Is my tuner possessed...

New strings some times take time to settle in, did you stretch them out?

I'm now on tuner no 3, in the space of a year...

Old strings, new strings stretching on the pegs, slipping on the pegs, bridge...
But, have you ever changed the tuner battery?

Change the battery- Also make sure it's set to piezo if you're using it that way.

ALSO, is it in chromative mode? Or "guitar" mode. IF it's the latter, it'll jump around (like you describe) any time you're not "near" the note assigned to one of the six strings in standard tuning.

If it's none of those, just start "turning" a little sharper when it does this- if it's between one note and another, some jumping is to be expected.

Best,
Ande

also, as some electric/acoustic guitars, have a volume control. if the volume is not tuned up the sensor in the tuner cannot properly read the weak signal from the guitar. the tuner then hunts for note.

And here I thought I'd been detail oriented in my posting :lol: :oops:
Dogbite- the guitar is just acoustic (Epiphone PR-150)
Ande- brand new battery, no 'modes' to switch (and it better be chromatic as that is specifically what I asked for!)
and Apache- the strings have been on for 5 days now and have seen some fairly 'spirited' strumming, but after I put them on I gave them all a good tug around the 12th fret. What happened to tuners #1and 2?
Kinda sounds like this is to be expected and maybe I am just being whiny :roll: Thanks guys!

I suppose the only other thing I'd suggest is try muting the other strings so sympathetic notes don't confuse the tuner and use a pick to make sure you're getting a strong clean note.

I've had the same problem. I've never had one tuner that got it perfect. I always have to adjust it by ear a little. However, most of the tuners I've used get it really close. They do jump around still.

I'm hearing that the new iphone app tuners are actually turning out pretty good. Has anyone heard any different?

The two tuners I'm no longer using, seemed to suddenly loose the ability to find E... even with new batteries... Sigh...

Got a snark now, although i'm not sure about the durability due to the design...

I find that when tuning the low E string, the big string, the tuner hunts around. it's the low frequency or something.
the tuner reacts much better and quicker when I play the twelfth fret harmonic. 'ping' the tuner starts right up and immediately centers on E.

I'm hearing that the new iphone app tuners are actually turning out pretty good. Has anyone heard any different?

I had been using the app gStrings from the Android market and it worked surprisingly well (what it considered in tune was damn near spot on to what the Planet Waves says is in tune). It's great if you're out and about and need a quick reference, but kind of a pain for day to day use IMHO

Just a couple of guesses...

You strings could be binding in the nut. Try putting some pencil lead graphite in the nut under the strings (I do this every time I change strings).

Try tuning to the harmonics on the 12th fret. The tuner in my Digitech pedal works much better that way.

If you can't tune to the harmonics, try picking your strings on the 12th fret when you tune. You get more of the fundamental frequencies of the string that way.

Notes ♫

If you have a smart phone gstrings in the android market has been my tuner for months now. Or you could get a clip on one that registers just the string frequency

if it's too annoying, just tune to this: http://www.8notes.com/guitar_tuner/

Thanks for all the tips guys. I have started tuning to the 12 fret harmonic and it has resulted in much more stable tuning. I also found with the DRY weather lately humidifying more has also helped. Now any sour sounding notes can only be blamed on me :lol: