Why is a strobe tuner more accurate than a needle type tuner?
A strobe tuner shows the difference between a reference frequency and the musical note. Even the slightest difference between the two will show up as a rotating motion in the strobe display. A needle type tuner uses a microprocessor to measure the average period of the waveform, then uses this to drive a needle, a simulated needle in an LCD, or an array of LEDs. The problem is that the waveform generated by a musical instrument is very complex, and is constantly changing. For this reason the tuner must average a number of cycles of the note and use this average to drive the display. Any background noise or harmonics from the musical instrument add to the problem, and this is why the needle tends to be unstable. The display on the needle style tuner is also a source for inaccuracy. Just a small movement of the needle represents a tuning error of 1 cent. Coupled with the way the needle tends to wobble, the typical accuracy of these types of tuners is +/- 3 cents at best. That is why afte
