Customer Reviews

Intelli IMT-900 Chromatic Clip-on Tuner w/ Tranposing

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The IMT-900 is a good performer. It is definitely superior to the Korg AT-2, which it replaces. My old Korg AT-2 was still functional but suffered from all of the obvious drawbacks. It was heavy, bulky, slow, and subject to ambient noise. The IMT-900 is light, small, more easily read, much faster, and immune to off-instrument influence. True, the low E on my guitar is a slower read than the other five strings but proper positioning of the tuner makes it easy. One reviewer complained that his IMT-500 was badly scratched when it arrived. Most likely, he failed to read the notice about removing the protective covering from the instrument. The covering is soft and scratches with a fingernail! Underneath is a crystal hard, sparkling clear, polycarbonate plate that looks great. Another reviewer complained that his IMT-500 finally worked after the third new battery. I tested the battery that came with my IMT-900 and it read 3.22 volts. Obviously a fresh lithium cell. Perhaps the reviewer was unfamiliar with CR-2032 installion and finally got it right.
Anyway, I opted for the IMT-900 over the IMT-500 even though it was $2.00 more expensive. The IMT-900 is described as an improvement over the IMT-500, comes postage paid for $17.99 from this excellent Amazon.com vendor and, unless someone accidentally steps on it, I expect it to last many decades (or a dozen battery changes -- whichever comes first). Altogether, this is an excellent buy and almost a quantum leap from my Korg of the "bad old days."

A musician I know has an Intellitouch PT1 Tuner. I've used it on different occassions and found it quite reliable. As such, I had originally intended to buy that tuner. However, when I browsed Amazon's selections, I found the Intelli IMT-900. Its reviews were all positive, so I decided to go with it instead. That choice, as it turns out, was a mistake.

I can't speak to the quality of every Intelli IMT-900. I only own one, and it's always possible that I purchased one that somehow fell below quality control. Furthermore, I use this tuner primarily for my acoustic guitar, so I won't speak to its performance regarding other instruments.

That said, I find this tuner to be absolutely reliable in the worst way. It never reads the the low E or A strings well. When I play the E, it usually doesn't read anything at first. Then, it will read an A or some other note (other than E). When it does eventually read the note properly, its accuracy is questionable at best. It seems to have a larger margin of error than the Intellitouch PT1. For instance, I've tuned my guitar per the Intelli's readings and then checked it against the Intellitouch. Aside from the Intellitouch reading all the notes immediately, it was also much more nuanced in detecting margins of flatness or sharpness in the note. Therefore (and this is the sad but true commentary), in my latest performance I tuned with the Intelli only to end frustrated and asking to use my friend's Intellitouch.

Based on my experience of having used both products, I would definitively advise people to avoid the IMT-900 and purchase the PT1 instead. Perhaps it's a crapshoot either way. But this has been my experience.

Hands down the best and easiest tuner out there. This is my third one as my daughter and son have taken my first two. I use this for acoustic guitar and banjo. I also will use it for electric bass when I don't run through an electric rack-mount tuner. Always works quickly and accurately.

I can't believe this thing works so well for just under $20. It has a little trouble with the low E but if I move it closer to the string and pluck a little harder it picks it up.

UPDATE: 3 family members have had these for over a year now. All are still very happy with them. I agree the battery cover should be designed better. I had to fabricate a replacement one with aluminum and black electric tape. But in the tuner's defense, it ended up falling onto a carpeted stage and got stepped on. Can't blame even a tough plastic cover for breaking in that case. I took it as an opportunity to be happy that the tuner itself was strong enough to survive unharmed! Would buy another one if I ever had to. Might put a piece of black electric tape over the original door to begin with to hold it in place for my heavy usage.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: Really enjoy this tuner over my old KORG CA-20 for use with my acoustic (and electric) ukuleles. Part of the enjoyment is the simplicity and display on this tuner, part is just the clip on type of tuner over the other. No longer have to find a quiet spot in the house--which with a kid is sometimes hard to do. So far no problem with display scratches. I think those complaints are probably from people who didn't remove the plastic display cover that it ships with. Just bought 2 more for my father and sister in-law. Can't beat it for less than $20 with Amazn free shipping!

This an improved version, the screen is brighter than the older versions which is the same form factor and size, with extra functions. I use it to tune my ukulele, works every time. No problem.

Same experience as Mr. Kupo.

It needs to be completely quiet in the room for this thing to work at all. Even then, it often displays the wrong note, and for the E string it displays it for such a short time I can't even tell if it's tuned properly.

Overall, I have a tuner app on my iPhone that I went back to using because this thing is so frustrating to use. Either buy something better or save your money for something else-it's not worth having around.

I've had the Intelli IMT-900 for several months. Being my first chromatic tuner it was cool at first and I put up with the fact that low E is so difficult to read. But this is a tool and over time it got to be too much of a pain in the rear. Sometimes it just won't read it (low E), sometimes it will pick it up if you go to the 12th fret... or if you reposition the unit 3 or 4 times... or it will read it for a second (literally) and then drop off.... sometimes it will read it but tell you it's an 'A'.... sometimes it just refuses. And 'A' is difficult at times. This occurs on all 3 of my acoustic guitars. If I had not kept it too long I would return it. I debated between 2 and 3 stars - the unit is bright, easy to use (except as noted above), has good mechanical adjustments, seems to be well made, and will transpose (flat/sharp) - but it has shortcomings in performing it's primary function.

I first bought this product to tune an electric (Fender Strat). As with another one-star review, it simply wouldn't tune the E or A strings. Since it functions by measuring the vibrations in the guitar, and not the sound traveling in the air, I thought perhaps I had placed it in a nodal dead spot on the head. Alas, I found there is absolutely no location on the guitar that I can clamp this thing to get a valid reading. When it did register, the meter would jump to sharp, to flat, then to zero. I went back to using the $15 Fender tuner I picked up years ago.

I've subsequently picked up an acoustic guitar, and figured that the additional vibrations would turn the tide on the usability of this tuner. Not so. I still get spotty readings on all strings. I find myself able to tune the D and G strings and I tune the others off those two.

If you're considering this for the ability to tune an electric quietly or in a noisy environment where ambient noise interferes with an audio tuner instead of a vibration sensing tuner, don't buy it. If you're considering it for home use where you can pluck as hard as you want or turn up the volume on your amp, don't buy it. If you're considering it to tune your E and A strings at all, don't buy it. If you are buying it to leave it in your guitar case and use a different tuner, then it's a good fit for you.

I am very pleased with the tuner, and the small size is very accommodating. The price is great, you just can't beat it. I was struggling to keep my violin tuned, now it takes just a minute to tune up, and I am ready to play!