Precision Strobe Tuner app for iPhone and iPad

4.8 ( 1248 ratings )

Music Education
Developer: Jim Campbell

9.99 USD

Current version: 1.91, last update: 1 year ago
First release : 20 Apr 2011
App size: 2 Mb

Precision Strobe Tuner 1.91

A General Purpose Chromatic Musical Instrument Tuner App with special Temperament and Piano Tuning Functions.

The PST combines a radial Spectrum Display with a classic Strobe Tuner and Note Dial for an ultimate visualization of pitch and tone. The Strobe Display is highly sensitive with response speed that is practically instantaneous and has long been the preferred tool for piano tuners and instrument technicians.

The central Spectrum Display shows the input spectrum wrapped around the Display, with each Octave drawn in a separate color. The Note Dial is marked like a clock with the twelve notes of the Scale. All overtones of the input are shown as peaks in the Spectrum Display pointing towards their corresponding Notes. The Fundamental Indicator Tic on the Spectrum Display shows the Note of the Fundamental along the Note Dial, with the color designating the Octave. Use the Spectrum Display for coarse adjustment by tuning the Fundamental to the center of the desired Note Indicator.

As the input approaches the desired Note, a Two Group pinwheel pattern becomes visible rotating in the Strobe Display. Fine tuning is accomplished by adjusting to stop rotation. The Strobe Display responds instantaneously to changes in pitch and is extremely sensitive. The outside Strobe Display works just like a classic rotating disk strobe tuner. The Two-Group pattern rotates CCW when the input is flat, and CW when sharp. When the rotation is stopped, the note is in tune.

The previews show a general strobe display demonstration, an example of using the calibration function to measure the accuracy of a tuning fork and an example of guitar string tuning.

The first screenshot shows the display tuning a Guitar Low E string. The Fundamental appears as an Orange peak in the Spectrum Display. This string rings bright, so the overtones are also dominant in the Display.

The second screenshot shows the display for an E 440 Tuning Fork with the Calibration Dial enabled and adjusted. This Fork is 2.9 cent Flat.

The PST also includes a Programmable Temperament Function with 5 user definable banks. The third screenshot shows an example of a Temperament Bank set up to a typical Piano Stretch Curve. This can also be used for tuning alternate temperaments, pedal steel guitar setups, or special guitar intonation systems.

In addition, there are several Special Measurement Banks used for String Inharmonicity characterization and Piano Stretch Curve Estimation. Individual strings can be characterized by measuring the Fundamental and 2nd Harmonic separately. By careful selection of a few representative measurement points, a reasonable smooth fit Piano Stretch Curve can be generated. Any number of measurements can be used.

The final screenshot shows the Input Signal Scope/Spectrum Display Page.

The Detailed Operation Manual can be viewed here:
www.precisionstrobe.com

Pros and cons of Precision Strobe Tuner app for iPhone and iPad

Precision Strobe Tuner app good for

Easy to use but too complicated to record and use a custom hynamonicity table. The built in curve for uprigth piano are good i suggest to Jim to provide additional curve for typical grand piano, Yamaha, Steinway, Kawai, Petrof or a way to upload tables in txt or xls format directly to ipad or iphone.

I use this for my guitar and the kids use it for their violins. Now, I wouldnt use any thing else. Really nice.

Great strobe tuner. Very precise, yet easy to read. Thanks for the update!

I have been tuning my piano for many years. I am self taught and have been able to do a so-so job. After using PST I found that my piano has that sweet sound that a professional tuner is able to achieve. PST is a first class piece of software, written by a signal processing expert who knows his stuff. I know; I worked in the field as a programmer for forty two years. It shows.

Some bad moments

Does not work well. Nowhere remotely near a strobe or virtual strobe. Waste of money!

Dont waste your money. This app will not run on iOS 4.2. Crashes immediately. How do I go about getting my 5 bucks back?

I thought this would be a good app but i ended up just losing 5$ for a peice of junk!

This tuner has remarkable capabilities and is worth every penny.

This app allows me to precisely intonate my dulcimers even in a noisy music festival. Worth 100X its price! Ive used this guys hardware version of this app, and the app is every bit as good for luthiers use.

I started with the lite version but needed to be able to save the temperament for pedal steel guitar so I upgraded to the paid version. This version only allows saving of one user temperament and pedal steel guitar needs at least 2. One for E9 and one for C6 tuning. The developer was very helpful and a good communicator. The tuner works very well. He said he would be releasing a pro version that would allow multiple user temperaments.

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