NAMM 2024: “It should be in every musician’s gigbag” – Featuring a rechargeable battery and a rubber sound shield, has Snark just revolutionized the clip-on tuner?
Snark has made two key adjustments with the ST-8 Titanium tuner, offering “months” of tuning with one charge, without pesky external noises limiting its accuracy
(Image credit: Snark Tuners)
NAMM 2024: Guitar tuning brand Snark has set out to nullify “the enemy” of clip-on tuners with its latest model, the ST-8 Titanium. It builds on its best-selling tuner, the Titanium, with key features we didn’t even realize that clip-on tuners had been lacking until now.
The first new feature to catch the eye is its rubber ‘sound shield’ that cushions the back of its interface. The addition of the vulcanized rubber collar helps cut out unwanted external frequencies and their vibrations, meaning it should provide reliable tuning accuracy in even the noisiest of environments.
“Since surrounding instruments or voices can be the enemy of accurate tuning,” says the firm, “the vulcanized rubber sound shield ensures that the instrument’s note played is delivered.”
The light and robust rubber is also said to be resistant to solvents and impervious to moderate levels of hot and cold. Although the use of “moderate” suggests it may struggle in Antarctica or the Sahara.
Then there’s the handy bonus that it comes stocked with a rechargeable battery. Dying batteries are the bane of many a gigging musician’s life – and they can be a costly outlay, too – so this is a welcome addition.
With one charge of its lithium battery – via USB, PC or power bank – the tuner can apparently "deliver weeks to months of continuous use", eliminating the hassle and stress of a battery running out of juice when you need it most. A handy battery icon on the bottom of its display helps players monitor power levels on the fly, too.
Made from titanium, which is known for its vibration-blocking characteristics, and bolstered by the rubber sound shield, Snark is confident this tuner can handle a range of pitches. Its fully chromatic pitch calibration takes in everything between 415-466Hz, making it a viable tuber of choice for guitarists and bassists alike.
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Baritone and extended range guitars, often known for confusing clip-on tuners, should also be no match for the tuner, which comes complete with a 360-degree rotating, high-resolution LCD screen. It’s designed to be visible on dark stages or sun-glared settings, too.
Says Snark: “Looking cool, with its rubber sound shield, and with the ability to practically tune any stringed instrument, it should be in every musician’s gigbag.”
Adding one to your gigbag will cost you $26.99, which puts it on the pricier end of the market. But, if it that rubber sound shield and rechargeable battery handiness deliver as promised, it’s not a horrendous price jump for a tuner that looks set to level up the clip-on tuning game.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
