Guitar Tuner

How to use the Guitar Tuner

1. Pick your tuning from the dropdown — Standard EADGBE, Drop D, Half-step down, Open G, Bass EADG or Ukulele GCEA.
2. Click "Start tuning" and allow microphone access when your browser asks. Nothing is recorded or uploaded.
3. Play one open string and let it ring. The tuner names the note, shows the exact frequency in Hz, and points the needle.
4. Turn the machine head until the needle sits in the green zone — within ±5 cents of the target. The note turns green when you are there.
5. Click a string chip to lock onto one string, or leave auto-detect on to let the tuner follow whichever string you play.
6. Click "Stop" when you are done. The microphone is released immediately.

Why use ZillaKit's Guitar Tuner?

A tuner is only as good as its pitch detection, and cheap browser tuners often guess an octave wrong or wobble by ten cents while you are trying to hold a peg steady. This one runs a normalised autocorrelation over the raw microphone waveform — the same family of algorithm used in professional pitch trackers — which locks onto the fundamental rather than a harmonic, so a low E string reads as a low E and not as the B above it. It reports the note name, the octave, the exact frequency to two decimal places and the deviation in cents, and it turns green only inside ±5 cents, which is tighter than the human ear can reliably hear on a single note. Everything happens inside your browser tab using the Web Audio API: the microphone stream is analysed frame by frame in JavaScript and thrown away. No audio is recorded, buffered to disk, or sent anywhere, and the stream is fully released the moment you press Stop. It is free, needs no app install, no signup and no plugin, and it works on a phone at a rehearsal just as well as on a laptop at home.

Understanding cents, and why ±5 is the target

A cent is one hundredth of a semitone, so there are 1200 cents in an octave. Most players cannot hear a five-cent error on a single sustained note, but they can hear it instantly in a chord, because small errors on two strings add up into audible beating. Professional intonation work is usually done to within two or three cents, and a well-set-up instrument holds that. If a string reads perfectly in tune open but sounds sour fretted at the twelfth fret, the problem is intonation at the bridge saddle rather than tuning, and no tuner can fix that from the headstock. Also worth knowing: new strings stretch, so tune, play hard for a minute, and tune again — twice more over the first day and they will settle.

FAQ

Does this tuner record or upload my audio?

No. The microphone stream is processed live in your browser with the Web Audio API and never stored or transmitted. There is no server involved in the pitch detection at all, and when you press Stop the audio track is stopped and the stream released, which switches off the browser's recording indicator.

Why is my browser asking for microphone permission?

A tuner has to hear the string, and browsers require explicit consent before any page can access a microphone. If you accidentally blocked it, click the padlock or camera icon in the address bar, set Microphone to Allow, and reload the page. Microphone access also requires a secure (HTTPS) connection.

Which tunings are supported?

Standard EADGBE, Drop D (DADGBE), Half-step down (E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭), Open G (DGDGBD), four-string bass (EADG) and ukulele in reentrant GCEA. Each preset shows its target frequencies so you can see exactly what the tuner is aiming for.

Is a microphone tuner as accurate as a clip-on tuner?

For tuning a quiet room, yes — the algorithm resolves well under a cent on a clean signal. The advantage of a clip-on tuner is that it senses vibration through the body rather than air, so it ignores background noise and works on a loud stage. If a band is playing around you, use a clip-on. If you are at home, this is just as precise.

It says "listening" but nothing appears. What is wrong?

The signal is probably too quiet. Move closer to the microphone, play the string a little harder, and check your system input is the microphone you expect rather than a muted or disconnected one. Very heavy background noise, a running fan or a nearby speaker playing music can also stop the detector from locking onto a stable pitch.

Can I tune a bass or a ukulele with it?

Yes. Choose the Bass EADG preset for a standard four-string bass — it tracks down to the low E at 41.2 Hz — or the Ukulele GCEA preset for a soprano, concert or tenor ukulele in the usual reentrant tuning. The same detector handles both; only the target strings change.