SONIC RESEARCH
ST-300 MINI
STROBE TUNER
REVIEW BY NICK RAMBO
STREET PRICE $129.99
The interesting thing
about Sonic Research is
that the company hasn’t
done any traditional
advertising in almost a
decade. Back in 2007,
within a year of launching
the first Turbo Tuner, it
became obvious that most
sales were happening as
a result of the word-ofmouth recommendations
of satisfied users the world
over. But don’t let the lack
of marketing fool you—
Sonic Research is
a juggernaut.
NAME OF
THE GAME
GEAR REVIEW
In my opinion, accuracy is
everything when it comes
to tuners—it’s the first
spec I look for—and Sonic
Research delivers. Other
popular tuners on the
market today offer ± 1 cent
of tuning accuracy. The
Turbo Tuner clocks in at ±
.02 cents—nearly 50 times
more accurate.
Yeaaah.
Tuning is usually one of the
first things players learn
how to do on a guitar. It’s
58
a simple task that begins
most sessions. And while
the “close enough for rock
and roll” approach might
work for some, it’s certainly
not for everybody.
//
And while some might
debate the necessity,
practicality, or veracity
of such an unparalleled
accuracy claim, there’s
certainly something to be
said for the added peace of
mind it offers. Unlike other
mainstream tuners I’ve used
over the years, I’ve never
felt the need to doublecheck my tuning with the
Turbo.
So how does it work? Good
question. The Turbo Tuner
is a true strobe tuner. Its
LED display is driven by
the analog input signal for
an instant response with
zero latency. So what you
see on the display is the
actual waveform of each
note relative to the Turbo
Tuner’s internally generated
reference frequency.
Sonic Research ST-300 Mini Strobe Tuner