NAMM 2018: With every NAMM comes a refresh of Korg’s tuner line, and this year has brought a “revolutionary” OLED display polyphonic offering, updated clip-ons and a limited-edition Pitchblack Advance stompbox.
AW-OTG POLY and AW-OTB-POLY
The AW-OTG POLY (guitar tuner) and AW-OTB-POLY (bass) feature OLED screens for smooth visibility at all angles, while their polyphonic function allows players to strum all strings at once and check they’re in tune.
Accuracy is down as +/-0.1 cents, while a strobe feature further improves that figure.
Other features include “astoundingly long” 18-hour battery life from one AAA, plus alternative tuning animations “to make tuning fun” - we can’t wait to see those, although we already dig the whole heart monitor vibe.
The AW-OTG POLY and AW-OTB-POLY drop in April for £69 each - we’re intrigued to see how they stack up to the best guitar tuners on the market.
Korg AW-OTG and AW-OTB
Like their polyphonic cousins, the AW-OTG (guitar) and AW-OTB (bass) both feature OLED screens for easy visibility.
The AW-OTG packs a chord finder function, which will automatically display the chord being played - handy to follow and recognise chord progressions.
There’s a secret weapon in the AW-OTB, too: a tempo finder, which shows the tempo at which a bassline is being played, plus a circuit designed to recognise frequencies below 100Hz.
Other specs are similar to the POLY units, with tuning accuracy at 0.1 cents, alternate tuning animations and up to 18 hours of use from one AAA battery.
The AW-OTG and AW-OTB are available from April for £59.
Korg Pitchblack Advance MG Limited Edition
Yes, it’s a new limited-edition tuner, but we must confess that the Pitchblack Advance looks rather dashing in that metallic grey.
Otherwise, it’s business as usual, with 0.1-cent tuning accuracy, four meter display modes, true bypass switching, DC out and up to 60 hours of battery life.
The Korg Pitchblack Advance MG Limited Edition is available from April for £69. For more details on all of Korg’s new tuners, head over to the company’s website (opens in new tab).
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