So, I read the directions on the Snark Tuner for the first time . . . . ever - after having them for years. I noticed that you can calibrate the pitch reference from 415 to 466Hz. Does anybody ever change this from the default setting? If so, what specific instrument to you do that for?
Snark Tuner Calibration
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The only time I could see using that is if you were playing with a symphony that used a non-440 reference or if you were tuning to something like a piano that was shifted out of tune.
Well, and some folks think that certain references are better than 440. I guess they would love that feature.
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My first tuner was a tuning fork A 440 hz. Then I had a hand held that I would set in my lap. Now I just use the clip on style. I didn’t realize they could be calibrated to a different pitch.
Many tuners seem to offer several reference frequencies, but routinely set the default at 440. This represents a tone frequency of 440 cycles-per-second (Hertz, or Hz) for the note “A” above middle “C”. This has been the standard for the USA for about 100 years and has been the usual standard for western music (as contrasted with Asian or African, not as in country/western) since the 1800’s. When I took violin lessons almost 70 years ago I received a tuning fork with a 440 “A” to use. I’m not clear on what context would be appropriate for utilizing a Snark set to another standard, but was aware that the “setting” button would toggle it between several options. Bottom line is that I know to use the 440 A.