The great thing about ukuleles is that they’re so portable, you can take them anywhere and you don’t really need anything else. There is one thing that you should never be without though, particularly if you’re new to ukulele, and that’s a clip-on tuner.
Ukuleles are pretty notorious for going out of tune, particularly cheaper ones. It’s not the end of the world but it does get a little bit annoying if every time you pick up your uke you have to tune it.
Clip-on tuners are good for a couple of reasons, and the first one is pretty obvious – they’re always there, stuck on the end of your uke. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve lost my Korg tuner for my guitar, in fact as I write this I haven’t got a clue where it is. The second reason why clip-on tuners are pretty handy is that they work by vibrations not by sound. If you live in my house that’s a blessing in disguise. If my kids are up, there’s no way I can tune up by ear. It’s like they know that I need the silence so they make even more noise! With a vibration based tuner I can tune up without even needing to hear the notes.
Personally I use a Fender FT-004 tuner and it works great, it has settings for guitar, violin, ukulele, bass and chromatic. That said, I think they’re all basically the same so if you can find a cheaper one with good reviews then grab that.
If you’re buying someone a ukulele as a gift, and why not, they do make amazing gifts – do them a favour and grab a clip-on tuner too – you’ll be doing them a huge favour.
(Snark’s have a great reputation by the way!)
Finally, if you haven’t got round to buying a clip-on tuner just yet, head on over to our online ukulele tuner for now!