The microphones in our smartphones have gotten good over the past few years. While some phones are capable of even recording ASMR audios, you can use any modern smartphone for putting that microphone to good use, like tuning a guitar. If you’re a hobbyist guitarist or someone who picked up a guitar to learn music during self quarantine, here are some good apps that you can use to tune your guitar.
We’ve picked the apps for both Android and iPhones. Although they all serve the same purpose, you can try out and pick the one that suits your needs. Without further ado, let’s get started with the list.
- Fender Tune
- GuitarTuna
- Pano Tuner
- Pitched Tuner
- Pro Guitar Tuner
- Cifra Club Tuner
- BOSS Tuner
- CarlTune
- gStrings
- Cadenza: Tuner + Metronome
- Frequently Asked Questions
1. Fender Tune
Fender Tune is a feature-packed app from guitar maker Fender to tune your guitar. The app offers four tuning modes namely auto mode, manual mode, chromatic mode, and pro tuner mode. You can choose from a variety of tuning presets including standard (EADGBE), Open G, Drop D, Open D, and Drop C.
Pricing: Free, offers in-app purchases for tutorials
GuitarTuna is a widely used guitar tuner app and that’s for a good reason. It offers over 100 tunings including standard, drop-D, open tunings, half step down,7-string tunings including drop-A, and 12-string. The app also boasts background noise cancellation technology for better accuracy. One way GuitarTuna stands out from other apps is in the extensive support for instruments.
Pricing: Free, offers in-app purchases
Pano Tuner offers a simple and straightforward experience to users, making it beginner friendly. It is a chromatic tuner and is fairly accurate when it comes to detection. Thanks to its simplistic approach, Pano Tuner is the preferred app for a lot of guitarists. You can purchase the full version to remove advertisements and enable non-standard tunings including Pythagorean, Just intonation, 1/4-comma mean tone, and more.
Pitched Tuner offers both chromatic and instrument tuning modes. You get a tuner needle and dial for measuring the frequency. You can define the volume sensitivity, tuning pitch, note name, and customize app theme (light, dark, black). In instrument tuning mode, you can tune guitars, ukulele, violin, mandolin, flute, and more. Moreover, you can define custom tunings and remove advertisements by upgrading to the full version of the app.
Pro Guitar Tuner is a popular chromatic tuner that offers all the features you need in a simple package. You get over 100 tunings and you can favorite the ones that you use the most. The tunings are divided into categories for quick access. You can purchase the app for removing ads and unlocking extra settings.
Pricing: Free
Cifra Club Tuner is another app you can use to tune your guitar. The app has a modern interface and also packs musical games to help you play you instrument better. Although the app supports a variety of instruments, you’re limited to a single guitar in the free version.
BOSS Tuner uses chromatic tuning to tune your guitar. You can use the app in TU-3 or TU-3W pedal tuner skins. Much like other guitar tuning apps, you get visual feedback for tuning the guitar. The app’s tuning range is from A#0 (29.14 Hz) to G8 (6,271.93 Hz). You also get a horizontal view to conveniently see the meter readings. Although the app does a good job, its interface isn’t userfriendly and beginners may get overwhelmed by it. You can try it out to know if it works out for you.
CarlTune is yet another chromatic tuner capable of tuning multiple music instruments. CarlTune’s home page offers an information view consisting of frequency, octave, note, staff, keyboard,and ±cents. As far as customization goes, you can use the color palette for changing the background color, use the app in landscape mode, and change the notation. You can purchase the app to remove advertisements.
Unlike most apps featured on this list, gStrings is an app that is exclusive to Android. You can use this app to tune guitar, banjo, ukulele, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The app has a needle to denote the frequency. It is worth noting that you can define a custom tuning setting without a premium subscription. The app comes with a set of built-in temperaments and offers custom temperaments too.
Cadenza is an iPhone app that you can use for tuning your guitar. The app’s pitch ranges from A0 to A8 and the response latency is below one millisecond. It offers a clean interface and the options are represented in a straightforward manner so that everyone can easily learn the app without a noticeable learning curve. Do note that the app is not available for free and you’ll have to spend 2 dollars for downloading it.
Pricing: $1.99
Q. Can I tune my own guitar?
Yes, tuning your guitar isn’t as complicated as it seems from the outside. You can use one of these guitar tuner apps to tune your own guitar.
I found FenderTune to be fairly accurate. You can also try out other apps like GuitarTuna.
Yes, you can use apps like Fender Tune or GuitarTuna to tune your guitar for free.
Q. How do I know if my guitar is tuned?
You can note the movement of markers in the app to know if your guitar is tuned. If tuned correctly, your guitar will sound more rich, full, and produce sound in a pitch that’s true to the respective string.
Phone guitar tuner apps are fairly accurate and you can use them for tuning your guitar.
You can technically tune a guitar without a tuner, but it is easier said than done. Tuning a guitar without relying on a tuner means you need to know how all strings sound like and acquiring that skill requires practice and expertise.
440Hz is a tuning standard for guitars. 440Hz denotes the note A above middle C, commonly referred to as A4. Some also consider 432Hz as the standard.
You can use Fender Tune’s online tuning service to tune your guitar right from your web browser.
Q. I have tuned my guitar, but it doesn’t sound good to me?
If you’re confident that you’ve correctly tuned the guitar, chances are, your strings might need a replacement.
If you’re a hobbyist guitarist or a beginner, you’ll be fine with an app. You should consider using a tuner if you are an artist or a professional guitarist.
So, these are some apps you can use to tune your guitar.We hope this removes the friction in your guitar journey. If you’re looking for a course to enhance your guitar skills, you should not miss out on our coverage of the best guitar courses. It is a mix of free and paid courses, and I’m confident there’s something for everyone.
