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Looking for the best guitar tuners? Want to make sure your guitar always sounds like it should?
A great guitar tuner is essential for any guitar player. An out-of-tune guitar will sound pretty bad no matter who has the instrument in their hands, so it’s important to get a great tuner and use it often.
Luckily, there are plenty of great guitar tuners on the market and there are different kinds to suit every player’s preference.
If you want to find a great tuner, look no further. Below are the best guitar tuners that you can choose from, no matter what type of guitar tuner you prefer.
Best Guitar Tuners – Quick View
| Image | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|
 | Pedal Tuner: TC Electronic Polytune 3 | Check Price on Amazon |
 | Clip-On Tuner: Snark SN5X | Check Price on Amazon |
 | Handheld Tuner: Korg GA1 | Check Price on Amazon |
 | Soundhole Tuner: D'Addario NS Micro Soundhole Tuner | Check Price on Amazon |
What Is a Guitar Tuner?
A guitar tuner is a guitar accessory that can allow you to tune your instrument’s strings to various pitches. In order for your instrument to sound “in tune” and create pleasant sounds, it will be necessary to tune the strings to specific pitches and frequencies.
The standard tuning for a guitar is a frequency of 440hz and pitches as follows:
- 6th string: E (low)
- 5th string: A
- 4th string: D
- 3rd string: G
- 2nd string: B
- 1st string: E (high)
While there are many other guitar tunings that you can use, this standard tuning is all that most beginner guitarists will need to use. Using this tuning and tuning your guitar up regularly using a guitar tuner will allow you to play chord shapes and have them sound like they’re supposed to.
Keep in mind that guitar tuners don’t just work for the guitar. Most guitar tuners can also be used with any other stringed instrument as well including the bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin, and more.
Top Guitar Tuners of Every Type – REVIEWED
Ready to get started? Here’s our list of the best guitar tuners.
Pedal Tuner: TC Electronic PolyTune 3
If you’re looking for a great pedal tuner that you can easily plug your guitar directly into, the TC Electronic PolyTune 3 is the best choice for you.
This tuner allows you to easily plug into your guitar for quick and efficient tuning. This tuner is highly accurate and is also polyphonic, meaning you can tune all of the strings at once. The pedal tuner can be used with true bypass or can be switched to an all-analog buffered bypass.
Overall, if you’re an electric guitar player or you plug your guitar in often, then you need to have this guitar pedal in your collection. This is the best guitar tuner pedal that’s currently available.
Clip-On Tuner: Snark SN5X
The Snark name is synonymous with clip-on tuners, and for good reason. The Snark SN5X is the best clip-on guitar tuner and works flawlessly. It also offers great value for the price you’ll pay for it.
The tuner is incredibly accurate and the display is easy to read. The tuner is also very flexible and easy to use and the display can be swiveled 360 degrees so you can get the angle just right. Additionally, the tuner also features a built-in tap tempo metronome.
In my opinion, a guitar tuner is one of the most essential acoustic guitar accessories, so you should make sure to get a good one. The Snark SN5X is a great option.
Overall, this tuner offers great value and is the first product you should look at if you want to have a great clip-on tuner.
Handheld Tuner: Korg GA1
If you just need an easy-to-use handheld tuner, the Korg GA1 is probably the only one you’re likely to need.
The tuner features a long battery life, impressive accuracy, and a great LCD display. The Korg GA1 is perfect for both guitarists and bassists. It allows for standard tunings as well as 5-string bass and 7-string guitars.
While there are handheld tuners with more features on the market, this one simply offers the best value and reliability for the money.
Soundhole Tuner: D’Addario NS Micro Soundhole Tuner
Although a bit less common than the other types of guitar tuners on this list, a soundhole tuner can be a great choice. The best of the bunch is the D’Addario NS Micro Soundhole Tuner.
This small tuner can be easily clipped to the inside of your soundhole. The tuner works great for acoustic guitars and will be hidden from audience members and non-intrusive while playing. The tuner works quickly and features a very easy-to-read display.
Overall, this is a great choice if you prefer to have your tuner in your soundhole. It’s the best acoustic guitar tuner of this type that’s currently available.
Smartphone Tuner: GuitarTuna by Yousician
As we previously mentioned on our list of the best android apps, GuitarTuna is a great smartphone app for tuning your guitar. This guitar tuning app is one of the most popular ones available and is available on both Android devices and iOS devices.
The app has plenty of useful features and is also very accurate and easy to use. GuitarTuna features a chromatic tuner as well as presets for 100 tunings and 15 different instruments.
Overall, if you want a great tuner that is conveniently located on your smartphone then this is one of the best options you can choose from.
By the way, there are a lot of other great guitar apps out there as well, so be sure to check out my post on free Android guitar apps next.
Choosing the Ideal Guitar Tuner Type for Your Needs
If you’re serious about playing the guitar and always want to sound your best, then you need to invest in a great tuner that gets the job done right. Make sure that you consider the list above carefully if you want to find a great guitar tuner for your needs.
Want to make the most of your guitar tuner? Click here to learn how to use a guitar tuner correctly.
Hi, I’m Harrison! I created this website to help musicians navigate the ins and outs of their craft and to help them choose new instruments and gear to add to their collection. I have 15 years of experience as a guitarist and singer and have also played many other instruments throughout the years including the bass guitar, piano, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica.