Originally posted by thechicken:[..]
All the cheap tuners I have tried in the past were inaccurate and slow. That's why I have never bought one. I have always tuned by ear. I would expect that a good tuner would be fast and dead on accurate.
I have never tried the good ones, never really bothered, but there are probably some tuners that are better than others. Maybe better constructed, more functions, more accurate, faster. Being fast is super important.
I don't know, but maybe, maybe they are worth the price difference.
Avoid the cheap ones. It's like Payless Shoes. If you pay less, you get less.
But you can get a quality tuner for $90-$100.
Boss TU-2 or TU-12 tuners are good.
TC Electronic Polytune is better; and for a mere $10 more ($99.99)
If you are playing at home, it might be less of an issue. If you guitar is at least in tune with itself, even if not at A=440 that might not be a huge issue.
But... if you are trying to record with backing tracks or play live live with other musicians and/or backing tracks it can make a huge difference in your tone and the sound of your band. If you guitar is merely 'in tune with itself' but not the backing track or singer or bass player... not so good.