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Precision Strobe Tuners
PST App Information
A Musical Instrument
Strobe Tuner App for iPhone and iPod
Now Available
Precision Strobe Tuner App
A General Purpose Musical Instrument Tuner App for the iPod and iPhone.
The Precision Strobe Tuner App consists of a Strobe Display and radial Spectrum Scope.
The outside Strobe Display works like a classic rotating disk strobe tuner. The pinwheel pattern rotates ccw when the input is flat, and cw when sharp. When the rotation is stopped, the note is in tune.
The central Spectrum Scope displays the input spectrum wrapped around the circle, once for each octave, with each octave shown in a separate color. The Scope is marked like a clock with the twelve notes of the Scale. All partials of the input are shown as peaks in the Spectrum Display pointing towards the corresponding notes, like the arms on a clock. Use this display for coarse adjustment by tuning the fundamental to the center of the selected Note Indicator. As the input approaches the reference frequency, the two group pinwheel pattern becomes visible rotating in the Strobe Display. Final precision tuning is accomplished by adjusting to stop rotation.
The screen shot above shows the display tuning a Guitar B string. The fundamental and second partials show as Yellow (Octave 4) and Green (Octave 5) peaks pointing towards the Note B indicator. The third partial shows in Green pointing toward the Note F# indicator.
When Note Tracking Mode is enable, the tuner Note Setting automatically tracks the fundamental of incoming note. It can be disabled and the Note selected manually by tapping the desired Note Indicator.
Bandpass Filter Mode creates a clear Strobe Display even when harmonics are present, as when a string is first plucked. Using the Bandpass filter, the fundamental and each partial of a string can also be measured separately, so the Inharmonicity of piano strings can be determined. The Bandpass Filter can be disabled by selecting Allpass Mode from the Settings Menu.
The Precision Strobe Tuner tuning range covers all 88 notes of the piano keyboard, from A1 to C8. The selected Note is displayed in the center. The selected Octave is also shown in the center, it's color corresponding to the color used for that Octave in the Spectrum Scope. Tap the Note Indicators to select the Note. Tap the top and bottom of the center ring to select the Octave.
The Precision Strobe Tuner can be calibrated 60 cents sharp or flat with .1 cent resolution. Press and hold the sharp or flat button to rapidly change the setting. Press momentarily to adjust in 1 cent increments. Tap quickly to adjust in .1 cent increments.
NOTE: Requires a Generation 4 device running IOS 4.2 or later.
The Precision Strobe Tuner App is available at:
The Apple App Store
Screenshots - Guitar Low E, D, B and High E Strings:
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