Snark SN5X Clip-On Tuner

Broke

Broke head separated from clip

I'll NEVER buy another Snark. The new design breaks if you look at it wrong.

I'll NEVER buy another Snark.

I've bought literally dozens over the last 16 years.

I always had trouble with the mechanism that the swivel ball pops into breaking and I've learned to be careful of that. Now this new one I JUST bought, an SN5X (rechargable) broke on the second use. The ball broke off the arm so easily I couldn't believe it. That whole mechanism is a weak spot in the design and I've had many break but this time I'm a little ticked off. I probably bought 30 of these over the years and usually I'd just replace it. I don't feel like doing that this time. All I did was try to tilt it toward me and the ball popped right off the arm. Incidentally, if you're familiar with the product, you can see in the photo they have redesigned the ball receiver.

I contacted customer support via email figuring they'd respect the large number of times I've purchased them but they didn't even reply.

No more for me.

Michael D.

March 17, 2026

Delivery was great not a bad tuner and is rechargeable via USB

I bought this tuner because it was recommended by my guitar instructor Lauren Bateman. It works as advertised and is really handy and seems pretty accurate. It is also USB rechargeable. Delivery was right on-time.

Delilah Allyn

February 4, 2026

Every time I buy a guitar, it gets it's own Snark

Some people like to make the perfect into the enemy of the good. These are not perfect, bit they are good. I have 8 guitars and every one has its own Snark tuner.

No Customer Support

I was very happy with the product until some of the lights on the display stopped working after a couple of months, which made it unusable. I've contacted support via the email on the box and their website asking for a replacement but have received no response

Good tuner, nice display

This is Snark's rechargeable model tuner. Tuning accuracy is excellent, and I appreciate the large, clear display. I have tried at least 5 other brands and always come back to Snark because of how easy it is to see. My only complaint is the tuner uses a small arm that connects the tuner to the clip, and the connection between the arm and the tuner has broken on my tuners in the past. The connection between the tuner and the arm looks barely improved, if at all, so I hope this one does not break.

Seadith Guevara

March 11, 2025

good price for a good item

The product I received is pretty good and reliable after charging it one as soon as I got the tuner. The battery has been full for several practices already. You don’t really have to charge it every so often also the reads the strings very accurately. You can also adjust it to fit anywhere on your guitar. It looks good, small, transportable and has a bright screen so you can take it anywhere.

This is NOT rechargeable!!

I don't know who fulfilled this order, but I did NOT get a rechargeable tuner!! I have a Snark and they are great, but what I received is not rechargeable, it is exactly like my previous one, it has a battery compartment and very clearly had a battery and no where is there any way to plug in a cable to charge this.

Ming

January 25, 2024

Easy to use

Easy to use, Good tactile feel of the material and strong hold

Chris_obrien50

January 4, 2024

Best tuner for the money

I got this more modern tuner as a replacement for my older model that broke off the clip on base. The new model tuner has better graphical interface for more accurate fine tuning of your instruments. Best tuner out there for the cheap cost, very quality product.

Simple fix to make it work faster....

Edit: found a solution to the problem of slow to respond and inaccurate readings. The two ball and socket joints that connect the tuner head to the clamp seemed too soft and loose to quickly and accurately transmit vibrations to the head, so I positioned the head where I wanted it, mixed up some two part epoxy and dropped it into the joints. You have to do one joint at a time or it will drip and make a mess. This mod made the tuner fast to respond, and precise, like it should. The picture shows one joint, and the epoxy, but you should do both joints for best results.

The following was my original review: This tuner is a piece of junk. You have to hold all strings and wait until the display goes dark, then try again. I have a tuner that I got for free with a cheap bass guitar for my daughter that works 10X faster. It's not only slow but it also gives false readings, which is why you have to hold the strings and wait till it resets. Your can't just go string to string. Total garbage. I can't believe this thing has so many great reviews. Almost every bad review is from people who owned previous versions of it and they say the same thing as me, but I never owned a good one. Returning.

Perfect & convenient tuner for my electric violin

I clip this tuner on the end of my electric violin (doesn’t fit the scroll of my acoustic violin). It’s a perfect fit and always ready to use. The neck is flexible and easy to manipulate for viewing

The light bar in the center of the tuner tells me when strings are the right pitch. For best results quiet the string before turning the next string.

I’m learning, so I sometimes use it as I’m playing to check my finger position.

Nice little tuner that does the job

My bass was severely out of tune, but within minutes, I was able to get it going again.

Love that the feedback is instant.

Just wish the indicator screen was a tad brighter, but otherwise it’s a great tuner for the price

0:22

Works Well, slower than the Super Tight

I've been using Snarks for years, they're reliable and accurate. Although a little delicate. My old Snark "Super Tight" finally broke beyond repair, so I purchased this as a replacement.

It works as well as the Super Tight, but it is quite a bit slower to respond.

Will leave marks on Gibson / nitro finished guitars

These work well and are super convenient- but be warned from my experience, you should take them off immediately after use. From the instruction manual:

"SNARK advises NOT to use its tuner with any instruments having these types of finishes: Nitrocellulose Lacquer, Polyurethane, French Polish, Oil Finish or Gibson® guitars which have nitrocellulose finishes unless you accept the risk of dents to the headstock".

I left mine on my Gibson ES-335, which has the Nitrocellulose finish, for 3 days, and when I took it off there was a ring on it.

don't keep tuner attached to guitar when it's not in use

This is Snark guitar, and bass tuner I've had for some time. I bought violin, guitar, and bass tuner for a relative. I've read where people have complained about these tuner breaking. Made a quick fix on mine before it totally broke. Used cord tie or a bread tie would work, or rubber band : )

Didn’t work upon arrival

After unpacking this, when I turned it on it did not work. Instead of there being a tuner on the display, there was just a white line. I tried replacing the battery but that did not work either. See video for demo.

0:12

About as functional as socks on a rooster

Number one you can’t see hardly anything on the screen because it’s so dim. The adjustment mechanism is super cheap and will probably break soon (hopefully). And it also thinks every note is an A. Huge waste of $18

0:09

Easy to use

Clear view

Nice clip on.

Feels, great in my hand.

Guy

Jazz guitarist / teacher

Berkeley ca

CURRENT MODEL These words are very important!

SNARK gets 5 stars from me for the new model which makes the connection between the backside of the tuning device and it’s clip into the guitar stronger. The complaints I’ve read are largely due to this issue. Also, when buying from a store, make sure that the round plastic part holding the ball on backside of the device is thick. See photos of broken Snarks on other reviews. Snark not only responded to complaints with a new design, they kindly replaced one I had received previously as a gift, which was broken. So these five stars are for ease of use, new design and customer service.

PCP777

July 1, 2021

It will break. They aren't what they used to be.

So, when they are new, before they break, which every recent one has, they are great. Good display, easy to use and accurate. After the one I bought in April 2021 broke I am done with Snark. They used to be great, and now they break. I haven't even been gigging this year or playing a lot. Look at the photo, they all break the same way. To add insult to injury, I had just received a brand new guitar today. Not only did my new black one break, but the battery went dead. Like really? Left me hanging. Never again. I've given them too many chances. The tabs around the ball fail. It's a defect.

Works well though UI takes some getting used to

Love the contact mic's sensitivity to guitar's vibrations and insensitivity to noise in the room.

I am picky about tuning and prefer tuners and tuning apps that provide a very precise indication of "in", whereas this accepts a rather larger range of "in" that I'd like. They make other models that may make me happier in that respect, possibly.

It is also peculiar to me that this is indicated via the presence of "red fan" and "blue arrow" without any "yellow fan". Whether you like this is a matter of taste I suppose.

What this tuner does do is get you guitar mostly in tune rapidly in nearly any condition of noise in the room. For that purpose, even as a backup tuner, it exceeds expectations.

Pat

February 22, 2021

Snark instrument tuner

I love this guitar tuner. It's accurate and easy to use. It will not take you all day to tune your instrument.

Do not recommend.

Great product, I’ve had it for 2 or more months, but stopped working just recently.

Accurate and easy to use tuner, but not good for the long term.

0:07

Baby Yoda

January 6, 2020

Extremely easy to use.

I bought this for my 12 yr old daughter that just started learning guitar, and she had this tuner out of the box and tuning her new guitar within 5 minutes. Definitely a easy to use and very helpful tool.

Pretty disappointed

I’m super bummed about this tuner. I bought it about a month ago but didn’t use it straight away sincerely my guitar is in the shop. I have used others and loved them so bought this one with high hopes. It doesn’t know what string I’m on and jumps around from note to note. Would not consider it accurate... obviously. I guess I’ll have to buy something else, but won’t be another one of these. All in all, I’m disappointed since these seem like the coolest tuners about.

0:04

Really good, a bit stiff

Really good. I haven't used it much yet so I'll try to remember to add an update at a future time, but so far I really like it. It's super clear and easy to fit in my guitar case. My one issue is it feels a bit stiff to adjust; however, again, I haven't used it much so it may loosen up. Overall, I really like it.

* note: I use a Gianni acoustic guitar.

Item not as described - no "tap metronome"

I'm giving this a 3 star because this item didn't come as described. It clearly states in the product description that it has a tap metronome feature for this model and it definitely, and unfortunately, does not. The tuner is great but I was trying to knock out two birds with one stone. I've tried emailing the company, to which it seems they have completely ignored.

Van

January 31, 2019

Does the Job great!

Works welll, the digits are nice and big, easy to read. Great product for the price. No need two spend a bunch of money for something you have one basic use for, this guitar, bass, viloin tuner does the job at low cost!

I own two now, and the way their design makes them very susceptible to damage on any impact.

I've had my first one for at least 2 years; but guitar fell with it & broke something; so it works but its falling apart as you can tell from the photos. I would buy again!

Awesome must have.

These are are great and I cannot think of any reason not to install them, except if you don't have a drill. The screws that come with them are proprietary and cannot be replaced with others. They were longer than the screws that were install on my Ibanez by about 5/16th inch. I didn't want to chance cracking the wood, even if it was a low probability, so I drilled the holes to specifications. The only thing this set is missing in my opinion are pads. There is no reason they shouldn't include 2 of them. I just used the ones that were installed on my guitar again, but still.