Boss TU-3 Reviews

Boss TU-3

Brilliant little pedal, very easy to use, better than my previous TU-2.

Adjustable brightness means you can use in various conditions.

I keep it first in my pedal chain, two outputs mean it can be used it can be used straight through or in bypass, I keep it in bypass and use it as a kill switch.

If you purchase the optional daisy chain lead (PCS-20A) it can power a number of additional pedals.

The right hand button is the mode button, you can toggle between 6 modes.

The modes allow you to tune chromatically, choose bass or guitar and includes the ability to tune flat by semitones. This tuner also works with 7-string guitars and 6-string basses.

I have used it constantly for two years now and no problems at all, couldn't be happier with this tuner.

Does what it says on the box

Does everything it says it should, without a fuss.

Also, if you live in the UAE it will cost you 50 Euros to deliver and an extra 10% of the total order to COLLECT from a local post office; they did not deliver to the address I asked them to. DHL have delivery vehicles and offices, however, instead use Emirates Post who have very poor customer and organization.

Great tuner

This tuner does everything you;d expect a good tuner to, it's accurate, the casing is tough so it's great for gigging without fear of it breaking and the led display is bright enough to be seen on even the darkest of stages

An easy Tuner... but...

I have been using Boss tuner for years now and these are reliable and of good quality ..

But even if still using my TU2 I have just replaced my TU 3 by a KORG PITCHBLACK POLY and simply love it !

It's a bit more precise than the TU3 with a large display that's helps when having to tune on stage.

In tune anywhere

Why bother with stupid clip on tuners???

So you have waited all your life saving for your lush 59 Les Paul, it's beautiful in all its glory and then you notice that the stupid clip on tuner has reacted with the nitrocellulose finish and devalued your pride and joy be 50%!!! Why bother with them as they are only +\- 3 cents apparently but noooooo they are more like +\- 6 cents...

Let me introduce my best friend and probably the only pedal that is on every pedal board I ever use.. The boss tu3!!!!!! With its incredible accuracy of +\- 1 cent and the fact it's not attached to your guitar it's probably the best tuner on the planet... Buy one... You won't look back!!!

Have an intermittent issue with the switch on mine

Having searched around, the Boss TU range of tuners seems to be the most popular and perhaps a standard in the industry. Having seen lots of gigs where the Boss TU is on the pedalboard, I decided to invest in my own.

I can't really speak for the accuracy of the tuner, other than that it sounds like it does a great job to me! :)

I have had a serious enough problem with my Boss TU-3 where the footswitch intermittently stops functioning. So I can't switch the pedal on or off. To workaround the issue I have had to undo the black plastic screw at the bottom to release the foot pedal and press the switch manually to get it working again.

For that reason, I'd probably take a deeper look into the Korg Pitchblack as I've seen that cropping up in articles I've read and seen it on a few pedalboards recently.

Good stage tuner.

My old trusty TU-2 died on me the other day, so I bought this new TU-3.

It responds quick to any signal and it is easy to see the display on dark stages.

Great tuner if you need a tuner with buffered output. It is not true-bypass, but it doesn't color the sound in any way as far as I can hear.

It is build like a tank, and it also provides a 9VDC power outlet so you can daisy chain power to other pedals.

It is also possible to calibrate the tuner to other pitches. This comes in handy if you are playing with other instruments that's not tuned in 440Hz.

Bought to replace a cheaper Boss tuner

My son bought this for use with his bass guitar. Two of my guitar playing colleagues have earlier versions of the same pedal and have been using them for 10-15 years. This new version looks like it will go on working for similar time. Rugged metal construction, really quick to detect the note being played and to tune in to desired note - chromatic or preset strings. Not the cheapest tuner available, but it works and will last.

Great Boss updated tuner

Boss tuner seems to be well made with a few updates from old model, Lights up better and clear on stage than old one, very accurate tuning reliable never breaks down have it for a few years now, no problems.Very sturdy done move on floor one of the better on stage tuners ive tried

Chromatic tuner, does exactly what it says on the tin and is good and sturdy for use on stage as you would expect from Boss. The brightness on the display ensures you can tune without having to bend down close.

Boss TU3

This product does exactly what is required. LED is bright and visible on a dark stage and also in daylight or under artificial light. Lots of features available - perhaps more than are necessary - but which may be useful to some people in certain instances. The chromatic tuning setting is probably the most useful for most people but this can also be changed to tune by string number (as in the low E string sometimes termed the 6th string, A string is 5th string, etc) so if you like that system you can set your tuner to that fashion either. Sturdily built as always from Boss.

Awesome tuner!

Not sure what else to say really. It's great to be able to kill the sound so that I can tune up without annoying the audience. Not to mention that it's got a good display!

The standard tuning pedal, I have always wanted to get one of these but been put off in paying this much for a tuner.

However you get what you pay for. The screen is bright and easy to read. The tracking is very precise, the pedal is well made and comes with plenty of features including the ability to daisy chain power and to send signal back out of the pedal via a bypass or a output that mutes when the tuner is being used.

Very important addition to any pedal board!

A quality on stage tuner

This tuner is as good as it gets, it is very easy to use and the display is very nice indeed, it is also quick to get each string in tune

Big tuner

The most important tool for a guitar player is always his tuner. You can be a guitar master, but if your guitar is really out of tune, you won't get good results.

This Tuner is so accurate and perfect on stages. I use it for my acoustic guitar and base guitar, both works fine.

No mattert which light environment you got, you'll see the lights going.

A really good feature is the mute, when it's on, so you can tune silently or even switch guitars without those noises.

Switching batteries doesn't take long and a power supply works fine too.

With its DC out it is also a good starting point for daisy chains.

Great accuracy and visibility, with an excellent built in buffer

I have a pair of these tuners and they replaced the previous TU-2 versions I had as well as a Korg rackmount tuner. The accuracy has much improved and I can therefore use these for intonating my guitars/basses as well as general tuning duties. They have a great, clean buffer which means I can use them in front of my true bypass pedals with no loss of tone. The option of having the tuner active all the time, or only when silent is very convenient for me, as I sometimes like to see if my instrument is going out of tune whilst playing it (for example when playing fretless bass). The two outputs also mean you can use this pedal to split your signal simultaneously into two separate outputs, and being buffered, are truly independent to each other.

In tune - whatever tuning you like

On stage your biggest problem is to stay in tune - always and in every situation. In order to accomplish that you need to have a tuner, that works quick, precisely and accurately.

The Boss TU-3 does that perfectly. The LEDs are bright enough to be seen on every stage, no matter what lights you have on stage. If you still have problems, you could use the "high brightness mode".

The best features are the different tuning modes: Standard chromatic, automatic string detection for guutar and bass, flat tunings and many more. The true bypass works very good, but: if you want to mute your guitar while tuning, you can't use the true bypass output and vice versa. The problem ist: The mute output really affects the tone when you don't use the tuner - it kind of steals highs and dynamic. Because of that I decided to use the true bypass and leave the tuner turned on during the whole gig.

Quality and handling is classic Boss-like. Perfectly crafted and a real work horse on stage: You could drop this thing down from the 10th floor and it would survive :-)

Boss TU-3

Hmmm what can i say? I used this in my every Gig. i have no worry anymore being out of tune.. this must have every musician out there Professional or Amateur..

very Accurate for Bass Guitar and Lead Guitar. also in Acoustic. 5 Stars !!

Another Winner From Boss

The TU-3 is a high quality tuner which is extremely easy to use. It has the ability to tune by string number, drop tune and fine-tune a pitch as does the TU-2. These functions are fairly basic to use.

It picks up notes promptly without any lag. There are more LEDs than the TU-2 making it visually more easy to read. There is also a high brightness mode which I haven't really had to use yet, though if playing outside it may be useful.

One of the handiest new features visually shows you when you have sat on the correct pitch for a period of time and the string is "in tune". All in all another brilliant pedal from Boss.

Everyone musician I know has one of these...

Because they're good, that's why. I'm on my third one, because when they eventually fail, they fail spectacularly - no output, and random flashing lights. And then you buy another one, because they work so well! This time around, however, it's had a serious upgrade, and so far it's looking good.

The pitch sensitivity is as accurate as it needs to be to stop you spending the entire gig struggling to get that single green light, without being so forgiving as to be inaccurate. If you're in any doubt as to which tuner to buy, you won't regret buying this one.