Seiko SAT800 tuner review

[MStaples]

Review of the Seiko SAT800 chromatic tuner – Michael S



When I needed a device to tune marimba bars that I was making, I wanted one that was reasonably priced, chromatic and displayed the octave of the note being measured.  The octave display appealed to me since the fundamental and second overtone of a marimba bar (as they are currently tuned) are over three octaves apart.  If you need information on the process of creating and tuning marimba bars, I refer you to www.makeamarimba.com.

There were very few choices in affordable tuners that met the criteria I mentioned above.   The one I selected was the Seiko SAT800.  The Seiko is a hand held tuner that is digital, chromatic, backlit, has a built-in tone generator and a good price ($32.95 USD).

Basic features: The SAT800 has a brushed aluminum face, plastic body, built-in microphone, LCD display and soft plastic control buttons on the face.  It has rubber bumpers for shock protection on both ends of the case.  It takes 2 AAA batteries and has a slit in the back in which you can insert a card to serve as a stand.  It tests in the range of 0A – 8C, has a stated accuracy of +/- 1 cent and can generate reference tones in the range of 4C – 4B.  The unit's reference can be adjusted from (US) standard A=440 to between A=410 and A=450.

Power and backlight:   The backlight is bright when turned on, dims in 15 seconds of no activity and turns off after 3 minutes without input of some kind.  The unit will turn itself off after 10 minutes without input and saves its current settings (not backlight settings) for the next time it is used.

Display: It has an LCD representation of a meter needle that shows the deviation from the stated note.  Above the meter display, it has two red and one green LED.  Red LEDs represents that the note is sharp or flat and the green LED lights when the perceived tone is within +/- 3 cents of the displayed or manually chosen note.  The note and octave are displayed in the lower right corner and the deviation in cents from the stated note in the lower left corner. 

Modes:  Auto:  Auto-senses tones being played and displays the results.  Manual: allows the user to choose a target note and test the note being played against it.

Features probably not useful to the marimba maker:
It can be used in-line between an instrument and an amplifier and will always allow the signal through whether it is on or off.  The manual mentions an external contact mike that is available (Seiko STM20).

Dire predictions for marimba makers: 
The manual recommends that the SAT800 is "not to be used in a dusty place" and "Musical instruments that generate harmonic overtones or short sustain tones may not be tuned accurately".

Impressions:
The SAT800's controls are well labeled, easy to understand and operate.  The display is nicely laid out and useful.  The tone generator works as stated and is useful, but the timbre is quite buzzy.  The backlight is a great feature for an LCD display and intelligently implemented.  The microphone is not as sensitive it should be and the marimba bar needs to be held very close to the microphone for accurate measurement.

Conclusion:
If you carefully select the place in which you hold the bar, where you strike it and what you strike it with to accentuate the mode (fundamental, first or second overtone) you are trying to produce, then the SAT800 will accurately test and display the fundamental, first overtone and their respective octave ranges.  I believe from using the unit, that it has the potential to help with tuning the second overtone, but this reviewer is not experienced enough in this regard to comment. 

The real benefit of the SAT800 to me was the education in how complex the tones generated by a marimba bar are and how factors like where the bars is held, where it is struck and the type of device used to strike with can influence the tone produced.  It showed me better how a marimba bar responds than a unit that does not display the octave could. 

The cost of the additional features (backlight and octave display) were well worth the extra expense of a comparable unit without these features.

Although I for one, need an external measuring device to produce good marimba bars.  I don't think any device can substitute for trusting your ear (a fantastically sophisticated measuring device itself) to better understand the process nor substitute for the experience of carving (and ruining) a few marimba bars.

Michael S

[Jim McCarthy]

An excellent review with some very worthwhile and accurate observations - Thank you Michael!
SO true about the ear and experience...
Jim