Review: PolyTune for the Apple iPhone

This is a guest review...

When a developer sets out to design an app, it's my firm belief that they should concentrate on fleshing out the features that exist *first*. Only when those features are complete should new ones be considered. PolyTune is a great example of this. Unfortunately, it's a great example of what *not* to do.

That's not to say that PolyTune is all bad. In fact, it does exactly what it advertises, and quite smoothly. A single strum of your guitar, and the app shows six different indicators. One for each string, each displaying real time like a standard monotuner would. That alone is quite impressive. But I don't think that minor convenience alone is enough reason to buy this app. Especially with all the monotuner apps out there with a plethora of bells and whistles. And especially not with its $5 price tag.

That about sums up what's good about the app. And it pales in comparison to what's glaringly absent. PolyTuner does have some minor configuration options. Just, not many.

You can choose between a guitar tuner and a bass tuner. That's it. If you're not in a standard pop band or a folk guitarist, sorry, guess you're not a valid strummer. There's no option for a ukulele, mandolin, banjo, 12 string guitar... well, you get the idea.

Oh, but you are given some control over what tuning you're using... As long as you only ever want to modify the bass E on your guitar. What's that? You want a C major tuning? Sorry, pal. Learn to tune by intervals.

At least PolyTune gives you control over the base frequency for A. Standard modern tuning sets A to 440 Hz - and this app is no different. But if you want, you can modify that. Great! As long as you don't want to modify by more than 5 Hz. Classical tuning? What's that? 422 Hz? You must be crazy!

Oh, but the developers *did* give you the ability to customize the color of the lights on the tuner display. That's right. You can pick from green/red, and an amazing yellow/blue. Yup. The developers spent time adding this, instead of fleshing out any of the other, more useful features.

Graphically, this is a very attractive app. Unfortunately, that's all it is - a shiny veneer concealing what could easily have been somebody's overnight project. Aside from the technological innovation of chromatic tuning, this is your run-of-the-mill tuner. And not even a very good one.

Is Your Guitar Tuned?	Not a 440Hz Person? You're outta luck!

If you're going to buy a guitar tuner for your iPhone, I'd suggest you save your money on this app. Put it towards something far more useful, like Guitar Toolkit, with its broad instrument selection, chord book, broad frequency range, extensive selection of tunings, and fretboard simulator. It's twice the price, at $10, but an infinitely better investment.

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