Tuner Hippo · every string, every tuning

Tuner Online

Pluck a string — the hippo hears which one it is, shows how far off you are in cents, and checks it off when it rings true. Guitar, bass, ukulele, violin, cello, banjo, mandolin, or anything chromatic.

Fig. 1 — mic in · cents out100% local
Hz
press start

Mic → your browser → this display. Nothing recorded, nothing uploaded.

Tap a string to hear its target and lock onto it. Strings you tune get a ✓ — and a little buzz on phones.

Space start/stop · S strobe · 16 pick string · ↑↓ A4

Everything runs in your browser with the Web Audio API. No app, no account, no "premium tunings" — the sites ranking above us gate features behind signups; we think that's a strange thing to do to someone holding an untuned guitar.

How to tune

  1. Hit "Start tuning" and allow the mic — the permission is for this page only, and audio never leaves your device.
  2. Pluck one string, near the mic. The tuner auto-detects which string of your tuning it is; the needle (or strobe) shows sharp or flat. Inside ±5 ¢ it glows lime.
  3. Work through the strings. Each one you land gets a ✓ — when all of them are checked, you're done. Tap any string button to hear its reference tone.

What's in the box

Auto string detection

It compares your note against the strings of your chosen tuning — not just the nearest chromatic note — so Drop D reads D, not "flat E". Lock mode pins one string when you want no surprises.

19 tunings, 8 instruments

Standard, Drop D, half-step down, Open D, Open G, DADGAD, 5-string bass, baritone uke, and more. All free. Chromatic mode covers everything else.

Needle and strobe

The needle for speed, the strobe for the last cent — its fine band moves 4× faster and freezes dead when you're there. The display pros pay for.

Per-string progress

Hold a string in tune for a moment and it's checked off — with a haptic pulse on phones. No more "wait, did I do the D?"

Reference tones

Tap any string to hear its exact target, recalculated live if you change the A4 reference (415–466 Hz for baroque or orchestra work).

Honest by design

Below 88% detection confidence it shows a dash, not a guess. The device report tells you if your phone kept noise suppression on. No fake needles here.

The honest bits

Two things every mic tuner should tell you and almost none do. First: the initial half-second of a pluck is attack noise, not pitch — let the string ring and the reading settles. Second: phone mics roll off below ~80 Hz, so a low bass E (41 Hz) is read from its overtones. That works fine, but if a 5-string's low B acts shy, tune the octave harmonic instead — touch the string lightly at the 12th fret.

And if your room is loud, the tuner refuses to guess. That's a feature. A confident-looking needle in a noisy room is fiction.

FAQ

Is this online tuner free?

Completely — no account, no trial, no locked tunings. The sites above us in Google gate features behind signups; instant use is the whole point here.

Does my audio get uploaded?

No. The mic feeds the Web Audio API in your browser; analysis happens on-device and nothing is recorded or sent. It even works offline once loaded.

How accurate is it?

Better than ±1 cent on a clean ringing string — finer than a tuning peg can move. Vibrato, chords, and noise reduce that, and the tuner says so instead of pretending.

Which tunings are supported?

19 across guitar, bass, ukulele, violin, cello, banjo and mandolin — including Drop D, half-step down, Open D/G, DADGAD, 5-string bass, and baritone uke. Plus chromatic mode for anything with a pitch.

What's the strobe display?

A pro-style view: the band drifts right when sharp, left when flat, and freezes at pitch. The fine band runs 4× faster so the final cent is visible as a slow crawl. Press S to flip between needle and strobe.

Why a dash instead of a note sometimes?

Below 88% detection confidence any reading would be a guess — muted strings, several notes at once, background noise. The dash means "give me a cleaner pluck", not "broken".

From the guide

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