Sunday 5 February 2012

Snark

I don't blog about gear very often as it's not really my thing (unlike Andy and Rob, I don't run to the letterbox every month when the postman delivers their subscription copies of Sound-On-Sound and I glaze over very quickly when they get talking about the minutiae of their latest piece of software or kit.)

However, I have discovered an amazing (and very cheap) bit of musical technology which I love so very much that I have to mention it on here.

Forget the wheel and the jet engine; never mind computers and t'internet and all that twaddle, for I now have a Snark.

We were at Regal Lane Studios in Camden a few weeks ago, when we noticed a handy little device being wielded by studio-owner, Ken Brake. It was a tuner. It had a clamp for attaching to an instrument. It could tune by vibration or microphone. It had a dial like a rev counter on a fast car. It glistened in the studio lights. It looked a bit like a character in a Pixar movie. It was called Snark.

We now have our own Snark and it is a wonderful thing. We were recording some 12-string last week for a song called Judas Unrepentant. Now, I love a bit of 12-string but they are fussy and frustrating instruments that require continual tuning-checks. However, with a Snark clamped to the headstock, staring at me with its turbo-charged eye, it was a breeze.
  

3 comments:

MatD said...

Hi Greg,
this Snark thingy seems to be rather cool. I think I'll get one for my daughter who is still in need of a good tuning device for her cello!

Sers, MatD

Gregory Spawton said...

We've used Snark on double bass, violin and guitar and it performed brilliantly. Perfect for cello. She'll love it!

MatD said...

Snark arrived today, and it's fantastic. She took it to the rehearsal where she is at the moment (she plays in a youth symphony orchestra) an I assume that half of the kids there will own one in a rather short time. :)
Thanks for that great recommendation!

Sers, MatD