Over the years, I developed a bit of a reputation as a real hard-nose about tuning to concert pitch. There were a couple of reasons for this. My rationalization was that I used some pretty pricy European made classic guitars, and a well-made classic guitar doesn't really like to be cranked up and down; it much prefers to be tuned to the pitch for which it was built (concert, A=440), and kept there. It doesn't mind the 6th string being tuned down to D from time to time, but since it's fairly lightly braced and the soundboard is relatively thin, cranking it up and down just ain't good for it. It isn't braced with steel I-beams like some steel-string guitars.

But the main reason is that in a fairly noisy room, with conversation going on and other people tuning up at the same time, I have one helluva time hearing my own guitar accurately. So I got me one of these clip-on jobbers—

Beeyouteeful!

—and I love it! I just clip it to the headstock of the guitar, it senses the vibration from the guitar directly, and tells you what you want to know. It tells you what note you're playing, so you can crank the tuning peg up or down to where it's supposed to be, and once you get to the note you want, there are li'l angle-brackets on both sides of the letter. If it says "<<< A >> ," then you a smidgen flat. When there are three angle-brackets on both sides of the letter ("<<< A >>>"), then you right on.

And they can be tango dancing, hog-calling, playing accordions, and yodeling in the same room, and the Intellitouch tuner doesn't care, because it isn't listening, it's feeling what note the guitar (or whatever instrument) is playing.

$50 bucks may be a bit pricy compared to some, but I think it's really worth it.

Don Firth