Tascam TG-7

I usually troll the major music web sites for clearance or one day sales so I can add neat things to my collection and tack on accessories to make up an order big enough for free shipping. The Tascam TG-7 happened to be one of those items. My Boss tuner had recently died after many years of service and I figured at $7 how could I go wrong? The unit was a touch smaller then I figured and I thought it would end up taking up space in a guitar compartment until I actually dove into it.

The tuner operates a bit different than other tuners in this group. It has four separate modes for viewing and I found that while three were simply more accurate or faster tracking variations of the regular needle mode that the fourth had a flowing nature that made tuning the lower frequencies a bit easier than usual. We all know that from the initial string hit through its vibration the tone can lower a few cents. This flowing meter made it easier to get those lower notes in tune than its predecessor. Of course the tuner can be set for guitar, bass, or chromatic modes and like many others has 1/4" input and output jacks.

My favorite part of this tuner however is the metronome mode. Unlike most tuner that throw a metronome in this one had many useable functions. It can be set for many various beat patterns as well as full controll over the tempo. The longer than usually display has a sweep pattern that is easily seen. It also offers a fairly good beep level to accentuate the pattern and it has a large box in the center of the sweep where you would normally tune to to help with the inbetween beats.

It is a decent tuner and a very good metronome but the unit also offer a backlight to illuminate the display and it also allows the user to set the proper viewing angle of the display, which has a large viewing angle in any mode. It also has a built in stand in its back and is the most wonderful fit on a music stand because of its shape. I thought the $80 regular price was a bit ridiculous when I ordered it but I quickly realized that I did get a steal on this unit. It is an indispensable little friend to me when I practice away from my DAW and it keeps my practices honest.

The Tascam TG-7 is a tuner, metronome, and pitch pipe (tone generator), all in one convenient, versaitile package. It is small, yet it has both a 1/4 inch output and input, perfect for guitar rigs. It also has a built in microphone, for tuning any acoustic instruments.

There are several tuning modes: Guitar, Bass, Chromatic, Drop D, Drop G, Open D, Open G, and up to five user-definable scales. For me, this seems a big excessive; I would simply stick with the chromatic tuner, and it will easily work with all of my guitar tunings, and other instruments, such as violin. There are even a few options for tuning modes, such an normal, fine, and even old-fashioned strobe tuning. The display is very long and narrow, which is perfect for fine tuning. At the top, there are marks (in the plastic casing) for -50 cents and +50 cents, which is helpful, but in the fine tuning mode, these are not accurate (the fine tuning works from -25 to 25 cents, I believe). Regardless, the tuning works great!

The metronome is the main reason I purchased this unit. With the built-in speaker, the device has a pretty average tone for an electronic metronome, and it also creates a visual that is easy to follow, in case you can't hear the beep. And that is a problem; with louder instruments such as electric guitars, it is impossible to hear the metronome beep. Even when I plugged the metronome output into my PA system, the beep still seemed barely audible. The beeping noise cannot be altered, and it is a bit harsh as well. Great practice tool, but for my band practice, I generally use the metronome on my phone, which has many options for metronome sounds.

Overall, this is a wonderful little tool that does a little bit of everything, and for the price I paid for it on sale ($20), it is well worth the price.