9 months, I got into a habit of applying a little, tiny dab of lubricant on both ends of the middle connector to keep it from getting stiff (I did this every few months when I cleaned my instruments, only a small drop while slowly rolling the connector around in the socket until it feels a little looser - too much and it'll roll around uncontrollably and won't be stagnant when you need it to be). I also avoided taking the pieces apart often because it isn't necessary and would probably break it after a while.\n\nA good thing to note is the clip is very sturdy sitting on the guitar as it has a good amount of pressure. So for softer wood guitars, it could leave an indentation if left on long. I recommend tuning and removing. If you turn pegs when you play and need a tuner to build the muscle memory, be wary. Any cushion put between could very slightly alter the tuning quality. For harder woods, this isn't an issue.\n\nAll-in-all, great tuner. Could be better material for the small tabs that connects the middle piece, but if you take good care of your things it shouldn't be an issue. Good luck, all. Play on."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I've used this to tune my guitars (electric and acoustic), mandolin, banjo, and violin and it works great for all of them. I compulsively tune my instruments to gain some sense of control in my life, so the easy of use and battery consumption are wonderful.\n\nThe plastic is not the best. I've had to buy several units because the plastic holding the main unit to the ball joint on the clip is particularly susceptible to breaking. But it's not an expensive tuner and it's wildly accurate and the color goes perfectly with my midlife goth phase, so I don't mind spending the money. Alternatively you could just be careful with it, but life is short and music isn't meant to be safe."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "These little guys are great for tuning acoustic instruments, and for electric guitar or bass players who don't have a tuner somewhere in their live rig. I've got 3 of these, and the factory installed coin cell died pretty quickly on one of them. But, they use the very common CR2025 cell (used in nearly all computer motherboards as CMOS battery), so replacements are cheap and available at nearly any department store, grocery store, pharmacy, you name it.\n\nThis little gizmo responds quickly, is fairly accurate, and is a snap to use. Squeeze the clamp to open it and clamp it on the headstock, press the front button, strike a string and tune to the readout as with any other tuner. When done, press the button to turn it off (it also has auto-off) and remove it.\n\nThe colored LCD readout is crisp and easy to read in normal room light, dim stage light or even quite bright artificial light, and outdoors if it's overcast or you're in a shaded area. The only quirk is one that's common to 90% of tuners, which is some difficulty reading extremely low notes like the low B on a bass guitar, without a couple of tries sometimes. But, it always pulls through! With guitar, banjo, mandolin, etc, it responds instantly and has almost zero lag."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Attach the Snark Tuner to the head stock ( where the tuning pegs are) of your instrument. Turn it on and sound the string you need to tune. It recognizes the note being played and displays whether you are sharp or flat by a graphic of colored rotating needles. The needles indicate if you tighten or loosen the string to achieve the correct pitch. Red needles only show you\'re flat and yellow needles after the green show you\'re sharp. The green dot centered over the green needle indicates you have tuned to a perfect pitch. The clamp has rubber pads to protect the finish of your instrument. It is easy to operate and it has power save, an occasional self test. It runs on a cr2032 coin cell. You get a free "chord secrets of the pros" when you register your warranty on their web page.'}]