Enter The StroboSoft Tuner
But tuners, strobe or otherwise, can add additional noise when plugged in between a guitar and amp. And for PC-based home recordists, they also increase the amount of clutter in the studio--or especially the den, as more and more recording is a home-based, tabletop proposition. Which is why Peter has created a PC-version of its strobe tuners, which they call the StroboSoft Tuner. It's a downloadable computer program that is compatible with most home audio soundcards, as well as Line6's popular GuitarPort USB interface.
Peterson claims that the StroboSoft is accurate to within 0.001 of a semitone, and based on my experience with the VS-1, and experimenting for a week or so with this software equivalent, I tend to believe them. The unit is compatible with both Windows-based PCs and Macs, check this page on the Strobosoft's Website for specific requirements.
Sweetened Tunings And Modified Nuts
The StroboSoft's graphical interface is very reminiscent of their popular VS-1 hardware model, but with an additional cents meter to see how close each string is to being in tune. And like their more recent hardware-based successors to the VS-1, it also adds options for both their proprietary "sweetened tunings" and the Buzz Feiten tuning system.
Both of these systems perform minute compensations in the guitar's tuning to attempt to offset the instrument's irregularities. The basic six string and fretted neck design of the guitar dates back hundreds of years. But the electric guitar places particular demands on its technology, with its thin strings and the idiosyncratic playing techniques that have developed since the days of Charlie Christian. The Buzz Feiten system, whose namesake inventor is a veteran session musician, requires both a modified nut be installed on the guitar and the guitar's tuning be compensated microscopically. Not every guitarist can hear the difference when using the Buzz Feiten system, but those who do say that it results in chords playing noticeably more in tune at the first few frets in front of the nut. (Incidentally, if you've made it this far into this post and you're not a guitarist, the nut is the small white bar that separates the tuning peg of the guitar from the fretboard. It was originally made of ivory; these days, it's typically made of bone or a synthetic material.)
In contrast, the sweetened tunings that Peterson created are also based on minutely altering the tuning of individual strings on the guitar, but require no permanent modifications to the underlying instrument. Each system has its proponents, but there are also many, many people who are quite happy tuning the guitars the way that God, Segovia and Orville Gibson intended them to be tuned.
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