Hello there and welcome back to yet another gear review article! This time we will look at the best stompbox tuner in the market by a legendary company Peterson!
Table of Contents
In this Peterson StroboStomp review, I will introduce this awesome brand, go through the tech specs and my honest review of the product with lots of details that you will never be able to find online!
I got the Peterson StroboClip HD clip-on tuner some time ago and already posted a review article. Even though I never liked clip-on tuners due to their inaccuracy, StroboClip HD completely blew me away as the company has managed to give us the same accuracy on a tiny little clip-on tuner!
Sometime later, I decided to introduce the same technology to my humble pedalboard and went for the Peterson StroboStomp. Now, I would like to share my review with you!
TL;DR
Having the ultimate tuner for your guitars may sound like yet another never ending pedal chases in your life as a guitar player. However, with Peterson StroboStomp LE, the chase will be for an extremely short period!
Most professional musicians and audio technicians already consider Peterson Tuners and their groundbreaking strobe tuners as industry standard for decades.
Now, we can also access to the same, extreme accuracy with one of the best and fast LED display in a guitar pedal format. There are tons of “Sweetened Tunings” which compensate the inherent inconsistencies found in many instruments, meaning that your guitars will sound way better when tuned with their unique, compensated tunings!
The craftsmanship, attention to detail, packaging, support and overall experience of StroboStomp is matchless! You can even connect your tuner to your computer and manage everything via your browser using Peterson Connect technology.
StroboStomp alo features a very smart power out which you can use for powering up another pedal, reducing the power cable usage that is coming from your power supply and also help us freeing up an outlet!
cigilovic.com totally approves Peterson StroboStomp LE to any guitar player who is seeking for the ultimate guitar tuner in a pedal format. You don’t need to look further, just get yourself a Peterson StroboStomp LE tuner and you are covered for life!
As always, let’s start with a quick introduction to this legendary brand, Peterson for those who have never heard of this!
About Peterson
Peterson Tuners was founded by Richard H. Peterson in 1948. In the beginning, it mainly focused on general audio and electronic engineering since the tuner market was pretty limited, as most tuners were very simple, primitive analogue devices.
Musicians and technicians struggled to precisely tune instruments, especially in professional environments where tuning accuracy was critical. Peterson identified the challenge and started working towards this ambition to create the most accurate tuners on the planet!
He started experimenting with strobe technology, which would become the cornerstone of the Peterson brand. Even though he has been able to advance this technology to what we know the Peterson Tuners are for, he has already laid the groundwork for the company’s future as the ultimate leader in tuning technology.
In 1967, Peterson introduced the Model 400 which was a revolutionary strobe tuner, one of its kind in the industry. Unlike traditional needle or LED tuners, the Model 400 used a spinning disk illuminated by strobe lights. These strobe lights created a unique effect where musicians could see the pitch whether it was sharp, flat or perfectly in tune by monitoring the motion of the pattern on the disk.
While the music industry and technology evolved, Peterson’s tuners also advanced continuously. The company introduced various tuners targeting specific instruments such as pianos, and pipe organs or targeting specific use cases such as for orchestra use, and large concert halls which resulted in the company gaining a huge reputation in the music industry.
Peterson Tuners also started incorporating advanced electronics into their tuners. With the introduction of solid-state components, Peterson Tuners became more durable, reliable and consistent. Best Tools For Guitars at Stewmac.com
These improvements further solidified Peterson’s niche in the high-end, professional-graded tuning devices in the music industry.
Around the 1990s, Peterson Tuners also began investing some resources in the digital domain. The Virtual Strobe series such as VS-1 and VS-2 successfully brought strobe accuracy to a portable digital format, combining the digital display and high-precision strobe technology.
These digital strobe tuners maintained extreme precision and real-time display which already become the industry standard but managed to transfer into a smaller, portable format allowing musicians to carry it virtually anywhere they liked.
The digital domain also enabled Peterson to expand the tunning capabilities such as utilising different tuning systems, scales and custom tuning approaches aimed at different instruments in the same unit.
Peterson also successfully translated the same accuracy into their StroSoft software for computers that allowed musicians and technicians to perform ultra-precise tuning at home, and studios without the need of a physical Peterson tuner!
Since the 2010s to this day, Peterson Tuners has never stopped innovating and kept releasing StroboClip HD and StroboPlus HD which target different needs and instruments from guitars, and ukuleles to brass, wind instruments and even folk instruments.
These recent developments also have given us one of the most popular products by the company, StroboStomp which is the signature Peterson tuning algo in a guitar pedal format.
The company also developed apps for smartphones and tablets to bring the most precise tuning algorithm to modern devices.
Why Strobe Tuners Are Different?
Strobe tuners are known for their extreme accuracy and are completely different in design than conventional tuners. Strobe tuners don’t rely on digital readouts or analogue needles which have slight inaccuracies. Instead, they offer a real-time, visual representation of tunning accuracy even down to a fraction of a cent.
Although you may come across tuners that claim to offer extreme accuracy in the tech specs, it’s the inability to visually represent the real-time reading of a pitch status. With Peterson Tuners, you are covered for all tuning use cases in a musical scenario that requires the most demanding, extreme tuning accuracy.
Peterson StroboStomp LE
Peterson StroboStomp is a pedal format strobe tuner that has the largest tuning display within the Peterson Tuners catalogue! StroboStomp features a high-definition, LCD screen that offers variable colour LED backlight.
You can fully personalise the LED backlight based on the stage and lighting at a gig, and even assign custom colours to the stock or user presets to easily distinguish them in any use case.
StroboStomp LE features a 100% silent, true-bypass switching so it will never alter your tone when bypassed. By incorporating a unique series of times relays, the true-bypass switch has no annoying pop sounds when engaging the pedal.
On top of that, StroboStomp comes with a buffered output mode that can be activated by the user. This was a long-time, user-requested feature and can be used for both in or out of monitor mode.
Buffered output mode is incorporated into the StroboStomp to prevent tone loss in longer signal chains that have multiple low-impedance guitar pedals or long cables.
Last but not least, StroboStomp comes with over 100 exclusive “Sweetened Tunings” as well as many guided tuning presets for a large variety of instruments and genres. Check out the best guitar pickup company, Seymour Duncan here!
Sweetened Tunings are exclusive to Peterson Tuners and are designed to compensate for tuning issues that are inherent to many musical instruments. The new Guided Tunings mode allows the tuner to display numeric string values instead of traditional musical note names to ensure tuning to any open and alternative tunings is easy to achieve.
Peterson StroboStomp LE (Limited Edition – 7500 Units Available Worldwide!)
As I mentioned in the beginning, I decided to have a top-notch Peterson tuner on my pedalboard as I was so impressed with the StroboClip HD. While looking for the options in Peterson’s catalogue. I noticed that they still had the StroboStomp LE which is a limited-edition StroboStomp tuner pedal.
Peterson StroboStomp and StroboStomp LE are actually identical, but the LE version comes in a different colour to celebrate the 75th year of Peterson Tuners!
Also, note that there are only 7500 units made all around the world! So if you can get an LE version, you are the lucky one! 🙂
StroboStomp Tech Specs
| Peterson StroboStomp | Tech Specs |
|---|---|
| Power Supply | Optional (9VDC Negative Center Pin) |
| DI | No |
| Peterson Connect Compatible | Yes |
| Note Range | C0 - A#8 |
| Note Selection | Automatic |
| Firmware Updateable | Yes |
| Guided Tunings | Yes |
| Multi-Color Display | Yes |
| Buffered Mode | Yes |
| True Bypass | Yes |
| Form Factor | Pedal / Floor |
| Accuracy | 0.1 Cents |
| Display Type | LCD w/ LED Backlight |
| Display Resolution | 417 Segments |
| Construction | Stainless Steel |
| Product Dimensions LxWxH | 129mm x 66mm x 54mm ( with switch ) |
| Product Weight | .875lb (14oz) |
| USB Port | Yes |
| USB Type | Micro ( Gold Braided Cable Included ) |
| Rechargeable | No |
| Battery Type | 9V (Included) |
| Power | 9VDC 85mA (Nominal) |
| Power Out | 9VDC 1A ( 1000mA ) |
| Built-In Microphone | No |
| Built-In Speaker | No |
| Headphone Jack | No |
| Inputs | 1/4" Mono |
| Outputs | 1/4" Mono |
| Mute-able Output | Yes |
| Concert A Range | 390Hz to 490Hz |
| Transposition Range | -6 to +5 |
| Frequency Response Range | 16.35Hz to 7302Hz |
| Warranty | 10 Years |
| Sweetened Tunings | Over 135 |
| User Presets | Unlimited |
StroboStomp LE comes in a very sturdy box as you can see below.
On the back, they provide every necessary bit of information on the product. Although the Peterson Tuners is an American company, this pedal is made in China.
As I mentioned in the Peterson StroboClip HD review, the overall product experience is so sweet with Peterson tuners. StroboStomp LE also doesn’t disappoint and comes with everything you need to start using immediately.
In the box, there’s another section that has the gold-coloured USB cable and at the bottom of the box, you will have a nice leaflet with some historical information on the company and a personal thank you message for the loyal customers of the company! 🙂
Although I only started using Peterson Tuners a couple of years ago, I still feel very good as I can support such a genuine company!
Apart from that, you also have the 3M branded, StroboStomp HD/LE Rubber Bottom Pad and Velcro to prevent the pedal from slipping on your pedalboard (You need this!).
As the pedal only weighs around 400g, it is easy for the pedal to slide on your board without velcro. So I suggest you use the pad and velcro right away!
Peterson StroboStomp LE feels very sturdy and comes in a stainless steel chassis. The craftsmanship is perfect, no cosmetic issues, very well-made pedal.
The gold-coloured stainless steel chassis has the 75th Anniversary Edition printed on the short edge.
On the other side, you have your 9V DC power in as well as a 9V DC power out section! This is a very smart move by Peterson as you can just use a power cable such as Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Cable PPBAR-R to power up a pedal.
Even though I have been using Cioks DC7 for a while and I don’t need any additional power supply, with this feature I can still free up an outlet and power up another pedal. This power out can draw 85mA current which is sufficient for most of the pedals. Excellent design decision! Ads - Check out these ads to support this web page
You also have a USB input which you can use to connect StroboStomp to Peterson Connect. This will help you to update firmware, design your own sweetened and guided tunings as well configure them, order, minimise and expand your on-board preset list and also adjust various display settings.
On the left, you have your standard output and a pair of buttons for going up and down in the menu.
And on the right, you have your standard input and +/- buttons for changing values.
On the bottom, you also notice the sticker with the serial number as well as an indicator for the default setting. Remember the buffered mode?
The pedal comes with Monitor Mode enabled by default. In this mode, while the pedal is on or off, the screen will always display the notes and pitch being played.
True-Bypass and Buffered modes react like traditional pedals and when the pedal is off, you will not have the display (naturally). As mentioned in the beginning, it’s up to you to choose the modes.
Currently, I’m using the monitor mode (almost always). As far as I understand based on my experience using the pedal, when you switch to the True-Bypass mode, the switch clicks one more time when turn it on and off.
However, when you have the Monitor mode or Buffered mode enabled, this does not happen.
As I mentioned in the beginning, with Peterson StroboStomp LE, you have everything you need to start using the product right out of the box! It comes with a Duracell brand 9V battery installed already.
As you can see from the image below, there’s a section on the right featuring a 3-way switch that you can use for selecting the modes.
StroboStomp LE comes with a high-quality rubber pad and velcro that you should install right away to prevent it from slipping. As you can see, you still have the visibility of the label as they design it in a way that will not cover the label.
Peterson StroboStomp Review
As I already shared my review on Peterson StroboClip HD review, I’m blown away by the build quality, attention to detail, support, documentation and most importantly the extreme accuracy of this tuner pedal!
It works every time and makes tuning and intonation adjustments on any guitar a breeze. One of the most confident products I have ever tried in my entire life in the musical instruments industry. Ads - Check out these ads to support this web page
I can not find anything to mention as a con, so please buy one of these and you are covered for life! You don’t need anything else for your tuning needs!
To be honest, I have never felt like I needed all these tuning modes. However, I must say I’m exclusively using the Sweetened Tunings for all my guitars.
Please check out Peterson Tuners website for the entire list of StroboStomp LE – 135 Tuning & Sweetener Presets
Please download the official manual of Peterson StroboStomp LE here
Where to Buy Peterson StroboStomp?
I got mine from Thomann and I was already working on this review article. However, right before I released this, the Limited Edition version was removed from Thomann’s website. It may have been due to this version being discontinued as there are only 7500 units available in the world.
However, you can still get the standard version which is identical to the LE but in grey/black colour.
Check out Peterson StroboStomp tuners on Thomann‘s website
You can also try searching for the Limited Edition on Reverb as there are some sellers still listing them (mostly sellers in the USA, Canada and Australia). Don’t miss! 🙂
Check out Peterson StroboStomp LE on Reverb
Hope you like this brief Peterson StroboStomp review and find this helpful!
Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!
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