Peterson AutoStrobe 490ST Piano Stretch Tuner

tuner was ok.they charged me $104. an said it was scratched an showed signs of wear when it was returned.i only tried it 2 times an packed it like it was when I got it,now the web site says they have 1 left for the same price i paid.

Good machine. A little noisy but tunes well. Easy to haul to tuning jobs. The Peterson TP-3 tuning pickup doesn't seem to work at all when I plug it in so I would not advise using a pickup with it. Is it worth the money I spent? No, it is way too expensive for what it is. The price should be about 1/2 what you pay but what are you going to do? It's better than a standard chromatic tuner + your own ear.

At extremes, the dial never locks into a frequency and just keeps spinning or very fuzzy. This makes it almost impossible to trust or figure out what you need to adjust the piano strings into pitch.

Peterson makes the best tuners in the world. I remember our middle school band director used a Peterson Strobe Tuner to tune the whole class up--I think it trained our whole class to really listen for pitch because of how sensitive this device was. (The first couple weeks of using this was like... "bahh... it is so close to not moving!") Now I use it as my secret intonation training weapon. When I teach music in the future, I'd want to use this baby. I swear I see rotating disks now when I tune anything so this device is probably great for visual learners if your students have a hard time hearing pitch.This is not something you carry around with everywhere. This unit is huge and is meant to be parked somewhere. It isn't heavy though--so I guess you can trek it around places. If you are looking for a portable tuner--there are smaller tuners out there. This is obviously not one of them.Yes this tuner is expensive. I just had to get one of these though--because they really are that good. It put a dent in a wallet--so I'm going to use it as much as I can to get my money's worth.

This machine takes some getting used to. I bought it because I was considering being a piano tuner as a profession. Tried to learn the "old school" method by ear...no success. This machine was recommended, so I bought it. Very expensive. Strobe patterns are hard to read at times...especially when you get up in the high treble section of the piano. When I get that far up, I have to just rely on my ear alone. Gets a little frustrating at that point. If you purchase this machine, give yourself a lot of time and practice getting used to it and using it before you attempt to go out and tune pianos for the public.

One of the better investments I've ever made musically. Pricey for a tuner, but worth it. Originally bought for piano, but use for guitar as well. Accuracy is uncanny, and my guitar has never sounded better. I play by ear, so am pretty confident with my tonal recognition, but this tuner takes it to a new level. You can visually see how minute pressure on the neck of the guitar can cause the strings to go sharp/flat.

I have had a Peterson 490ST for years and just love it. This was ordered for a back up.

Makes a tuner's job so much more precise for their most discerning customers.