TC Electronic POLYTUNE 3, User Manual

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6 POLYTUNE 3 User Manual 7 POLYTUNE 3 User Manual
(5)
DISPLAY MODE button Use the disp l ay mode button to switch between the
various disp l ay modes.
T he various disp l ay modes are exp l ained in the fo ll owing section of this
manua l ( “H ow to use POLY T UN E 3” ).
T he se l ected disp l ay mode is stored and wi ll be reca ll ed when you power on
POLY T UN E 3 again.
(6) DISPLAY T he L E Ds of the POLY T UN E 3 disp l ay are extreme l y bright ; ensuring
a c l ear readout even in broad day l ight.
T he various disp l ay modes are exp l ained in the fo ll owing section of this
manua l ( “H ow to use POLY T UN E 3” ).
(7)
AMBILIGHT sensor I n the l ower right corner of the disp l ay is an ambient
l ight sensor that detects the strength of the surrounding l ight and
automatica ll y adjusts the disp l ay brightness according l y. T his ensures you
can see and correct your instrument’s tuning under a ll conditions. T his
feature even extends battery l ife by reducing disp l ay brightness to what is
required in a given situation.
(8)
AUDIO INPUT Connect your instrument to the I N jack on the right side
of the peda l .
T he audio input of this peda l is a standard ¼ " jack (mono/ T S).
When you connect your instrument to the audio input, the fo ll owing
information wi ll be disp l ayed:
• • Standard ( “ S T D ” ) or Drop D tuning mode
• • the current l y se l ected disp l ay mode (Need l e / Strobe, Guitar / Bass)
• • the current l y se l ected tuning mode
• • the reference pitch.
F or best resu l ts, p l ace POLY T UN E 3 in your signa l chain before your drive,
distortion and vibrato peda l s. A distorted or modu l ated signa l is
harder to ana l yze.
I f the peda l runs on battery power, we recommend removing your
instrument from the audio input to preserve battery power when you
don’t p l ay.
(9) AUDIO OUTPUT Connect the OU T jack of POLY T UN E 3 to the input jack of the
next device in the signa l chain.
T he audio output of this peda l is a standard ¼" jack (mono/ T S).
(10) FOOTSWITCH T o turn the tuner on or off , just tap the footswitch.
Notes regarding tuning and signa l output:
• • When the tuner is active, the output wi ll automatica ll y be muted for
si l ent tuning.
• • When the tuner is active and no signa l is detected, four red L E Ds wi ll
l ight on the bottom of the disp l ay, indicating that POLY T UN E 3 is ready
for tuning.
• • POLY T UN E 3 features a true bypass circuit that l eaves your be l oved tone
una l tered when the tuner is bypassed.
4. Operation – Tuning with
POLYTUNE 3
4.1 Chromatic vs. polyphonic tuning
A very simp l e guitar tuner wi ll on l y a ll ow you to tune open strings, one string at a
time – e.g., E -A-D-G-B- E for the standard tuning of a guitar.
POLY T UN E 3 is a chromatic tuner – meaning it wi ll detect and a ll ow you to tune
a ll twe l ve notes of the sca l e.
But that’s not a ll . Other than a traditiona l tuner, POLY T UN E 3 a ll ows you to p l ay
a ll of your instrument’s string simultaneously when tuning. POLY T UN E 3 wi ll
detect which strings need to be tuned and indicate those strings in its disp l ay.
T his a ll ows you to tune your instrument much faster.
F ina ll y, you may have tuned one or a ll strings on your instrument diff erent l y from
standard tuning, or you may be using a capo to change the p l ayab l e l ength
of the strings.
I n a ll of these situations, POLY T UN E 3 has you covered.
4.2 Display modes
I f you press the disp l ay mode button on the rear of POLY T UN E 3 once, the
current l y se l ected disp l ay mode wi ll be shown. Pressing the disp l ay mode button
repeated l y wi ll cyc l e through these modes:
• •
Guitar / Needle mode (indicated by a “ G ” and the center L E D co l umn
l ighting up).
• • Guitar / Strobe mode (indicated by a “ G ” and the midd l e row of L E Ds
l ighting up).
• • Bass / Needle mode (indicated by a “ B ” and the center L E D co l umn
l ighting up).
• • Bass / Strobe mode (indicated by a “ B ” and the midd l e row of L E Ds
l ighting up).
4.3 Needle mode
I n Needle mode , when you tune a sing l e string, pitch is indicated by a co l umn
of fi ve L E Ds in the upper part of the disp l ay, and the name of the target note is
disp l ayed at the bottom of the disp l ay.
I f the string you are tuning is too l ow, L E Ds to the l eft of the center co l umn wi ll
l ight up. I f the string is too high, L E Ds to the right of the center co l umn wi ll
l ight up.
T une the string unti l the midd l e co l umn and the midd l e row of green L E Ds l ights
up. T his means you are “ on target ” .
Need l e mode – A string in tune
4.4 Strobe mode
I n Strobe mode, the diff erence between the correct (target) frequency and the
actua l detected frequency is disp l ayed by two indicators simu l taneous l y:
1. Red L E Ds to the l eft (pitch too l ow) or to the right (pitch to high) of the center
L E D co l umn
2. Rotating segments in the disp l ay. T he c l oser the detected frequency is to the
target frequency, the s l ower the rotation.
T une the string unti l the rotating pattern has come to a stop and on l y the midd l e
co l umn of green L E D l ights up.
4.5 Polyphonic tuning
As you know by now, POLY T UN E 3 is a polyphonic tuner. You can strum your
instrument, and POLY T UN E 3 wi ll ana l yze and disp l ay the tuning of a ll strings.
So how do you activate po l yphonic tuning mode ?
You don’t – it just works. Strum, tune, rock on !
Strum your guitar. Strings that are in tune wi ll be represented by two green L E Ds. Strings that need
tuning are represented by two red L E Ds be l ow (fl at) or above (sharp) the midd l e row.
T une your guitar and strum again. Your instrument is in tune when a ll strings are represented
by two green L E Ds in the midd l e row.
Of course, on l y the strings that are actua ll y present and p l ayed wi ll be shown in
the disp l ay. So if you tune a four string bass, on l y four L E D co l umns wi ll l ight up.
4.6 Drop D tuning
“ Drop D ” is a popu l ar tuning (a l so known as D-A-D-G-B- E ) in which the l owest
string of a guitar is tuned down ( “ dropped ” ) from E to D.
I f you want to tune an instrument set to “ Drop D ” , fo ll ow these steps:
1. Press and ho l d the POLY T UN E 3 footswitch for about three seconds.
2. T he word “ DROP ” wi ll be disp l ayed briefl y, and the defau l t “ ready for tuning ”
indicator at the bottom of the disp l ay wi ll change from a sma ll
square to a “ d ” .
3 . I f you want to switch POLY T UN E 3 back to standard tuning, press and ho l d
the footswitch for three seconds again.
4 . “ S T D ” wi ll be disp l ayed briefl y, and the “ ready for tuning ” indicator wi ll go
back to a sma ll square.
4.7 Alternate tunings and capos
T here’s more to l ife than standard E -A-D-G-B- E tuning ! You may have tuned
a ll strings of your instruments down, or you may be using a capo. I n that case,
te ll POLY T UN E 3 about your instrument’s tuning by pressing the T UN I NG MOD E
button.
I f you press the T UN I NG MOD E button once, the current tuning wi ll be disp l ayed
( “ -- E -- ” for Standard T uning). Pressing the tune button repeated l y wi ll cyc l e
through the fo ll owing tunings:
Display Mode
--- E --- Standard T uning
E b A ll strings tuned down 1 semitone
D A ll strings tuned down 2 semitones
Db A ll strings tuned down 3 semitones
C A ll strings tuned down 4 semitones
B A ll strings tuned down 5 semitones
F 1 Capo at fi rst fret
Gb 2 Capo at second fret
G 3 Capo at third fret
Ab 4 Capo at fourth fret
A 5 Capo at fi fth fret
Bb 6 Capo at sixth fret
B 7 Capo at seventh fret
I f you do not touch the T UN I NG MOD E button for two seconds, the disp l ay wi ll
b l ink twice, and the se l ected tuning wi ll be used.
T he se l ected tuning mode is stored and wi ll be reca ll ed when you power on
POLY T UN E 3 again.
4.8 Changing the reference pitch
I n most cases, you may want to tune to standard pitch, where the A above the
midd l e C has a frequency of 44 0 H z. H owever, you and your band may prefer a
diff erent pitch, or you may have to tune to an acoustic instrument that cannot
easi l y be retuned.
I n that case, you need to change the reference pitch.
T o change the reference pitch, fo ll ow these steps:
1. Press the D I SPLAY MOD E button and the T UN I NG MOD E button ( 3 )
simu l taneous l y.
2. T he disp l ay wi ll show the current reference pitch (e.g., “44 0 ” for 44 0 H z).
3 . T o increase the reference pitch in 1 H z steps, press the T UN I NG MOD E button.
4 . T o decrease reference pitch in 1 H z steps, press the D I SPLAY MOD E button.
5 . T o accept the current l y disp l ayed reference pitch and return to norma l
operation, do not press either button for two seconds.
T he se l ected reference pitch is stored and wi ll be reca ll ed when you power on
POLY T UN E 3 again.