|
The fine folks at Sabine
were kind enough to submit a RT-7000 rack tuner for review this
month. I personally believe that a capable tuner is an accessory
that is not taken as serious as it should be to quite a few guitar
players. More times then not, "Just the standard will do"
and many players inadvertently settle for a tuner that is simply
adequate enough to provide basic tuning functionality. Therefore,
a tuner is normally subjected to the same tone lust standards as
other accessories such as stomp boxes, wireless systems, or effects
processors. None the less, a superior tuner is well worth the investment
because there is nothing worse than an out-of-tune guitar. That's
about as welcome at a gig or rehearsal as a skunk at a picnic! The
folks at Sabine recognize this and here is what the RT-7000 is all
about...
Front
Panel:
Housed in a single rack space, all steel chassis,
the RT-7000 has solid construction and will stand up to the rigors
of daily use and road transport. Front panel offers two inputs (A
& B) and a pedal 1/4" input for use with optional RTPED2
foot switch and to control A, B switching via pedal. Four position
LED for visual routing of A, B select, four analog style select
buttons for select tuner functions: flat tuning, standard, strobe
and mute. The RT-7000 sports a 17 bar LED for flat to sharp readings,
large red LED for note selection and a standard on-off rocker type
switch for front panel power up.
Plug
In:
I'm utilizing three instruments with the RT-7000.
A Gibson Les Paul six string electric, a Takamine 12-string acoustic
guitar, and my bass players five-string Zon electric bass. Utilizing
these three instruments will provide us with a diverse range of
frequencies. First, the standard six-string, a Les Paul. With the
RT-7000 set in standard mode this tuner reacts quickly. A big bold
LED readout properly displays the note being tuned, this is a definite
benefit when tuning on dark smoke filled stages where it can be
difficult to even find your guitar, let alone tune it! The RT-7000
is quick on the draw, quickly and accurately identifying the pitch
and utilizing 17 LED graph to assist you in your correct pitch.
The RT-7000 uses sharp or flat increments of 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30,
36 and 45 ensuring that it's accuracy is "right on". Once
you have tuned a note correctly, a center green LED appears and
the other 16 LED's indicating sharp or flat disappear.
It is easy to use but most importantly, fast and accurate! This
is crucial when tuning time can be significantly reduced in a "live"
situation when you need to check tuning between songs or retune
all together with alternate tunings. The RT-7000 shines with it's
fast, accurate registers.
Next we sampled a Zon five-string bass. We utilized the "Flat
Tune" mode on the tuner which is designed for lowered tunings.
This was a good test for the RT-7000, for some tuners can struggle
with lowered tunings if a wide frequency tuning range can not be
detected. The RT-7000 performed flawlessly in this mode, right down
to the low B string.
Final
Mojo:
The folks at Sabine are not newcomers in designing innovative products
and the RT-7000 Rack Tuner is no exception. Built and designed with
the working/performing musicians in mind, the RT-7000 is built tough
for road use but more importantly provides fast accurate and highly
visible tuning features. The RT-7000 is a scaled down model of the
RT-7100 with a few less features, mainly routing flexibility (switch
between two guitars and two amps) and a built in microphone, but
still represents a solid value in an overwhelming field of tuner
choices. At a $219.95 suggested retail price, the RT-7000 is reasonably
priced and in the financial realm of working musicians.
RT-7000
Features:
- Swoop LED Display: Gives you the best visual cue for easy tuning,
especially from a distance. It works like a bar graph of your
pitch, sweeping up for sharp & down for flat.
- Bright & Easy to Read: Huge note indicator is visible from
across the stage, even if you're wearing shades!
- Dual Tuning Modes: Standard Mode gives you a bar graph reading
of your pitch. Strobe Mode shows moving sweep of pitch. Both are
more accurate than conventional needle-style LED displays.
- Two Independent Channels: Select on front panel or with foot
switch.
- Flat Tune: Set the tuner to any of four different flat tunings:
1/2, 1, 1 1/2, or 2 steps below standard pitch. Play and tune
your guitar normally but at a lower overall pitch!
- Calibration: Change the overall calibration of the tuner from
435 to 445 Hz.
- Mute: Mute your instrument for silent tuning-select on front
panel or with foot switch.
- Automatic Note & Sharp/Flat Sensing.
- Chromatic: A 7-Octave range, perfect for guitar and bass; works
all the way down to a low A!
- Heavy-duty Metal Case: Built for heavy road use.
- Built-in power supply.
Information:
Sabine
13301 Highway 441
Alachua, FL 32615
800-626-7394
www.sabine.com
|
