Artec Big Dots Matrix Pedal Tuner

Nice and basic hardware wise, but diabolically twitchy when tuning. Sharp and flat are only shown by tiny arrows either side of the central "in tune" LED; these don't tell you how far out pitch you are (they flash a bit, but this doesn't seem to follow any kind of pattern) like a Boss, Fender, Korg, etc which has a full arc of LED's that give the same reading as a needle meter. The Artec seems unable to recognise the B string, cycling through several notes until it finally decides that it is in fact an E. Great, a tuner that listens to harmonics rather than fundamentals... just what we all need! Drop tunings are a none-starter; as mentioned in an earlier post, it just doesn't even detect the note. I dare not gig with this tuner, very disappointing.

No bypass or noise problems.

Seems very sturdy, superb build quality. Died inexplicably on second use then came back to life again. Electronics seem to work ok now but its a complete lottery as to what tuning you'll end up in.

Never dealt with Artec. This thing is getting sold!

Very sturdy, and the idea of a massive matrix readout is a nice one. Shame its a nightmare to use, it seems they put it out before it had been fully developed. If they re-released it with a full-sweep LED "needle" readout and made it so it could actually recognise which note you're playing I might consider trying another one, as I do like the concept. Verdict: Style over substance.

No options to calibrate to anything other than (I assume) 440Hz. Display is certainly bright - if anything, the blue note LEDs are too bright and can obscure the tuning indicators. A better use of the dot matrix display (currently used for the note display) would be a graphical indication of how sharp/flat you are!

In terms of tuning ability, I give it 0/10 for bass guitar and 3/10 for regular 6 string guitar tuning. Bad points:

* For bass, it will not track open strings for tuning, you have to use harmonics @ 12th fret.
* The main issue is that there is about 1 second delay between you adjusting your tuning and this pedal displaying the change - meaning it takes ages to tune one string!
* The only indication if you are sharp/flat is a flashing LED - not intuitive!

true bypass (so it will pass sound through without batteries/power) and proper mute. Slight 'splat' when you turn it on,

looks OK, built quite well. Battery flap a bit shoddy (flimsy plastic)

Havent tried

I've learned that there is no such such thing as a cheap tuner. I've bought a Behringer tuner and now this - neither of which worked on my bass. I've tried my mate's Korg, I'll have to get one of those next. D'Oh!

Step on, step off. Couldn't be simpler.

Quiet.

Pathetic. If you are using nothing but standard, great. If you even go to drop D this will not pick it up. I bought this when I played in standard and it served me well, now that I play in Drop C, it doesn't even detect the tuning at all. I just got a pitch black and its 1 million times better.

Mine is made of metal.. Perhaps I have different one to the review, but its certainly not plastic.

The only positive thing I have to say is that its nice and easy to see on stage.

Never needed them.

Don't waste your money. Pay the little extra and get a pitch black or a TU-2. Even a second hand one.

This pedal is extremely easy to use. I use it for tuning down at band practices and live, and its always been top quality. It just shows you the note you are closest to and has a flashing light either side of the perfect note.

Just sounds like a complete bypass when it is off, and when it is on, it silences the tuning, no need for embarrassing tuning on stage !

I've depended on it so far. I have taken it t several gigs without a backup, and it was fine. I didn't even worry! Even when using batteries, this pedal lasts for ages ! The only down side is having to use one of Artecs DC adapters and you cant use any other ones, but a lot of company's do that with their pedals.

One thing I dislike about this pedal it that its a bit 'wiggly.' When you only have one flashing light to tune with, its much harder to use than a pedal with say 6 at each side.

I bought this pedal because it was the only one on sale at the local music shop. Its very easy to use. Basically its a 70s light show that somehow tells you whether you're in tune or not. Basically you plug in and play. It works and is easy.

Well its a chromatic tuner, in theory it shouldn't effect the sound, and with a true bypass its a silent beasty.

Well its made of plastic but its much more solid than the behringer pedals and i have no doubt in it.

No idea, havent needed it.

Well to be honest, if its between this one and the boss tu-2, id always buy this. Its marginally cheaper, works just well and looks so cool!!!!