Peterson iStroboSoft Chromatic Tuner App for Harmonicas
Hello Harp Techs,
For those of you frustrated with those pesky harmonica tuning recipes, "CENTS: Plus +, Minus - ... up ↑ down ↓... HELP"! I suggest you try the Peterson iTunes smart phone app-- with harmonica sweetener.
Once you have selected your favorite harmonica tuning; for example, the Hohner Special 20, you simply target tune each of the 20 reeds to display the pitch (note) as ZERO--as in “0”.
For iTunes, go to your app store, then search Peterson iStrobe ($9.99) into the search bar:
Select “Sweeteners” and purchase Harmonica ($20)
Choose your favorite harmonica voicing from a list of ten choices, for example, S20|Hohner 1896 Marine Band/Special 20. Once you have purchased the harmonica package, you can always change it later. Have fun with it!
*Under Tuner Settings (not shown), select "Display All Sharps", "Display Whole Cents", and Concert A 442.0 Hz.
As you play the pitch (note), and iStrobe reads negative (flat b) of zero, your task will be to remove metal from the rivet end of the reed. If iStrobe reads positive (sharp #) of zero, your next move will be to remove metal from the free end of the reed. Transposition from your different harmonica keys, and shaping (cents +/-) the chords and octaves, will be handled by iStrobe!
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hi Dave, Sorry to hear that your initial experience with the Peterson iStroboSoft app is less than satisfactory.
On my end, I have found this app to be one of the most consistently stable and extremely accurate chromatic tuners on my bench (including my original Peterson VSII).
I’m thinking it might be a settings issue--try this: on the home screen
If this does not work, I recommend contacting the good folks at Peterson <info@strobosoft.com> for their help. Keep us posted.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
thanks Kinya. I will have another go.
if I want to tune a harp other than C, what is the process? Do I have to use the transpose/capo setting, or just select the root note under 'temperaments'.
the fact the sweeteners setting says 'for harmonica in C' doesn't matter? The sweetener just goes with thr key change?
That is correct Dave. The iStroboSoft automatically transposes to whatever key harmonica you wish to tune.
Kinya
Hi Dave, was Peterson's customer service able to troubleshoot your issues with the iStroboSoft app?
Kinya
i hadn't tried it again, so I haven't spoken to anyone at Peterson yet.
heres my example and questions though.
i am tuning a G harmonica.
how does the app know it's a G harmonica?
under 'temperament' I have an option 'select root note'
is this where I tell the app it's a G harp?
if I'm tuning the draw plate to play cross harp, do I select D as the root note when I am tuning the draw plate?
i tried this, but I became alarmed when the app told me my 5 draw C was flat, when it was reading 443 on my guitar tuner. And then it read my 6 draw E as 9 cents sharp when the tuner said it was bang on 443. At this point I thought I must have got the D wrong so I reset it to root note G and still got results that made no sense. as in, it changed the readings on both those notes by about 2 cents.
so I dunno.
Hello Dave, try mimicking my Peterson iStrobosoft settings:
Opening Screen Shot to access "Settings" button on bottom right corner.
Select Sweeteners
There are many sweetners for harmonica tunings.
I chose the Hohner Special 20 for my Harmonica Sweetner.
When you select the Harmonica Sweetner, iStrobosoft will automatically set the temperament--allowing you to skip the Temperament selection process.
Select Transpose/Capo
Choose +0 | Key:C | This feature will enable istrobosoft to tune all your harmonica keys automatically.
Select Tuner Settings
Then turn ON: "Display All Sharps" and "Display Whole Cents". For Concert A, set to 442.0 Hz. Before leaving this screen, select Advance Settings, then turn ON: "Reduce Mains Hum Interference" and "Assisted Low Note Detection"
Lastly, select Back to return to the tuning screen.
Keep us posted Dave, because this helps the entire harmonica community ;o)
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Thank you. But if I want to tune a G harp for instance,don't I have to somehow tell the app it's a G harp?
or, can I only use it to tune C harps?
Hi Dave, no--it will automatically adjust (transcribe) all your harmonica keys. Please read the annotations I recently made.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
thanks Kinya. I don't really understand how that's possible but I'll contact Peterson.
thanks again,
Dave
Hi Kinya,Marshall Johns from Peterson wrote to me.I’ve extracted the important parts of his message which address my questions about using the app. I hope you are okay with me posting it here. Marshall said: “The app will *not* automatically transpose the key. iStroboSoft features a transposition setting that will need to manually be adjusted before tuning. Each position represents one half-step.” “Since the Sweetened setting is rooted in C and there is no root control present, if tuning a harmonica not in C, you will need to transpose the key to have the tuner adjust. The display will always read out like you're tuning a C harmonica, however. The transpose setting is simply a way to "trick" the app into doing what you need. Example, if tuning an "A" harmonica, set the transpose setting to TRANS -3 (Key: A). This will adjust iStroboSoft for this key and carry the respective Sweetened preset offsets with it. After transposing to the correct key, tune as you would normally.”
AWESOME Dave! Thank you for being so damn persistant ;o)
I am looking forward to implementing Marshall John's instructions for my next tuning job ... sounds easy enough. How did it work out for you?
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
hey Kinya,
i have just used it to tune a pair of seydel 1847 harps, which I set to sp20 tuning.
the app responded pretty consistently and in accordance with the tuning recipe. Id say the harps have ended up somewhat sharper than I expected, compared to where they'd be if I'd used my guitar tuner, especially considering that I set the app to 442 and I usually set the root at 443 on the draw plate and 442 on the blow. But I must say the chords sound pretty durn' good on these so that is cool. And if I decide it actually is too sharp, rather than my other tuner being flat, I can just reset to 440. So that's good so far.
I have a lot of jobs coming in at the moment so I'll give it some more use very soon.
We want more Dave!
p.s. The Australian Basketball team gave team USA a workout today!
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Why -3 (Key:A) and not +9 (Key:A ) ?
No problem I think I know how to set this up however I wonder if with all those new free apps out there still it worth paying for this app . It is ok to pay a few dollars but I hate this app when it wants me to pay for every additional functionality.
I hear you Brother. It is a choice we have to make (or not).
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Any body knows what setting should I use for Manji? I mean what sweetner ?
I would recommend the "S20" sweetner
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Kinya
I really like this tuner and it is very accurate, But..... The whole harp is about 9 cents flat. I'm trying to tune an A harmonica. The harmonica is in nearly perfect tune with itself, but the whole harp is is about 9 cents flat. I have the Marine Band Original sweetener turned on and the capo set to "A" +9. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I have read what you wrote above and have copied your settings other than having the capo set to "A" . I also have a ticket into Petersen.
thanks......Mike
Edit:
10 hrs later I figured it out. Set the root note for each harp. There are two capo settings for each key, use the lower setting for A, Bb, & C. These are the only three I've tried since I figured it out, but now that I know the process it should be a piece of cake.
Good luck........Mike
:) :) :) I could never fiture it out eigher and I tell you some times the whole thing is like a joke for me :)
Here is the support ticket from Petersen.
Hi Mike,The settings that are preset in the iStroboSoft app are from Rick Epping at Hohner, they look like this:Original Marine Band Tuning Cent Offsets from Equal Temperament Hole #____1_____2____3____4_____5____6____7_____8____9____10 Blow ____0___-14___+2____0___-14___+2____0___-14___+2_____0 Draw ___+4____+2__-12___+4___-27___+6__-12____+4__-27____+6 In the iStroboSoft app, the default setting for the root is C, the root control transposes the cent values only, you need to change the root if you want to see the correct notes.Changing the capo setting will transpose both the note names AND the cent values, so your A harmonica will read like a C harmonica, which is not a problem if you remember that the note names have been transposed.
I guess I still need help because what is written here and what I wrote in my previous post still won't get me to the correct note names. What I wrote in my previos post will get the correct pitch just the wrong note names.
thanks........Mike
Points to remember using sweeteners.
Turning on the sweetener over rides the root note selection. It will always have the C harp notes displayed.
If you don't use the Capo/transpose feature your cent reading will be off. It always displays the notes for a C harp
The way the sweetener works is on a C Harp with 7 limit just tuning, all F notes will be -27 draws 5&9 on a C Harp. all Ds will be -4 all Bs will be -12, and so on following the 7 limit recipe. On an A harp draws 5&9 are a D. You must use the capo to transpose the A harp to a C harp to make the cents work correctly. Then draw 5 on the A harp will read out as an F note with the correct cent reading. As far as I can tell the + or - choices for the key selection on the capo doesn't make a difference. Either one will create the transposition.
When not using the sweeteners don't change the capo or root note settings. Leave them at C. All the notes on an any harp are on a C harp. Some are just handier to get to than others.
This is what I have gotten to work for me through much trial and error. If anyone has other ideas, I'm all ears.
good luck.......Mike
Hey Jon Harl, would you like to weigh in on the Peterson iStrobe conversation?
Kinya
hi Kinya,
ive just been trying to work with this app but I'm afraid I could get no consistency from it. I ran it side by side with my korg ca 40. I tuned a reed, moved to another reed, came back to original reed and found the app now told me it was sharp. The korg told me nothing had changed. I left the reed as it was, and checked an octave split, came back to the reed, this time the app said it was flat. The korg still showed it on pitch.
Moving around the harp, I found the phone app was inconsistent all over, while my guitar tuner was stable.
perhaps my korg is not as sensitive as the app, but I couldn't tune using a reference which was giving a different result each time I played a reed so i gave up.
This is a shame as I was looking forward to expected greater accuracy which would enable me to be somewhat more specific when tuning. i believe the standard guitar tuner such as my korg is pretty accurate when it indicates the note is bang-on pitch, but less so when it comes to measure degrees of cents away from the target pitch. I basically tune roots to 442 and then recalibrate based on an estimate of 4 cents per Khz...so I'll drop the tuner to 439 to find 12cents below 442 for instance. It's not ideal but I'm yet to find a phone app which is consistent