Reddit reviews Snark SN5X Clip-On Tuner for Guitar, Bass & Violin (Current Model)

Why not just get a $10 Snark clip-on tuner?

Any bass/guitar player is always happy to have another one of these. And they're only $10.

Oh, and another stand can always be used.

get this one Snark tuners are the be all end all of tuners unless you want to get into electric guitar pedals down the road. Every guitar store I have been to carries them, I'd be surprised if they dont around you, plus there's always amazon.

Mine is the blue one, but as long as it supports guitar you're fine, I think the black is the newer model or something.

Snark is the way to go! Welcome to the world of guitar :)

If you're on a budget, I'd suggest a Snark. If you can spend a bit more, I'd suggest a Polytune Clip.

Phone apps do a perfectly satisfactory job of tuning - I recommend Pitchlab Lite for Android or iOS.

Hey fellow Texan (H-town here)!

Guitar Center in San Antonio has the following:

USED
White Schecter Omen 6 for $175 (used): https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Schecter-Guitar-Research/Omen-6-Solid-Body-Electric-Guitar.gc
A good, basic dual humbucker guitar with pickups that can do high gain well. Good for rock and metal.

That's the only used one on their website in your price range that I'd recommend; the others are either too crappy or feature a Floyd Rose tremolo and you don't need that hassle on your first guitar.

NEW
Yamaha Pacifica PAC012DLX HSS for $180
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha/PAC012DLX-Pacifica-Series-HSS-Deluxe-Electric-Guitar.gc
A good Strat-style guitar with a humbucker and two single coil pickups that is a lot of guitar for the price; in the price range it's tough to beat Yamaha Pacificas. Good for blues, rock & country.

Ibanez AX120 for $200
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez/AX120-Electric-Guitar.gc
Good starter vintage-style dual humbucker guitar. Good for blues and rock.

Squier Affinity Telecaster for $200
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier/Affinity-Telecaster-HH-Electric-Guitar-with-Matching-Headstock.gc
Decent dual humbucker telecaster deluxe-type guitar. Good for blues, rock & country

Of those, I'd choose the Schecter, the Yamaha or the Ibanez.

AMPS
Boss Katana 50 for $229
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Boss/Katana-KTN-50-50W-1x12-Guitar-Combo-Amplifier-Black-1500000025313.gc?pfm=item_page.rrt1|CategorySiloedViewCP
A great, very versatile 50 watt 1x12 combo amp with a ton of effects and . I had one of these and loved it until I decided to upgrade to the Katana 100 head. It sounds great right out of the box, but connect it to your PC with a USB cable and use the free Boss Tone Center software to edit all kinds of settings, choose from 50-odd different built-in Boss "effects pedals" and save unlimited presets.

Fender Champion 40 for $200
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/Champion-40-Guitar-Combo-Amp-Black-1367516484871.gc?pfm=item_page.rrt1|CategorySiloedViewCP#productDetail
Another nice, versatile 1x12 combo amp, this one 40 watts, with a more modest effects set, but still really good sound.

ETC

Fishman clip on tuner $15:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Fishman/FT-2-Digital-Chromatic-Clip-On-Tuner.gc

Or, from Amazon, a Snark clip-on tuner for $9
https://www.amazon.com/Snark-SN1X-Clip-Chromatic-Current/dp/B01H74YV56/

Instrument cable (18 ft) $17
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Musicians-Gear/Instrument-Cable-331175.gc

A dozen picks, Dunlop Tortex .88mm $6
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Dunlop/Tortex-Flex-Standard-Guitar-Picks-J52062.gc

Or, a dozen assorted picks to allow you to find the type/weight you like, %5
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Perris/The-Hope-Collection-Variety-Guitar-Pick-Pack-12pc.gc

That should do it for you.

I would definitely recommend getting new strings and having the guitar set up by someone who knows what they're doing, but Guitar Center charges $50 for a setup plus strings. That's more than I like to spend. I'd call around and find a smaller music store that does setups for less. I'd recommend .09 gauge strings to start off with. You can always go heavier later if you want. You can't go wrong with Ernie Ball, D'Addario or GHS Boomers strings.

That would be an amazing gift... When would you be planning on buying it?

Also

Snark SN5X Clip-On Tuner for Guitar, Bass & Violin (Current Model) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H74YV56/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KQIZxbPQXW565

Depends what your budget is. I'm a big fan of these cheap $10 clip on tuners. On my main electric guitar rig I have a nice tuner pedal but I love the clip on tuner for my home practice electric (so I don't have to spend money on another pedal tuner) and for my acoustics. They're better than the traditional tuners with mics because they don't require a quiet environment to tune - you just clip it to the headstock and it picks up the notes via conduction/vibrations of the guitar rather than sound through the air. It also responds pretty quickly, it's a great value for $10, IMO.

If he moves around a lot while plugged in and/or plays live and your budget is a few hundred dollars, you could look into a wireless guitar system. I like the Line 6 G50 but the Line 6 G30 is also good and a bit cheaper.

An Ebow is $100 and can make some really interesting sounds on guitars.

If he plays live solo/acoustic, a percussion stompbox adds a lot to the sound, IMO. There are different types with costs ranging from the one I posted to a couple hundred dollars. I've never played with one but the artists I've seen playing solo with one sounded really cool.

I know you said you want to avoid a Guitar Center gift card, but I always appreciate those. Musicians (and enthusiasts of anything really) can be particular about what they want to add to their setup, so sometimes the best thing is to give them a gift card so they can buy whatever they want, whether it's some strings, picks, an interesting strap, pedals, etc. My siblings and I would always give my dad GC gift cards and he saved them for a couple years until he had enough to put towards a really nice Taylor acoustic guitar.

Congrats on the chair no matter how you end up in it. Lead is the most fun thing to play IMO.

Second what the other user said. Very much warm down if this is a HS or college band that rehearses daily.

It’s been a while since I played lead but always remember to warm up a few high notes, too. I would always do more standard warm up stuff and not go too high. It always made the first few runs feels stiff or out of tune.

Also would suggest getting one of those clip on tuners (like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H74YV56/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KVVBCbF52XJ5H ). I clip mine on my bell to watch tuning. Upper register stuff can be hard to hear for me. This one is on sale for like $8 right now.

Disclaimer: I was never that amazing of a lead player but I studied under one hell of a lead player who had lots of good tips.

I use a cheap Snark Tuner https://www.amazon.com/Snark-SN5X-Guitar-Violin-Current/dp/B01H74YV56/ref=sr_1_4?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1550018516&sr=1-4&keywords=guitar+tuner

or if I can't find that I use one of the free guitar tuner iPhone apps.

So you'll definitely want a guitar stand. Don't put your guitar away, the more you see it, the more you'll want to play it. Grab one of the small clip on tuners, the snarky brand one's are pretty good, and they're dirt cheap. You'll want a string winder too, and keep a couple extra sets of strings around. My favorite strings are the martin SP series strings, very lively tones.

As far as lessons go, while I know a lot of people get a lot out of them, I'd say your best bet would just be finding songs you want to learn how to play, and learning how to play them. These days, you can find a Youtube walkthrough on how to play almost any song. After learning songs you want to play, the abstract concepts of what actually makes up that song will start to soak in. This in addition to learning all your basic chords, and you'll be off and running in no time. The thing I'd be worried about as far as lessons go would be if it ends up feeling like a chore. That being said, it's all up to you.

String winder : https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Accessories-Pro-Winder-Guitar-String/dp/B0002E1G5C

Tuner : https://www.amazon.com/Snark-SN5X-Guitar-Violin-Current/dp/B01H74YV56

My Favorite Strings : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002CZST4

I use a Snark that my dad gave me. It's a digital tuner that clips on the end of the guitar. I'm not sure if it changes hz or not. My friends tried it out and said it was accurate, tho.

Edit: Found the one like mine on Amazon There are different ones there you can check out, too.

You should pick up a guitar tuner like this, that will make it much easier to see if it tunes up properly and stays in tune. Clip it to the nut at the top and start tuning it up from there. Doing it by ear is almost impossible if you have no experience with the instrument, in my opinion.


The rattling in the gourd is normal. Little pieces break off inside the gourd sometimes and rattle around when moved. So odds are that's a non-issue. And from what I can tell the sitar looks to be strung up properly and looks alright from a distance. Once you get it tuned up you should be able to get an idea if anything is wrong with it.

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The one thing I'd check for is if the neck is warped or bent at all, because that seems to be a common issue sometimes.

Regardless of if you have perfect pitch I would recommend buying a tuner so you can check yourself without needing to ask people on reddit haha. They’re pretty cheap, I would recommend this one