I use Peterson Stomp Classic Strobotuners. No longer sold new but can be found on ebay or Reverb and are still fully supported by Peterson. They are very accurate for intonation, are very stable, can be used on a pedal board, have a built-in direct box for studio work, have sweetened guitar tunings, various drop tunings, built like a tank, can be used to chock a tire if you get a flat on the highway, or for personal self-defense. Peterson has a wealth of information on their website regarding various aspects of tuning various instruments, and instructions on intonation if you're interested, they're a good good read. If that's too much for you, they have a newer, smaller model, won't stand up to a bullet like the Stomp Classic, but still the same high accuracy as the Stomp Classic. As mentioned above, they also have the app version, which is very accurate, and they sell an input adapter cable to use with your phone, but there have been some complaints about the durability of that cable, YMMV. The app have various options and and price points, so you can get the basic tuner and add options to it later if want them. Personally, if I wanted a phone app tuner, the one I'd get would be the Peterson.
Hey Peterson iStroboSoft app users, I have a question. The iPhone app has a bunch of add on purchases, and one is a harmonic tuner. If setting up intonation, is this add on needed? Or can the basic package tune/read/analyze harmonics?
Basic is all you need. Your harmonics are what they are, and there is nothing you can do about them, so there is very little point in analyzing them.
Well, IF I understand your question; it sounds like you want to know if you need anything 'special' when adjusting intonation, over and above a 'regular' tuner. If that's the question my answer is "no". (If I missed the point, my bad.)
Quick update - I did purchase the Peterson istrobosoft app for my ipad along with the iCable, works great - got cable from SW - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iCable--peterson-adapter-cable Bad news, I decided to start with my telecaster (setup) instead of the SG, well that didn't go so very well, yes it should be pretty straight forward, but ..... Neck had very slight upbow, was able to straighten with slight truss rod adjustment Bone nut looks to be good, slots do not appear to be too deep, will lube the slots with a #2 pencil lead Saddles were not set very good, (compensated brass saddles), tried adjusting string height, moved saddles slightly then couldn't get string buzz to quite down so I stopped there, spent today doing some more reading on all things telecaster setups, will try again tomorrow - Joe
I use a trusty Korg CA30 on the workbench then fine tune with this: https://www.tomasboril.cz/tbstrobetuner/ However your method of the super snark works fine if you follow up with what you have on the pedal board to check for accuracy and fine tune if needed.
Bro, u need a strobe tuner for intonation, especially 24.75" scale GIBSON's. DGMW, a SNARK will get you close, but intonation on GIBSON's is critical, especially for 2nd octave leads. PETERSON has a clip-on Guitar Strobe for under $100 and its AWESOME...I have also had reasonably accurate results from a TC Electronics UNI-TUNE clip-on. BUT, MNM, the PETERSON STROBE Clip-On is more accurate. It took me a while to realize that STROBE Tuners were absolutely necessary for intonating a GIBSON, but they really are ! IMO, Strobe Tuners are almost, maybe even just as, important as string height at the 1st fret.
I use either my stompbox tuner or a pocket tuner that plugs into the guitar to get it solidly in the ball park, and trust my ears to put the finishing touches on after playing for a while. If he guitar doesn't sound right to me, I don't care what the tuner says. Usually the tuner will get me to the place where only incremental adjustments on one or two strings are needed to sound good all the way up and down the neck including harmonic pitches on all six strings. I am sure an expert guitar tech would have equipment and methods that can achieve near perfection quickly and in a scientific manner, but any player who can tell their intonation is off to begin with can probably get quite close with a basic tuner, some time, and some careful systematic adjustments. Always be sure to go back and check your work on all six strings after making adjustments.
