PRODUCT REVIEW: Roadie 2 – Automatic guitar tuner

The Roadie 2 is a beautiful product for musicians of all abilities and worth the investment.


roadie

I am a terrible musician and guitarist, but I love playing music. It’s one of the only times, like post-coital sex, when time stays still and the brain is alive with pure happiness.

However, as an unnatural musician who is diametrically opposed to pitch perfect, I am tone deaf and while I know when a guitar is untuned, I have always found tuning a guitar a huge problem.

I have previously bought tuning devices, but have found them to be cumbersome and unreliable.

So step forward, the Roadie 2, an automatic guitar tuner that is as beautiful as it is functional. Moreover, as can be gleaned from the product name, this is an update on the initial Roadie device.

It is devilishly simple. The device comes without batteries (hurrah!) and is charged using the omniscient USB charger. Once fired up, the Roadie 2 turns on with a blue light, then the user adds ‘new instrument’ to the easy-to-read menu and is then connected to the pegs of the guitar.

Then the magic begins. When the relevant string is plucked, the Roadie 2 automatically tightens and untightens the strings until the blue light turns green, indicating that string is perfectly attuned.

The musician (or in my case, guitar-owner) can then automatically tune the remaining five pegs in turn. The best way is to do it like this, not as I initially did by holding it at the side and nearly breaking my wrist.

Moreover, the Roadie 2 works by vibration, so tuning can be done in a noisy environment, not necessarily a quiet room and it is awesome for somebody like me. Instead of wasting time trying to tune my instrument with a cocked ear, it means I can play almost instantly.

While that is good for me, my family don’t agree and I am inured to them closing the door of any room I’m in when I’m playing and walking away, but I don’t care.

The Roadie 2 isn’t particularly cheap at around just over £100, but it is extraordinary value for constant use. It works for guitars, electric guitars, ukuleles, banjos and is for life.

Recommended for the amateur as well as the professional.

Monty (708 Posts)

Monty Munford has more than 15 years' experience in mobile, digital media, web and journalism. He is the founder of Mob76, a company that helps tech companies raise money and exit. He speaks regularly at global media events with a focus on Africa, writes a weekly column for The Telegraph, is a regular contributor to The Economist, Wired, Mashable and speaks regularly on the BBC World Service.


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About Monty

Monty Munford has more than 15 years' experience in mobile, digital media, web and journalism. He is the founder of Mob76, a company that helps tech companies raise money and exit. He speaks regularly at global media events with a focus on Africa, writes a weekly column for The Telegraph, is a regular contributor to The Economist, Wired, Mashable and speaks regularly on the BBC World Service.