Korg Pitchblack Poly or TC Electronic Polytune / Mini

Pickups, pedals, amps, cabs, combos

Moderated By: mods

johnnyseven
.
.
Posts: 3998
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:42 pm
Location: London, England

Korg Pitchblack Poly or TC Electronic Polytune / Mini

Post by johnnyseven »

I'm in the market for a new tuner and it's a toss up between the Korg Pitchblack Poly or TC Electronic Polytune / Mini. Does anyone have any good/bad stories to tell about either?

My previous tuner is a Korg DT10 which has never let me down, so i'm inclined to go with the Pitchblack Poly - but I was wondering if the lack of buffer will have a detrimental effect on my tone? All my other pedals are buffered though so I wouldn't have thought that it would have made a difference.
User avatar
Gabriel
.
.
Posts: 3178
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:46 pm
Location: NYC

Post by Gabriel »

The polytune is much much better than the pitchblack poly (at least in my opinion).

The mini also does more or less an identical job to the full size poly, it just has a couple less features which most people probably wouldn't miss.

So I'd go for the Polytune mini noir, because it's small, works well and looks cool in black too which is always a plus!
johnnyseven
.
.
Posts: 3998
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:42 pm
Location: London, England

Post by johnnyseven »

Gabriel wrote:The mini also does more or less an identical job to the full size poly, it just has a couple less features which most people probably wouldn't miss.
Do you happen to know what these features are?
User avatar
Gabriel
.
.
Posts: 3178
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2010 8:46 pm
Location: NYC

Post by Gabriel »

No usb connectivity for firmware updates, no second power socket for daisy chaining. I think it has one less output too. Nothing that would bother me mind.
johnnyseven
.
.
Posts: 3998
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:42 pm
Location: London, England

Post by johnnyseven »

Gabriel wrote:No usb connectivity for firmware updates


Why would you need this? Does the frequency of a note change?
User avatar
BearBoy
.
.
Posts: 7013
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:27 am
Location: Strung up to the lemons

Post by BearBoy »

When they released the Mini, TC Electronic said the differences were:
TC Electronic wrote:The original PolyTune and the PolyTune Mini are the same, except for three features:
- Size. Obviously, the Mini is much smaller.
- Battery operation. No room for batteries in the Mini, power supply only.
- Polyphonic tuning for bass. The guitar/bass selector had to be sacrificed in the Mini, meaning that only guitars have access to polyphonic tuning. You can still tune your bass in normal chromatic mode with the Mini, though.
They obviously missed a couple of things though as, like Gabriel said, the mini doesn't have a USB socket or DC out.
Fran wrote:I love how this place is basic as fuck.
ekwatts wrote:I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway.
User avatar
BearBoy
.
.
Posts: 7013
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:27 am
Location: Strung up to the lemons

Post by BearBoy »

johnnyseven wrote:
Gabriel wrote:No usb connectivity for firmware updates


Why would you need this? Does the frequency of a note change?
They did release a software update for the full size one that added some additional functionality (Drop D tuning, I think). I doubt USB connectivity is crucial for a tuner though.
Fran wrote:I love how this place is basic as fuck.
ekwatts wrote:I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway.
User avatar
othomas2
.
.
Posts: 4026
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:35 pm
Location: London

Post by othomas2 »

I was looking into swapping out the pitchblack for a polytune... but from I've gathered the general consensus has been that the Pitchblack is better.. :?
johnnyseven
.
.
Posts: 3998
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:42 pm
Location: London, England

Post by johnnyseven »

The Pitchblack Poly is cheaper and as i've never had an issue with my DT10 i'm swaying towards it. I have heard that TC pedals have had issues with the switches.
User avatar
Doog
mid-century modem
Posts: 23127
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2006 4:49 pm
Location: London

Post by Doog »

I'd just stick with the DT10, to be honest.
weeping_moon
.
.
Posts: 1401
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:44 am

Post by weeping_moon »

I have the full size tc polytune and nothing to complain about. Plus you see the led lights better.
User avatar
Ro S
.
.
Posts: 302
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: England
Contact:

Post by Ro S »

I'm looking for a tuner pedal too.

I wondered if Mooer do a tuner in their new series, but it doesn't seem so. However, I have across this:

Image

The above is branded as 'ENO', I think, but it looks excatly like one of the Mooer pedals. I wonder if it's made by the same people?

I've also come across a Joyo one:

Image

Anyone have any experince or heard anything about either of the above?
johnnyseven
.
.
Posts: 3998
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 2:42 pm
Location: London, England

Post by johnnyseven »

Doog wrote:I'd just stick with the DT10, to be honest.
I'm not getting rid of it, it just won't fit on my new, smaller pedalboard.
User avatar
Ro S
.
.
Posts: 302
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: England
Contact:

Post by Ro S »

I found a video of the Eno tuner...

It's dead small.

[youtube][/youtube]
User avatar
laterallateral
Traynor or Death
Posts: 5950
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:15 am
Location: Montery Howl

Post by laterallateral »

TC Electronic wrote: - Polyphonic tuning for bass. The guitar/bass selector had to be sacrificed in the Mini, meaning that only guitars have access to polyphonic tuning.
Seriously? I've been ploytuning my bass in guitar mode all this time. Just ignoring the reading for the A and the high E seems to work perfectly, unless I'm missing something, here?
Last edited by laterallateral on Fri Sep 19, 2014 3:05 pm; edited 115,726 times in total
User avatar
BearBoy
.
.
Posts: 7013
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:27 am
Location: Strung up to the lemons

Post by BearBoy »

Guess they mean it doesn't have a separate 4 string polyphonic mode?

I always switch mode on mine when using bass rather than guitar. Sounds like I needn't bother.
Fran wrote:I love how this place is basic as fuck.
ekwatts wrote:I'm just going to smash it in with a hammer and hope it works. Tone is all in the fingers anyway.
User avatar
awfurby
.
.
Posts: 165
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:34 am
Location: Melbourne VIC

Post by awfurby »

I have a Polytune Mini - it's great. No problems with it and it has a drop D mode.