Filed under: Reviews, First Look, App Review, Music
Count the beats: Tuning and more with Guitar Toolkit for iPhone / iPod touch
Any musician worth his/her credit knows that accurate tuning is a given. It's a crucial starting point to playing any instrument at home, on the job, in the studio, or on the road, and an embarrassment when it isn't. Some time ago I was doing an unplugged acoustic gig when my regular stomp box tuner broke down mid-rehearsal. I was in desperate need of a reliable tuner, without a music store in sight. Roll on Agile Partners Guitar Toolkit [iTunes link] for the iPhone/iPod Touch at £5.99
I had heard about various tuner apps on the App Store, but I was reluctant to try any of them. I could not believe that a tuner on my phone would provide the same accurate and reliable tuning that my current (expensive) tuners could. However, I was desperate, so I took the plunge.
Utilizing the iPhone's built in microphone (or the iPod Touch with a microphone headset), Guitar Toolkit's chromatic tuner performed just like using any other quality tuner. It was simple, effective and to my delight, it got the job done.
After the gig, upon further inspection, I soon realized that there was much more than just a common guitar tuner in this app.
Guitar Toolkit comprises a chromatic tuner, a metronome, a chord section, and a scale section too (practice your scales!!).
The chromatic tuner can be used to tune a variety of stringed instruments. By changing the 'mode' selector on the tuner, from standard 6-string EADGBE guitar tuning to 'all notes' tuning, you'll be able to tune almost any musical instrument. Or, you can preselect a particular stringed instrument, from a custom list, for that instruments specific tuning arrangement (guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, etcetera).
If you're feeling creative, why not come up with your own custom tuning arrangement and input it into the tuner for later reference, or choose one from the alternate guitar tuning selection. DADGAD anyone?
For advanced tuning, you can alter the standard reference pitch from 440.0 Hz to whatever you'd like (some orchestras play at varying reference pitches). I've used it to tune a violin perfectly, and for all you bass players Guitar Toolkit, using the iPhone's microphone, picks up those low notes as well.
There are a few noticeable nice touches here and there. On the tuner, there is the option to alter the display to a 'high contrast mode' for tuning in low ambient light conditions. Also, when the app is open, the power saving/auto-lock features of the iPhone are disabled so the tuner remains usable until you're finished.
Short of being able to plug an instrument line directly in, I can't find a fault with the the Guitar Toolkit tuner.
Drummers, don't feel left out, there's something here for you too.
The metronome (timing, timing, timing) has all the features you'd expect: 13 various click effects, 12 time signatures, a BPM tap-tempo and a visible flashing click for when you can't hear it (although realistically, I'm dubious as to how practicable this feature will be, but then again, I'm not a drummer).
My music teacher always said to me, "Practice your scales!!!" and I'm glad that she did, but I wish I had my iPhone and Guitar Toolkit to help me along way back then.
You can find more scales in Guitar Toolkit than you could learn in a year (major, blues, the modal scales, Javaneese...). It's actually quite scary.
The interactive fretboard allows you to tap out and hear the individual scale notes as you view the scale pattern. It's a bit tricky to decipher at first, but a very useful feature indeed.
With over 500,000 chords, the 'Chords' section is much along the same lines as the scales 'Fretboard' section, it's slightly overwhelming. You'll have flashy new chords coming out of your ears and your muso buddies will be very impressed that you know the names of all of them too.
Again, you can tap out the sounds of each note in the chord, on the interactive fretboard, to make sure you're playing the right chord, the right way. It's a great way to learn and explore.
If you've ever come up with some crazy concoction of a chord, but you have no idea what it is, the 'chord finder' mode allows you to tap-in where your fingers are placed on the fret board, hear the notes, and then tell you exactly what chord it is you're playing.
It's not like I don't use my other tuners, in fact, I did get my broken stomp box tuner repaired because I need a line-in tuner, but Guitar Toolkit has become one of my most used and returned to apps on my iPhone. The reason for this is simple. Whenever I need a tuner, I reach for what's nearest.
There are many music productivity apps on the App Store, but it's apps like Guitar Toolkit that will make the iPhone practical and common-place in musicians rigs, studios and set-ups. TUAW likes Guitar Toolkit for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eric said 4:12PM on 9-28-2009
The best tuner, hands down, is the Strobe tuner by istrobosoft.com
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windex said 5:03PM on 9-28-2009
Seconded. iStrobosoft is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest as far as tuners go.
Hawkman said 6:05PM on 9-28-2009
Why do you say that? Could you tell me what makes it better than this app -- or is one major factor the fact it can seemingly tune from line in (useless to me, as an acoustic owner)? This is a genuine question, even though it might sound kinda argumentative. I don't have £6 to spend on a whim -- and you seem so certain, I'd value your elaboration.
As for Guitar Toolkit, I've had it a long time and love it. I'm not a serious guitar player, so I had a tendency to shrug off chord variations when I saw them -- which GT has changed because it's so darn easy to check. The tuning is great for me, too, and it beats the pants off the cheapish tuner I bought with my guitar. It's had several updates with major new features, all for free, and it looks utterly gorgeous.
jln said 3:05AM on 9-29-2009
mm... well, imo, the best tuner musicians can use are their ears...
Dave said 4:15PM on 9-28-2009
This is definitely a handy app. I got it last Christmas. The tuner is pretty accurate but because it uses an external mic it is difficult to use in noisy environments. I've mostly used it at home.
Chord and scale references are nice. Metronome is great.
The app seems a little slow when switching modes (e.g. tuner to chord library) on my first gen. iPhone.
It's easily worth its price though.
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Olaf said 4:34PM on 9-28-2009
I needed a good tuner and this was more convenient (1-click) and cheaper than a good conventional tuner.
Upon purchasing this, I discovered that this application is fantastic. The tuning is extremely sensitive and accurate, and the other features (metronome (with tap timer), chord chart, alternate tunings etc) are all incredible as well. (in fact I use this tap tempo whenever I need to measure the tempo for any existing song in my studio)
Really good value for money, this is the best app I have ever purchased for my phone.
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Hendricus said 4:43PM on 9-28-2009
Too bad the iPod Touch G1 doesn't support the Apple Earbuds with microphone :(
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Tim Clark said 4:47PM on 9-28-2009
I've used this app for a year now, it's a really excellent on-the-go tuner.
The only shortcoming I've found is in the metronome. You can't control a lot of subdiving parameters, such as triplets, eighths, control the swing of the beat, or change the number of steps (very useful if you're practicing a tune in an odd meter.) Dr. Bettote TC works very nicely for this. It's got all the functionality of a Boss Dr. Beat metronome, with the added ability to save and load presets, and set the tempo to increase/decrease based on a timer as you practice. As a musician, it's the only app I use more than Guitar Toolkit.
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JonYo said 5:28PM on 9-28-2009
I have another tuner app that works ok for me. Ignoring the non-tuner features of this app, is there anything better about this tuner app than other tuner apps?
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michael moncur said 11:06PM on 9-29-2009
Guitar Toolkit is one of my favorite apps. I have both this and iStrobosoft, and I find GT's tuner works better 90% of the time. Strobosoft might be technically more accurate, but GT seems less sensitive to noise when using the built-in mic. Works great even with an electric, as long as I hold it close.
You can get a line-in adapter that will work with either one.
Also, I've tried every metronome app and GT's is the best.
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