Re recalcitrant strings, that's exactly what I find with my Intellitouch, RS. Even then though, the low strings don't always play ball - I usually have to tune A-E and then tune the bottom E from the A. And it's *very* unhelpful when you try to tune a bass with it - octave harmonics (or even second-octave harmonics) are the only way to do it.

Graham.