Musical instrument tuner with configurable display

Abstract

A musical instrument tuner includes a display screen. A user can select predetermined configurations such as for guitar, bass guitar, violin, cello, etc. Popular detuned settings for guitars, such as “drop-D,” one half-step down, etc. can be provided as selectable presets with the display configuration changing to provide appropriate indicators. Bass guitars or other instruments that come in models having different numbers of strings can easily be accommodated with presets or through user customization. A user can also create a customized tuner with arbitrary note detection so that any instrument or user preference can be configured after the point of sale with a single manufactured device. In one embodiment, the tuner mounts adjacent to an instrument, such as a guitar, by using a standard ¼ ″ plug. The tuner has a display screen that pivots to permit viewing on different types of guitars. A model is disclosed that is suitable for both left and right handed guitar players. The instrument-mounted tuner can be configured to accept signals from other devices and to provide auxiliary information to the musician. For example, the tuner can display chord charts, lyrics, song titles in a list of songs to be played at a performance, etc. The tuner can work in cooperation with guitar effects devices to indicate what effects are being applied to the tone, provide a visual metronome indication, etc. In another embodiment, the device performs analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion of an input instrument signal. The digital signal is provided to an external device.