Fortunately, the Peterson StroboSoft supports all three methods--and then some. It also has built-in tunings for a variety of popular "open tunings", which tune the guitar to a chord. Open-G is a particular favorite of Keith Richards, as it tunes the first position of the guitar to a G-major chord, and many, many Rolling Stones songs written since the late 1960s use this tuning. DADGAD (pronounced "dad gad") is a folk-oriented tuning that Jimmy Page used from time to time in Led Zeppelin. "White Summer", "Black Mountain Side" and "Kashmir" are all performed by Page in this vaguely Indian-sounding tuning.

Keep Your Hardware Tuner For Live Gigs

There are a couple of possible downsides to the StroboSoft. In its current form, I noticed that when I tried to record GuitarPort, my recording program required me to shut the tuner off, as a result of some sort of conflict. (There's a little simulated power button on the tuner's GUI. Pressing it via the computer's mouse disables the StroboSoft's audio input, but doesn't close the window).

The other is the simple fact that StroboTuner is a software plug-in. Unless you're a guitarist on the bleeding edge of technology who takes his laptop or desktop PC to gigs, you'll still need a hardware-based tuner. Of course, a cheap but less accurate pocket tuner can certainly suffice while playing live, leaving the StroboSoft for the more demanding job of tuning before recording, or setting intonation.

For the right person--a computer savvy guitarist, especially one who records via the computer--this could be a great product. Turn on (the computer), plug in, and tune up.