Boss TU-2 Stage Tuner

Its a tuner... click on, click off. There aren't even any knobs to adjust!

My setup:
Peavey Horizon II > Boss TU-2 > Dunlop Crybaby wah > Boss SD-1 > Digitech RP80 > Boss GE-7 > Peavey Vintage

Works great, no problems. Not true bypass, but I didn't hear any tone alteration like some pedals *caugh*crybaby*caugh*. This pedal does what its supposed to do: Tune your guitar. The mute works fine, no bleed through while its on.

Its a Boss. Indestructible.

Never dealt with.

Great pedal, I really only use it to power all my other pedals but it does a great job. Saves tons of money on batteries, if I lost it I would definately buy another. (It looks cooler than a power supply, but also more expensive).

Well I guess this is the key category here. I've found that it is sometimes a bit slow at finding notes but that;s only when playing open strings. I can't emphasise this enough: USE HARMONICS WHEN TUNING. It gives the purest sound to the tuner, ensuring it won't get confused with overtones or fret buzz. Now I think it works great.

Signal chain: Cort G290 (EMG SAs and 89)>TU-2>Whammy>Cry Baby>NS-2>OD-20>Zoom PD-01>CH-1>PH-3>BF-3>DD-6
If anything I think it made my guitar sound warmer.

It's a Boss.

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It doesn't really matter what music I play but I mostly use standard and drop D tunings and a bit of whammy bar work. This is quick and easy to use between songs and fits nicely on a pedalboard. Does what it needs t, good buy, if a little overpriced.

Easy to use - just plug and play. Read the manual to figure out what the various modes do. It remembers the last mode it was set for, which is nice. I use it mostly in chromatic mode, switching between various open tunings and standard tuning, or standard tuning down one whole step (D-D).

I have not used it as much as expected on stage. I don't like it that much. It is hard to see the "sharp" indication, and therefore too easy to tune to A# instead of A, for example.

Bought it on the advice of touring pro's. It has the reputation of locking onto the pitch quickly and accurately, and also is silent for bypass switching while tuning. I have not noticed that it changed my on-stage tone much (Taylor 414CE guitar with Fishman on-board piezo).

Seems to be reliable. One big issue is that the battery runs down if the cord stays plugged in, even if the unit appears to be off. A backup tuner in your pocket (like the Intellitouch) is a very good idea.

Never had to deal with them, but I have found their web site to be lacking and unfriendly.

The TU-2 does appear to tune quickly and accurately, and the bypass mode is indeed silent. There are two big drawbacks, though.

One, if you no longer have 18 year old eyes (or wear glasses) it is really hard to see whether you are sharp when in chromatic mode. The only indication is a small dot after the letter, like a decimal point. Other stomp box tuners have a large # symbol that is clearly visible from several feet away. The first time I used it on stage to get into an open tuning, two of the four strings ended up tuned one half-step high, because I could not see the tiny "sharp" indication.

Two, the battery runs down if you happen to leave the cord plugged in -- even though the unit appears to be off. Changing batteries is not terribly convenient either -- definitely not something you want to try between songs.

If BOSS fixed these two big problems it would be a pretty good stage tuner, and I would be satisfied with it. The TU-2 appears to be well made, but these basic design flaws really degrade the utility.

As it stands, I have not used this tuner nearly as much as expected on stage. I don't like it that much, and I'm pretty disappointed. I would NOT buy another one, and frankly want to get rid of this one to someone who can live with its drawbacks. I've already replaced it with another stompbox tuner (Fender) with larger letters and much clearer "sharp" indications.

Very good intuitive interface, modes easy to find and select. I did find these a little hard to understand however. Set in 'chromatic' mode the display indicates the key you are tuned to (or nearest to). This works well on 6 string and bass. With other modes selected (eg drop tuning)the string number is displayed on the LED. The pedal seemed to think I had a 5 string bass....not so unfortunately.

This is the first review I have left on this site and it was the effect of this tuner on my sound which has prompted me to post something. I had read all the other reviews and since there was a balance of opinion regarding the effect on sound quality of this 'non true by-pass' type tuner, I thought I would try it. I'm regretting it now. This thing sucks....tone that is. It sucked the brightness out of my gear leaving it all sounding decidedly thin and muffled. I couldn't believe that other reviewers had had no issues with this!

Had variety of Boss pedals before, box design is good and I have no reason to expect this one to be any less rugged.

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Playing bass in a bluesy rock covers band, use Washburn Status or Fender P-Bass straight into a Hartke HA3500 with 2 4x10's. Lost or stolen......shame but I'm going to go for something with a true by-pass next time. This one is going on ebay, I've had it a week. I was hoping the cheaper option would be OK, guess you get what you pay for.

Very simple after your read the manual. I tried this pedal before in my rythm guitarists rig, and wasn't too impressed. Fast forward a few months, I saw it at the local guitar store for about 1/2 price (used). I tried it out. I grabbed a strat with a floating bridge. It worked allright, it didn't seem too accurate or precise. It appeared to be no better than any handheld cheapo-Korg tuner of the $20 variety. I wasn't going to buy it. Then, an older fellow came over and showed me the "streaming" mode. I bought it after that. Very accurate.

Maybe a little tone sucking. It's not too noticable to me. I use the Bypass output and leave it on.

If you're worried about losing some tone, connect the tuner to the slave-out on your amp.

Here is my setup: Strat->CryBaby->TU2->TS->DualRectifier

I have never had an issue with Boss pedals.

I didn't get the manual with the pedal. I couldn't find the manual pdf on the Boss-US site, I found it on the Roland-US site.

Works great with guitar (floating/fixed) and bass. It's chromatic, so it should work on any stringed instrument with an output. I suggest using the TU-2 only in "streaming" mode. I would give it a 10/10 but the price is steep for a tuner. On the other hand, playing in tune is worth every cent.

Easy as pie.

Step:

1)plug in cables as required to labelled jacks.
2)step on switch
3)tune guitar (or bass) as indicated by flashing LEDs
4)step on switch again
5)play music

There is a maunal provided, and some buttons, but I haven't used either.

Does my gear sound any different with or without the tuner? Good question. I can't really tell, honestly. If I were recording, I sure wouldn't use it, that's for sure. Live? Who cares? If anyone in my audience notices the difference (and I guarantee you, they don't), then bully for them. I'm sure as hell not about to give up the convenience on the off chance somebody's going to care about a (hypothetical) incremental effect on my tone.

Totally reliable. I only worry about the battery.

To tell you the truth, I rarely use the thing to actually tune my guitar. I've got a 2001 Fender P-Bass, and it rarely (if ever) goes out of tune. What I was really looking for was a cutoff switch, or a volume pedal, so I could silence my bass during shows. For years I always tuned by ear live and at rehearsals, and only used a tuner at times that called for perfect tuning, ie. recording.
Practically every gigging musician I know owns a Boss TU-2 stage tuner. For how common they are, you'd almost figure they're required by law. I'm not especially passionate about the thing - it does what it says on the box, but frankly, I'd be happier spending the $125 on something else. On balance though... Good product.

Very simple to use. Instruction manual explains anything you need to know.

Guitar --> TU-2 --> Tube combo amp

It's the only thing between my guitar and my amp so if it degrades the tone, I don't notice. I give it a 9 instead of a 10 to account for this possibility. That's not the reason why I'm writing this review anyway.

The main thing I like about this tune is that it's very stable, and it gets my guitar in tune much more easily because of that.

Seeing as how it's a Boss pedal, I would've been surprised if it didn't work after I dropped it on asphalt one night after a gig. This is what got me to write this review.

The best customer support is the kind you never have to deal with. :o)

Gets my guitar in damn near perfect tune, and is very stable. Plus it didn't cost me an arm and a leg.

It's a tuner. No need for a rocket science degree...

This tuner is good. BUT! It has no true bypass and when it is in your set up it will change your tone and suck the life out of your sound! I could not believe it when I got home.
I went and got a Radial engineering ABY splitter and now the tuner is out of the loop! and my sound is back to normal.

It's well built like all Boss pedals.

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I really like the tuner. But because I had to spend another 70 bills to get a splitter. I have to say that Boss did not do their homework on this one.

It's the first unit in my chain and IT DOES CHANGE THE SOUND. Because of no true bypass and the buffer my vintage tele sounds glasy when this thing is in there and everything else is off. To everybody who doesn't hear the difference, you listen but you don't hear. First, how hard can it be to make it true bypass for this money, and second I definitely need a splitter to keep it away from my sound.

What a waste of money!!!

Forget about it.

Well it's pretty damn easy to use it so I won't talk about that. The manual shows you different tunings and there's seven (7) type of tuning on the pedal; Chromatic (recommend it), Guitar, Guitar Flat, Guitar Double Flat, Bass, BAss Flat and Bass Double Flat.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard >> Boss TU-2 >> Digitech Death Metal >> Kustom KGA30

It doesn't affect my sound at all. I tune by harmonizing the string on the 12th fret so it can make the exact pitch. Not much else to say here.

Hey, it's a Boss. 'Nuff said.

Never.

I play heavy metal and I've been playing for almost 2 years and I needed a tuner to play at gigs and stuff and I heard this was the best one. It it were stolen or lost I would buy the same one no doubt about it. I love it because it's so accurate! There's not a lot more of pedal tuners out there that can beat this one. I would recommend this pedal 100%!!