Strobe tuner

A tuner that displays pitch as a rotating pattern of stripes or a spinning disc rather than as a moving needle.

The strobe display shows the phase relationship between the instrument's pitch and a reference, so the pattern appears to freeze when the two are exactly matched and drifts when they are not. That makes it far more precise than a basic needle tuner, which is why strobe tuning is used for setting up intonation and for studio work. Software and modern pedals reproduce the display digitally, since mechanical strobe wheels are expensive to build.

Example: A tuner whose display appears to stop moving only when a string is exactly at pitch uses a strobe display.

Strobe tuner

See also