Headstock tuners have brought a convenience and ease to tuning our guitars. Today, we’re looking at one of the most popular choices, the Snark St-8 Super Tight Chromatic Tuner. The ST-8 is aimed at making tuning super easy for guitar, bass, and ukulele. In this Snark ST-8 review, we’ll determine if the ST-8 delivers.
Snark ST-8 Tuner Specifications
The ST-8 is a compact headstock tuner.
| Specification | ||
| Type | Chromatic | |
| Format | Clip-on Headstock | |
| Display | 360 degree LCD | |
| Pitch Calibration | 415-466Hz | |
| Battery | CR2032 LIthium (1) | |
| Dimensions | 3.62″ H x 2.52″ W x 1.81″ D |
Snark St-8 Tuner Features
The Snark ST-8 is “improved” from the original Snark design. The ST-8 features flat tuning and pitch calibration. It is suitable for tuning guitar, bass, and ukulele.
One of the most noticable features of a Snark clip-on tuner is the rounded display. The ST-8’s display is able to be moved in any direction. Additionally, the ST-8 has an auto-off feature to preserve battery life when not in use.
Controls
The Snark ST-8 has five buttons. That’s a lot of buttons for such a small device, but it’s because the Snark is feature-packed. The On/Off switch located conveniently on the front, under the display screen.
There are three buttons are on the rear: Up/Down arrow buttons, and the pitch calibration button. The pitch calibration button activates control of reference pitch. The calibration range of the ST-8 can be adjusted between 415-466Hz. The calibration range is adjusted by the adjacent arrow buttons.
Finally, there is an Hz button on the side of the display bevel, which activates the Hz readout of the note played.
Tuning Modes
The arrow buttons are dual-function in that they also activate and set the flat tuning options. Pushing the down arrow button toggles through the flat tuning settings. The four flat tuning settings are indicated by the number of flats that appear in the lower right of the display. Very helpful for those of you who frequently use drop tunings.
Snark ST-8 Performance
The ST-8 has the distinctive Snark look. It’s bigger physically than a tuner such as the BOSS TU-02, but that’s not a criticism. The Snark ST-8 really nails it in ease of use. The On/Off button is placed on the face of the tuner, under the display. And it’s colored a bright gold, which makes it very easy to see, even on a dark stage. The placement of the On/Off button makes it quick to switch on and off.
While the ST-8 gripped onto the headstock reasonably well, it was not as tight as some other clip-on tuners I’ve tried. Considering that the tuner is named “Super Tight”, I was a little bit surprised at this.
Display
The display of the ST-8 is arguably its best feature. The display can be maneuvered in almost any direction. This gives it a lot of flexibility. Flat frequencies are indicated with red. Sharp frequencies are indicated with yellow. One thing I noticed is that there are apparently no standardized colors in the clip-on tuner world. Namely, the Snark’s flat/sharp colors are the opposite of the color scheme used on the BOSS TU-02! That said, both tuners indicate the string is “in tune” with a blue bar.
Tuning Accuracy
Overall, tuning accuracy was very good. The ST-8 registers the note very quickly, with no lag. In comparison to the original Snark tuner design, Snark claims the “highest ever accuracy” of the Super Tight models. Though Snark doesn’t publish any claimed tuning accuracy number, in my experience the ST-8 shows typical clip on chromatic tuner accuracy. Meaning, it tunes as well as any clip-on tuner we’ve tested in this price range.
Snark ST-8 Cons
Unfortunately, I do have to report one issue with the Snark ST-8. The rubber cover for the bottom side of the clip became dislodged shortly after I received it. Interestingly, the tuner still works without the rubber cover. Since the clip is plastic, there’s no real danger of scratching most guitars. I believe that this was simply a manufacturing error, but I did want to mention it.
And let’s be serious: At the price point, you cannot expect quality control perfection 100% of the time. Snark products tend to get very good reviews online, so I do not believe that this is a widespread issue. Therefore, I wouldn’t steer you away from the ST-8 for this reason.
Conclusion
The Snark ST-8 is a good value in a compact guitar tuner. The tuning quality is good, and fast. I also especially like the highly maneuverable and rounded display. Also, the prominent placement and high visibility of the On/Off button is a great design decision.
The fact that a sub-$20 tuner offers flat tuning and Hz readout make it a great choice in this price range. If you are in the market for a well equipped, easy-to-use guitar tuner, I recommend you check out the Snark ST-8.
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