TU-15 Tuner & Metronome
A tuner like no other

By Jim Bybee

With over 700,000 units sold, the classic BOSS TU-12 has become the de facto standard for professional musicians the world over thanks to its exceptional accuracy and reliability. Released in 1983, it was the world’s first automatic chromatic tuner—automatically detecting and displaying a note’s pitch so you could use your hands to tune your instrument, instead of fumbling with your tuner. After the TU-12’s 19-year run, BOSS has now introduced the flagship TU-15 Chromatic Tuner. Packed with a bevy of useful new features, the TU-15 promises to find its way into another 700,000 gig bags. (And don’t worry, BOSS promises they will still continue to make the faithful TU-12, for those who just have to have the original.)

What a VU
Like its predecessor, the TU-15 features a rock-solid VU meter for accurate pitch adjustment, and “flat” and “sharp” LED indicators to let you know when you are precisely in tune. Newly added is an LCD indicator that displays the exact note name, and also the associated string number when using the Guitar and Bass modes. Although the TU-12 has an LED pitch grid, the TU-15 is much easier to use since the note names are displayed in the VU area of the tuner. Another welcome addition is a backlit needle meter, making it much easier to see the tuning display on dark stages. This backlight can be turned on only when necessary to conserve battery life.

You’ve Gotta Have Options
The TU-15 has many different operating modes, making it the perfect tool for any tuning application (see the Square One sidebar). Chromatic mode features an 8-octave tuning range, capable of accurately tuning any instrument from a tuba to piccolo. Guitar and Bass modes calibrate the tuner to the pitches of those instruments’ strings, including low B for 7-string guitars and 5-string basses. Entering this mode activates the previously mentioned string number display. There are also many open tuning options, which calibrate the tuner for the most popular alternate guitar tunings: Drop D, DADGAD, and open D, E, G, and A. Slide guitarists will love this! And for you grunge and metal folks, the flat tuning settings make for easy tuning down five half steps.

All modes can be used in AUTO for hands-free operation, or MANUAL if you wish to manually select the desired tuning pitch. The default calibration is A=440Hz, but the unit’s standard pitch can be easily set from 438Hz to 445Hz. There is a built-in speaker (with on/off switch) for audible pitch output. And finally, there is an Auto Power Off function that automatically turns off the tuner when not in use. This feature will be a real gig saver; more than once, my TU-12 has greeted me with a dead battery because I accidentally left its power switch on!

Give Me Some Input (and Output)
The TU-15 has an onboard microphone for tuning acoustic instruments, and a 1/4-inch input jack for electronic sources. A 1/4-inch output jack is also provided, allowing for signal pass-through even if the unit is turned off. Some tuning devices have a reputation for “sucking tone” from vintage-type guitar pickups when used in-line between the guitar and amplifier. The TU-15 addresses this problem by providing a very high input impedance, which will not load down a standard electric guitar’s pickups. This ensures that it can be used in-line and at the ready at all times, with no worries about tone degradation.

Still First in Line
With the TU-15, BOSS introduces two brand-new features never before seen on an electronic tuner: Accu-Pitch and Octave Adjust. Accu-Pitch is basically an intonation guide; when the desired pitch is attained, the built-in speaker emits a tone letting you know that tuning is done. Octave Adjust is handy when setting the intonation of a guitar or bass with an adjustable bridge. This procedure is traditionally accomplished by plucking the twelfth-fret harmonic on the instrument, then adjusting the bridge so that the fretted note at the twelfth-fret matches the pitch of the harmonic. Octave Adjust simplifies this process by storing the pitch of the harmonic in memory, providing a calibrated-tuning standard for tuning the fretted note. Having set the intonation on hundreds of guitars in my past life as a guitar technician, this is a welcome feature indeed!

A New Standard
The TU-15 is a more than a worthy addition to the venerable line of BOSS chromatic tuners; it sets an entirely new standard. No matter what your tuning needs are, the TU-15 will fit the bill, and at a price that will still keep some bills in your wallet. If you’re in the market for a tuner, or need to replace one, check out the BOSS TU-15; it’s a no-brainer.

Square One
TU-15 Tuning Modes
The TU-15 has two different operation modes: Automatic and Manual. In either of these modes, the tuner can be set to detect pitch chromatically, or be constrained to guitar or bass pitches. Here’s a breakdown of these helpful modes:

Chromatic Auto
This is the TU-15’s default setting. The tuner will automatically display any pitch that it detects, within a range of eight octaves.

Guitar Auto
This constrains the TU-15’s pitch detection to the guitar’s six strings (E, A, D, G, B, E), as well as low B for 7-string guitars. The tuner still functions automatically, but will only display the seven pitches mentioned above.

Bass Auto
Similar to Guitar Auto mode, except that pitch detection is constrained to bass pitches (E, A, D, G, all one octave down), as well as low B for 5-string basses. Flat settings are also available in Bass mode.

Chromatic Manual
This mode locks the tuner into detecting only a selected pitch. This is especially useful when tuning multi-stringed instruments that produce a lot of sympathetic overtones, such as pianos, autoharps, and hammered dulcimers.

Guitar Manual and Bass Manual
The same as the Guitar and Bass Auto modes, but the desired guitar or bass string number must be selected manually. Use this mode (in conjunction with Octave Adjust) when setting the intonation on a guitar or bass with an adjustable bridge.

Buy a TU-15 today!