3/1/22: We are very sad to report that Duo-Tunes will not be available in the immediate future. We’ve discovered that the Snark tuner model we’ve been using for many years has been upgraded in a way that makes it incompatible with harps. The goal of the Duo-Tune has always been to take the stress out of tuning, and we’re acknowledging that the process of tuning a harp will actually get more frustrating if we start using the new Snark tuners. Therefore, we are putting the beloved Duo-Tune product on hold until we can find a different model of Snark or a tuner from another manufacturer that will work better for harps. Thanks for your patience!
Please read the Sizing info below if you have a non-Dusty harp!
Tuning a harp typically requires an electronic tuner, a clip-on tuner pickup and a tuning wrench, as well as a certain amount of coordination. We do a lot of harp tuning at Dusty Strings and this awkward process was begging for an improvement. We've now combined our harp tuning wrench with the Snark clip-on electronic tuner to make a single handy tuning device, the Dusty Duo-Tune. Now you can pluck a string with one completely free hand while the tuning wrench and electronic tuner are in your other hand picking up the vibrations through the tuning pin, displaying the note on the attached LCD screen, and allowing you to adjust the pin - all at once. No more juggling tuners, wires, clips and wrenches and wishing you had three hands!
Features
Note: The Snark tuner carries a one-year warranty against defects in manufacturing. Should anything happen to yours outside of the warranty, it is possible to replace just the tuner head without buying a whole new Duo-Tune wrench.
There are four models of the Dusty Duo-Tune to fit different sizes of harp tuning pins. The size that each wrench fits is engraved on the handle, but we realize most people don't have calipers readily available to measure their tuning pins. So here is a list (to the best of our knowledge) of harp makers and the size of wrench we expect will fit their harps. Unfortunately, we can't make any guarantees, and current harps may not necessarily have the same tuning pins as older harps by the same maker. We do our best to add to this list as we get more information about pin sizes.
Custom: For tuning pins with a square tip diameter of .176" or 4.5mm. Does not work well on zither pins.
Concert: For tuning pins with a square tip diameter of 3/16" or .188" or 5mm. Does not work well on zither pins.
Universal: Adjusts to fit harp tuning pins with square heads from .160" or 4mm to .236" or 6mm. Does not work well on non-square pins, zither pins, or other pins with tapered heads; please see Sizing tab on our Universal Wrench page for more details.
Zither: Fits harps that have zither pins instead of through-pins. You can tell you have zither pins if your tuning wrench goes on the same end of the pin as the string, and the pin does not stick out on both sides of the neck.
The zither wrench is designed to be held in your left hand, in order to tune a harp with zither pins in normal playing orientation. If you prefer to turn your harp around so that you can tune with your right hand, this wrench will not work well, as the electronic tuner will be facing away from you.
Please note that the zither wrench needs about 3/8" clearance on the end of the pin in order to seat firmly. If your string coils are closer to the end of the pin than 3/8", the wrench may not go all the way on, and you could have difficulty tuning.
