All user reviews of 4/5 for the Korg Pitchblack

I use it for a few months.

Good build quality. Housing black painted aluminum. Several types of operation. But I used one, the most classic. Calibration of the LA between 436 and 445 Hz Format relatively small, so easy to put on a pedalboard. Looks nice, a bit futuristic.

I've never used on 9V battery: it is installed on my pedalboard and is powered by a 1Spot system.

It is quite effective, but could be a little faster! Sometimes, after a certain time settings, it seems that a little enmêle brushes. It's unpleasant, but it's very episodic and occurs only when specifically long tunings (eg, to provide a Floyd Rose after changing the strings). Just cut, then back to either OK again.


In the end, I'm generally happy. It may not be the most efficient on the market, but it is a good average, with a quality / price very interesting report.

If it again, maybe I would do this choice. Or maybe if I can find a better price / quality ratio. Say it is well suited for musicians who do not want to invest in an exaggeratedly tuner pedal.

I put 8/10 taking into account the price / quality ratio. Without considering them, I would rather put 7/10.

Korg has been in the tuner game for over 20 years, being famed for the accuracy and quality of their rackmount tuners. Korg introduced the Pitchblack series of tuners in 2008, to much acclaim, and rightly so. It's a very simple, functional design.

Encased in a durable metal housing with barrel footswitch, the Pitchblack measures in at just slightly smaller in dimension than the more famous Boss TU-2/3 tuner. This is a plus for those with cramped pedalboards.The Pitchblack also sports true bypass switching, so it won't color your tone when placed in your signal chain, and if you operate it via battery, you won't lose your signal in bypass mode if the battery suddenly dies.

It boasts 4 different display modes, including: Meter, Full Strobe, Half Strobe, and Mirror. The display itself is large with a readout of the note along with a range of LED lights that display variances in cent by their brightness in standard meter mode.

The tuner also has a parallel power jack for jumpering other 9v pedals from the same power source.

The cons of this otherwise great pedal tuner are note tracking time, and display brightness. On a dark stage, it's easily seen, but outdoor daytime gigs are the enemy, and direct sunlight can render the Pitchblack almost impossible to read. I found this was sometimes subverted by tucking the tuner or the pedalboard on which it sat, as close to a monitor wedge or other source of shade, as I could.

The Pitchblack exhibits some lag to how quickly it tracks a note compared to other pedal tuners, most notable the Boss TU series. This isn't a good thing when your singer doesn't give you much time in between songs to tune your guitar.

What this tuner has going for it is accuracy and simplicity, and this was enough a few years ago, but with the introduction of competitively priced models from other manufacturers that are comparable in accuracy, Korg would do well to update the Pitchblack with a brighter display and faster note tracking.
If they can do this, and maintain the original price point, I don't see why the Pitchblack series can't compete with the new and improved Boss TU-3 to become the gold standard in pedalboard tuners.

Korg's Pitchblack is a chromatic tuner pedal, designed primarily for use on the stage. It has LED meters so you can see the pedal in, you guessed it, pitch black. It also has four modes to choose from and is about the average size of a guitar pedal. The LED meters are definitely brighter and larger than most other chromatic tuner pedals that I've seen out there, which is great for shows. It's got a standard make up with 1/4" connections for input and output and power can be achieved by plugging a 9 volt power supply into the jack in the back. You can also change the calibration and display with controls on the back of the pedal. Like the Boss TU-2 and TU-3 chromatic tuners, it also has a power supply output for connecting a daisy chain and powering up other pedals, although I'm not sure what the full range of compatibility is there. There aren't any other technical characteristics to worry about, and I think that users will be able to catch on very quickly when it comes to tuning your guitar or bass with this pedal. The price is a bit cheaper than the Boss chromatic tuners, but isn't that much cheaper when you consider that this seems to be a bit less sturdy than it's competition. It should still last for a while, but I don't own one and can't say for sure. I do own the Boss TU-2 and it has served me well for years without problems, so it's definitely worth considering that if you're looking at the Pitchblack for a chromatic tuner. Pitchblack is a nice design but it's not groundbreaking. I do like that it's super simple and gives you only the basics, but it does seem like it could be a bit better built in terms of it's casing. Either way, it's worth checking out if you're looking for a reasonably priced tuner for your live show.

This is a solid tuner for the money and in my experience is a much better buy then the similar priced boss tu2. The pitch black tracks faster, has true bypass to keep your signal intact, and is more accurate at +/- 1 cent. I have previously used the Peterson Strobo stomp, a Korg rack mount, and the Boss tu2. I prefer the pitch black to all of these in a live setting. I don't get any noise, clicks, or pops with it and that's really all you can ask for in a tuner in my opinion.

As far as features it's pretty standard for a tuner. You get four different modes of tuning: Full Strobe, Half Strobe, Meter Mode,and Mirror Mode I personally keep it in half strobe. The pedal can also be calibrated from 436 to 445 Hz in case you want to tune just a bit different but without going down or up an entire half step. The display is nice and bright for dark stages and is easily readable under stage lights. I have not played outside with it so I cannot comment on how easy it is to read in the sunlight. It operates on a standard boss style 9v dc jack or battery and there is also a thru power jack.

The extra power jack seems pretty pointless. I think some people get confused and think this pedal actually produces power when It really just passes unused power through the jack. If you have a daisy chain to plug into it then you might as well just plug the daisy chain into your power adapter.

I have had a few instances where the pitch black cut out and passed no signal but I think it may have been a dirty switch since it has not happened in about a year now. When this happened I just hit the switch a few times and it came right back on. I'll admit I don't keep my board as clean as it should be sometimes.