Boss TU-2 vs TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal Review !!

When we talk about the tuners, Boss TU2 vs TU3 have mostly been on top in the competition. The Boss Tuner range has set impeccable standards by providing quality features and best outputs to their users.

For this article, we will be looking at Boss TU 2 vs TU 3 and dig which is better for you!

Boss TU-2 Review

Boss TU2 Chromatic Pedal Tuner is very known and popular with an extraordinary stompbox design.

The arrival of this tuner enabled the guitarists and the bassists to tune both their instruments together perfectly with just a single pluck of the strings.

This was the very first time that a tuner performed this function with such accuracy.

Features of Boss TU-2 Pedal Tuner:

  • All new stream meter which displays tuning differences through LED directions and speed.
  • 11 LED indicators
  • LED display of 7 segments which shows the note names and string too.
  • Stompbox Design
  • Mute/Bypass options are available for silent tuning.
  • Seven tuning modes, namely: Chromatic, Guitar: Flat, Regular, Double Flat, Bass: Regular, Flat, Double Flat.
  • Memory storage for tuning modes and display styles.
  • Reference pitch can be adjusted from 438Hz to 445Hz
  • To preserve battery, a switch operable by foot is available that can turn off the LED

Boss TU2 has been a standard tuner for years in the music industry. Its appreciable functions have gained such popularity amongst the musicians over time.

After knowing the details of the Boss TU2, following mentioned are a few pros and cons of the Tuner:

BOSS TU-2 Chromatic Tuner Pedal
  • Mute/Bypass select for silent tuning with a single stomp 11-point LED indicators and new Stream meter display tuning discrepancy via speed and direction of LEDs (speed of LED movement gets slower as pitch becomes more accurate) 7-segment LED displays string and note names, easily visible on dark stages Seven easy tuning modes include Chromatic, Guitar Regular, Guitar Flat, Guitar Double Flat, Bass Regular, Bass Flat, Bass Double Flat

Last update on 2024-04-18 at 09:38 UTC - 4/ Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Pros

  • Accurate - The guitar provides accurate tuning of both, the guitar and the bass.
  • FeaturesThe features and functions provided by the tuner are unique and efficient. They allow the user to enhance their music quality.
  • Reliability - The tuner is trustable enough to never betray you while you’ll be performing.
  • Simple - The functions of the tuner are simple and easily understandable which allows better and enhanced functionality of the device.
  • Value - The price of the tuner is not extremely high and thus can be afforded after little savings.

Cons

  • Digital Display - The display on the device is pretty small and thus the user has to actually bend over and see what it is displaying.
  • Less InformationThe tuner displays only a single string on its digital display whereas various other tuners have the feature of displaying all the strings which makes it a drawback for Boss TU2.

Boss TU-3 Review

After an amazing performance by Boss TU2 for years, an updated version of the tuner with a few extra and upgraded features was announced as TU3.

The new tuner consists of a LED stream meter of 21-segment. The screen has a high-brightness mode which allows the user to read the screen easily during daylight as well.

TU3 also consisted of a Note Name indicator which can enable the user to see the notes of six strings basses and seven strings guitars.

Features of Boss TU-3:

  • Adjustable brightness mode for better outdoor visibility.
  • Stompbox-style structured.
  • An Accu-pitch sign function appears on the screen when tuning is completed.
  • 21-Segment LED meter
  • Guitar/Bass and Chromatic mode
  • Easy tuning using the string numbers as it supports 7-string guitars and 6-string basses
  • On the guitar flat mode, flat tuning allows up to six semitones down the standard pitch tune drop.
  • +/- one cent accuracy
  • Automatic mute option
  • Can supply power to almost 7 Boss compact effect pedals

Since every product has a good side as well as a bad side, it is necessary to know both aspects to be able to make a fair judgment.

Thus, a few pros and cons of Boss TU3 are mentioned below.

Pros

  • Features - The extraordinary features of the tuner like bypass option or the ability to act as a powerhouse makes it immensely useful.
  • Brightness - The adjustable light of LED brightness serves as an advantage to the users as it allows them to easily read the display in the bright daylight too.
  • Swift - The tuner is swift and thus reacts in very less time. It hardly takes seconds to perform the desired function.
  • Long-LastingThe tuner is made with good technology and provides quality functions. Thus, it will be a one-time investment in almost a decade. It’s worth every penny you spend on it.

Cons

  • SlowAt times the tuner takes almost 15-20 seconds to pick up the tune of the instrument.
  • Battery - The modes of the tuner consume a lot of battery and that too very rapidly.

Boss TU-3 thus adds up to the existing features of TU-2 to make it better and advanced.

The additional features include 21-segment LED, a high-brightness mode for daylight, swiftness, and power channeling.

Thus, when it comes to Boss TU-2 vs TU-3, clearly, TU-3 wins the match!

Conclusion

For years, Boss tuners have been on a “must have” list of the musicians because of their high technology and accuracy along with the extraordinary features at such affordable prices.

Boss TU-2 has undoubtedly been the star for almost a decade, but what matters is that TU3 has tried covering up all the flaws of TU2 and thus has become a better as well as an updated version of the former tuner.

So I’d personally go with Boss TU-3.

How about you?

Feel free to leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

Further reading:

https://www.wikihow.com/Connect-a-Guitar-Pedal

https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Guitar-Pedal

https://www.wikihow.com/Set-Up-Guitar-Pedals

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