Name that tune

As a guitarists I always want to be in tune.  There is nothing worse than kicking off a song and being out of tune or being in the middle of that perfect take on a track only to realize that you're slightly flat.

Electonic tuners have been around for many years now but are constantly evolving. No longer is the guitar player limited to one tuner that hopefully has a fresh battery or better yet, is actually in their gig bag. 

From rack tuners to the standard handheld tuners to pedal tuners to clip on tuners to tuner apps there is no reason for any guitar player to ever be out of tune.

Obviously some are much more accurate than others so using the correct tuner for the job is key. 

Rack or desktop tuners:

Strobe tuners or rack-mount tuners are best suited for professional situations such as recording studios or high end live gigs. These tuners allow for extremely accurate tuning.  That said, a pedal tuner or clip on tuner are good backups for this situation.

Handheld tuners: 

The long standing standard tuner for hobbyists or working man guitar players these tuners offer good accuracy, reliability, and affordability.  The portability is a big win for this category.  These easily fit in a gig bag or a case. 

Pedal tuners: Pedal tuners are a must have for those who use a pedal board, heck even if you don't use a pedal board you probably should have one.  They're accurate and will mute your signal while you're tuning.  Also, the mute function is awesome as a kill switch in the case that something is going horribly wrong in your signal chain.

Clip on tuners:

The past few years have seen a rise in the availability of clip on tuners. These tiny devices clip on the the headstock of your guitar and register the vibrations through the neck. While not as accurate as the rack or desktop tuners, the clip on tuners just might overtake pedals and handheld tuners as the ubiquitous option for the every man guitar player.

Tuner Apps:Everyone has a smartphone these days. There are plenty of free tuner apps and some really good paid ones as well.  It's worth having at least a free one on your phone as a last ditch effort if you find yourself without any of your other tuning options. I wouldn't rely on one as my main means of tuning my instruments but they prove useful as a backup or just a quick tune.