The Donner DT Deluxe is a compact tuner pedal from Donner that uses a strobe-style display, the type of tuning readout associated with high-accuracy tuners. It lists at $27.99, which puts it among the least expensive pedal tuners on the market1.
Guitar World's reviewer found it tracked every instrument tried, from guitars to a five-string bass, thanks to a frequency response of 12 Hz to 4186 Hz1. The tuning mode is chromatic, so it identifies whatever note it hears rather than working from a fixed set of guitar-string pitches, and the strobe display claims accuracy of plus or minus 0.1 cent1.
What it does
The DT Deluxe sits in your signal chain and mutes to tune, like other pedal tuners. Operation is deliberately simple: as Guitar World's reviewer Billy Voight put it, "It doesn't get simpler than an on/off switch."1
Because the mode is chromatic, it is not limited to standard tuning. Alternate or drop tunings work as long as you know the name of the note you are tuning to1. That makes it a fit for players who move between tunings, though unlike polyphonic tuners such as the TC Electronic PolyTune it does not check all strings at once from a single strum.
The wide frequency response is the specification that matters most for bass players. A five-string bass has a low B string that sits below the range many guitar-focused tuners read comfortably, and the DT Deluxe's 12hz to 4186 range covers it. Voight tested exactly that1:
"With a frequency response of 12hz to 4186, it tracked all of my guitars and a five-string bass easily."
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Questions
Is the Donner DT Deluxe accurate enough for guitar and bass?
Guitar World's reviewer reported that it tracked all of his guitars and a five-string bass easily, thanks to a frequency response of 12hz to 4186. The strobe display claims accuracy of plus or minus 0.1 cent, which is fine for setting intonation as well as everyday tuning.
Does the Donner DT Deluxe work with alternate and drop tunings?
Yes. The tuning mode is chromatic, so it reads whatever note it hears rather than a fixed set of guitar strings. Alternate or drop tunings work as long as you know the name of the note you are tuning to.
How do you control the Donner DT Deluxe?
It has a single on/off switch. There are no menus or modes to navigate: you step on the switch to tune and step again to pass your signal through.
Sources (1)
- Gear Review: Donner Tuner, Looper, Ultimate Comp and Holy Octave Pedals, Guitar World, 2016-04-25
