T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

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marqueemoon
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T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:00 pm

Is there anything more boring to talk about than a tuner? I like the big bright display and the switchable buffer/boost concept though, and I feel like with the top jacks it might just barely cram onto my board, whereas a Boss would be a no-go.

Anyone using one or tried one? They don't seem to be very common here in the US .

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Re: T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:06 pm

I haven't used one myself, but T-Rex seems to be REALLY well made stuff. They use their own enclosures that feel really solid. I was actually looking at the tunemaster myself (as I've got a serious love affair with top jacks), BUT, T-Rex aren't quite fully top jacks:
Image

I've got a Quint for my bass rig (sounds SO good) and putting the jack on the side just pissed me off. I get why they do it on the tuner with the buffer toggle switch, but personally, I'd be happy to have an enclosure just a bit wider so everything could fit on the top. This one is probably the best you'll get as tuners with top jacks pretty much don't exist.
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marqueemoon
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Re: T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:22 pm

I'm not maniacal about top jacks. As I've discovered with my other board things can only be so close together when you have size 13 feet.

These guys need to hire a graphic designer in the worst way though.

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Re: T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:53 pm

I agree, though they're not as bad as some of the EHX stuff (I'm looking at you Blurst!). I'm not maniacal about the top jacks thing (well, ok, I probably am), but I don't like when it's halfway there. I'd rather have a pedal that's totally side jacks (jacks, power, etc.) or totally top jacks. Being THAT close to having the whole thing is just frustrating, almost in an OCD kind of way.

I'd still bet it's a damn solid tuner though. The LED's and display both look pretty good too.
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Re: T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Oct 02, 2017 3:15 pm

Welp, I done ordered one. Stay tuned.

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Re: T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by shoule79 » Mon Oct 02, 2017 4:40 pm

marqueemoon wrote:Welp, I done ordered one. Stay tuned.
I see what you did there.

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Re: T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:11 pm

It showed up today and I played around with it tonight. The buffer is definitely nice and it works reasonably well as a tuner. Certainly no slower than my TU-2 and the giant display is a plus. I played around with the variable output ("beef" - what a stupid name) and found that while it sounded pretty nice on its own pushing the amp I preferred it at unity gain (0) with the compressor and drive going. I think it could be really nice with bass which is usually better with a little hair on it.

I'm thinking toggling between true bypass (unity gain) and the buffered mode with variable output could also be a nice way to match levels between two different guitars.

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Re: T-Rex Tunemaster - any good?

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:32 pm

Ok. I've spent a while with this now.

It's pretty solid. My one complaint is the switch noise. It's not terrible, but still annoying.

I also wish it had an "always on" mode like the Polytune 3.

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