Korg Pitch Black Pedal Tuner

Simple and well thought out design. Easy access to four different display modes and DC power output for additional convenience. The small footprint and easy to read display are real bonus.

I really don't understand the lower rating here from previous postings. This is simply the best little tuner to come along in my lifetime. After using this thing on the road for the last 7 months or so, I have nothing but praise for the gurus at Korg. I have had no pops, noise or diminished sound quality in the slightest. My chain goes like this: HSS American Strat with Bill Lawrence pickups, > Keeley Nova Wah > Korg PB-01 Tuner > Barber Tone Press comp > MI Audio Crunch Box > Barber Direct Drive > MI Audio Blues Pro > Xotic Effects RC Boost > Boss DC-3 > Diamond Halo Chorus > EH Holy Grail Plus > Boss DD-20 Giga Delay > THD Flexi-50 head > THD Hotplate > 2 single 12" Custom UTR Cabinets loaded with Celestion G12H30s, and the cabling inter-connects are all George L's which I love. I have used the Boss tuner for a long time, but this just replaced it. Seriously, this little bugger has all the bells and whistles I've looking for in a pedal tuner, and true bypass to boot.

It's held up very well for the previous six or seven months we've been on the road and don't really expect any problems, although time will tell. But if something does happen to it, hell for 90 bucks who can complain. Besides, I have the Boss for a backup.

Haven't had to call anyone so I can't really say.

Overall I really enjoy the fast tuning and great display this thing offers. Wish they offered one years ago, would have made things a little easier. Just celebrated my 52 B-day and still rock'n. I have been through a few different tuners during my career but am really quite happy with the way this tuner performs, and with ABSOLUTELY NO artifacts or nasties audible to my ears. If there are in fact others who do suffer from unwanted pops or noise, I would encourage them to double check their cabling connections and power supplies first, and if it is still present, exchange the unit for a replacement since it is most likely a lemon.

easy as hell

I had a DT-10 for some years but i destroyed the acdc input bymyself, so that was not the Korg fault...so I went to the pitchblack for my stageboard which only included the Maxon ad999, engl Z4, a fulltone clyde wah and now the PB. the size is great, no tone sucking in my setup wich was the main reason to get this tuner...for the price unbeatable, I thing about testing this against the new digitech hardwire but, I dont care this days, so...!

The Dt10 is great, this PB. feels the same just smaller ! so time will tell...

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I play 20 years have many amps and much more guitars, played big and small, gigs, studios....anyway this is a good tuner, what the hell you want from a tuner ?*??+%!$".

Very easy, right out of the box. For a very tall guy with poor vision, the Pitch Black is excellent - easy to see, easy to tune, and accurate. The power supply is just like the Boss Tu-2; perfect for small-to-medium sized pedal boards. I will deduct a point for not having an un-muted output jack, for those folks who need one. I don't, so who cares?

I felt the need to address the comments this unit has garnered so far. I have found no pops, no tone sucking, and no flaws with my setup... which is: various humbucker-equiped geetars into Teese Wizard Wah > Pitch Black > Analogman Comprossor > Analogman Sun Face > Greer Royal Fromage Booster > Greer Claymore > MXR 6-band EQ > HBE Delay > Sovtek Mig-60 (modified) > Mesa 1/2 back 4 X 12 cabinet. Not a typical hard rock/punk rock rig, but you should hear it roar.

I A-B'd the pitch black with a Keeley looper, eyes closed. No tone difference at all. Perhaps I am deaf and old, but I detected zero tone sucking.

Too soon to tell. My Boss Tu-2 has been a workhorse - I expect nothing less, and will update this review if I encounter any problems.

Never had any contact with them, whoever "they" are.

I can see it, and it is very quick to find the appropriate string and lock on. After 38 years of tuning guitars, I think this little stealth-black unit is a gem. Tuning is easier and faster than the Boss, and it takes up a tad less space. I don't do fancy tunings anymore - if you need that, heck, buy a Gibson Robot guitar and lose the tuner.

If you suffer from loud "pops" when activating your true-bypass effects, something is wrong in your chain. Check your power supply and cables. Mine all turn on and off with nary a pop.

Very easy to use, no problems here.

The lights are pretty dim compared to Boss, they look great in the dark, but that's about it. Forget about it in the sunlight, which is the case for most tuners. I couldn't notice any difference in tone in or out of the chain, so I give them credit for that. Like a lot of true bypass pedals the switch makes a loud pop. Not usable or acceptable for me.

I'm sure it's reliable, although it seems more plastic than the Boss.

No dealings.

super easy to use. one footswitch, four different tuning modes.
stomp on it and tune away.

no tone loss or noise coming from the pedal.

this is a great pedal. if it was lost or stolen i would without a doubt buy another one. super easy to use. four different modes to fit your needs.i keep mine on the default "meter" setting. sturdy little box. its cheaper and more accurate than the boss Tu-2 that everyone has.
buy it you wont be disappointed.

Very easy to use. If you've used any pedal tuner, this will be a piece of cake.

I've tried this in line and not in line and I hear no difference. This is true bypass. Use with a Vox AC30 with Celestion Alnicos, also a Bogner Shiva EL34 Head, keeley modded crybaby, Crowther Hotcake, Divided By 13 Dyana Ranger, Fulltone Fulldrive II MOSFET, and a cloned phase90 homemade - everything true bypass. I used a plethora of guitars. This sounds great - does not degrade the sound at all.

For all of those hearing a poppping sound when engaging the pedal - you got a lemon, take it back. Mine is absolutely silent!

Been reliable for a few months now while gigging- no need for a back-up.

Never needed them.

For 100 bucks, Korg got this right. They know what a professional musician wants, and put it all in this tuner, and nothing more!

This pedal is simplicity itself to use and has a large, easy-to-read display. It is also way more accurate than my Korg DT-10. With the Pitchblack, I can simply tune my Strat and go--with the DT-10, I have to tweak the tuning of the Strat even after "tuning" it with the DT-10. The combination of green/red LEDs and yellow tuning arrows make it extremely easy to tune the guitar.

I'm not giving this a 10 because I've only had it a week, but so far, I hear no difference in playing my Strat through my Dual Showman Reverb head and 2-12 Bandmaster bottom with re-issue Jensen speakers, with the tuner either in or out of the circuit,

I do not hear the popping sound the other reviewer noted.

I've only had it for a week, so can't say yet.

I am extremely impressed by the unit's tuning accuracy and ability to get my Strat in tune, quickly and easily.

Reviewing my brand new Korg Pitchblack tuner. It's got 4 modes, one is conventional tuning mode and the other are strobe-variations. It's a solid aluminium enclosure with a simple input, output, footswitch, 9v in and 9v out. Large screen, good visibility. According to Korg it's true bypass, I'm unsure about it. I have one true bypass pedal (MI Audio crunchbox), when I opened it to put in a battery, I encountered the 3DPT-switch, needed for true bypass. The footswitch on the Korg however, felt different. The Crunch box needs a firm push and then you hear and feel it 'click'. The footswitch on the Korg felt really smooth, without the resistance and the 'click'. Got curious and opened up the thing. Turn out it's got an actuator-type of switch. Took a close look inside, but could not see anything resembling a relay. I think it's possible to have true bypass with a relay, but I'm not totally sure. The Pitchblack doesn't have a relay nor a 3DPT switch, so I would say it isn't true bypass. However, when I take the battery out, unplug the adapter and plug in my guitar, the sound is fed through. This would be an indication of true bypass, right?

Calibration goes from 435 to 445 I believe. Could have been a little more. For me it's no big deal, but if you have to play along with out of tune instruments (a piano for instance) it could come in handy.

9V output is nice, gives 200 mA at max, should be enough to feed some OD pedals.

Manual is one big sheet of paper with some instructions in different languages, nothing fancy though.

Bypassed signal doesn't sound dull or anything. Sounds just the same as a true bypass pedal. No pops or clicks here, just works fine. The tuner takes half a second to start up when you push the footswitch, but it doesn't really bother me that much. Tuning works just fine. Responds pretty quick, tuning is pretty accurate. The LEDs fade out or in when closing in on the right tuning, really helpful at home. On stage I doubt the visibility of the fading LEDs, but even without it you'll be tuned pretty good.

Aluminium box I believe, feels not as heavy as a Boss pedal or something, but seems solid. Footswitch feels less solid.

Nice value, I doubt the true bypass but it's a nice tuner.

Makes no sound, which is good! Very easy to use. No patches. Manual is decent and has just about EVERY language on it! No firmware blah blah etc. just a tuner, y'know?

My setup changes a lot, but right now I'm using it with two different boards that are in the process of being built: for my swedish death metal setup I run a Schecter Hellraiser FR>Pitchblack>FT OCD>Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal>DOD Bass Flanger>Line 6 Echo Park>lo input on a 1982 Marshall JCM 800 2203 head w/6550 power tubes, and into a Marshall 1960B w/Vintage 30's. For my other band it's a Gibson Explorer w/SD Distortion/Jazz pups into>Pitchblack>modded Boss SD-1>FT OCD>Rivera Buff II. In the efx loop of this is a Boss CE-3 chorus and a Line 6 Echo Park. Out of the buffer to hi input on same head/cab setup. For practice and recording I use a Peavey Studio Pro combo sometimes too. This thing does have a little switch pop, not too bad though. I love the switch! It is SO easy to press.....works great. This tuner is replacing my old-*** Peterson Strobostomp and I actually prefer it over that, though it's not as accurate. I feel this is a good thing since I don't really need a strobe tuner for live playing/jamming and it really just gets in the way, by taking too long to tune up honestly. Plus the display on the damn thing is so stupid.....I had to put tape around the edges becuase dirt would get in there and make it hard to read......and it's kinda dumb looking. For settting up intonation/etc. I just use my G-tune software. Better than the Strobostomp and cheaper (about $40) so there you go. This thing really is accurate though, I could do setups with it if needed. I really wish this was made like 10 years ago when I started playing. I love it! Does not affect tone either and it's so small it fits my board perfect. They are going to sell a LOT of these. I think it'll be the new industry standard tuner pedal. Good stuff........

I hope it is reliable becuase it's gonna get abused! Looks pretty strong. My only concern would be the switch going out. Time will tell of course hehe.

No experience.

I play death and thrash metal, with some hard rock/punk stuff thrown in there. Been playing 10 years about, and have owned everything really........except high-end stuff like Bogner/Dumble/etc. If it got stolen I'd just get another......luckily they are cheap, unlike my Strobostomp that I was always worried about getting stolen or broken. $200......ouch! My favorite thing about it is it's small and very accurate for the price. It beats everything else out there in it's range, hands down. Has everything it needs......just a tuner really.......what else could I need it to do? Korg has got a winner on their hands with this one!

It is very simple to use, the lights work great. IMHO the only practical mode is standard. The other strange strobe-like modes do improve the tuning.

However, I personally do not like how long it takes for this tuner to be ready. After you plug in the guitar, it is first flashing a digital "zero" on the display for approx. 2-3 secs, then turns itself off. Then you have to switch it back on and wait for another 1-2 secs for it to be actually in tuning mode.
If you have your guitar plugged in permamently, you only have to wait the 1-2 secs, which still seems too much to me. Any cheapo tuner is instantly ready.

I cannot believe that no one complained about the so-called true bypass. If this thing is in your pedal chain, your tone is history.
It does short-circuit the input and output, but it does not remove the circuit completely.
Korg, if you happen read this, please put a real switch in your next tuner and spend the extra 5 bucks.
I have no comparison to other tuners, I'm sure the Boss is worse.

Personally, I also do not like that your sound is muted. This should have been an option (e.g. jumper?). I like hearing the note while tuning for exmaple during guitar setup.

I would use it on a gig without a backup, because it seems pretty sturdy on the outside.
When opened, the soldering job seems somewhat questionnable, but I guess any mass market item has that quality.

(no experience)

As far as the actual tuning, it does a pretty good job. The timing and responsiveness of the lights is very nice, and the tuning result requires almost no fine tuning by ear afterwards.
That is the only reason why I am keeping this product. The "bootup" delay and the not-so-true bypass are annoying and made this a difficult decision.
It's a shame also that it doesn't have a mic for acoustic guitar tuning.