Other online tuners
Try our browser tuning tools built for different instruments.
A guitar tuner that points at the peg you're actually turning
Most tuners tell you the note. Fewer tell you which machine head to reach for—especially after you switch from standard to Drop D or an open tuning. This page is a browser-based guitar tuner built around a headstock graphic: pluck a string, read the cents meter, and see the matching peg light up. If you left your clip-on in another case, or you need an acoustic guitar tuner that still makes sense on a small phone screen, you can open the page, allow the mic, and work string by string without installing anything.
Standard tuning and why the peg map matters
In standard tuning, open strings run low to high: E, A, D, G, B, E. You turn each peg until the open string sits on pitch. Alternate tunings—Drop D, DADGAD, open chords, half-step down when a singer needs a little slack—change the six targets, not the habit of tuning one string at a time with small peg movements. The trouble starts when a chromatic app shows “D” while you are staring at six similar pegs and cannot remember which string you plucked.
Here the layout follows the instrument. Buttons sit where the pegs sit on the graphic, with string lines running to the nut so your eye connects sound to hardware. Tap a peg for a reference tone in your headphones; turn on loop playback if you prefer to tune by ear and use the meter as a check. A semicircular gauge above the headstock shows note name, frequency, and cents in real time. Drift flat or sharp and plain text tells you to tighten or loosen. When a string settles, its peg turns green and stays green until you switch the mic off—handy when you are mid-pass and do not want to lose track.
Sixteen tunings, one menu
Standard, Drop D through Drop A, DADGAD, half- and whole-step down, and open C, D, E, G, and A are built in. Pick the preset that matches your tab or set list instead of re-entering note names in a generic chromatic app every time the song changes.
Visual feedback on the headstock
Amber marks the string the mic thinks you are aiming for; green means that peg has locked in. You get a checklist on the graphic rather than juggling six note names in working memory while your hands are on the neck.
Accurate readout, calm interface
Pitch tracking stays in guitar range, with a cents display fine enough that small peg turns show on the gauge. Reference tones on each peg let you cross-check by ear when the room is noisy. The dark headstock layout is meant to stay readable under stage lights or a sunny window.
What you get beyond a basic chromatic tuner
Plenty of apps name a note. This one ties the note to the peg in your hand and covers the tunings guitarists actually switch between.
Multiple modes, one visual map
Switch presets from the tuning menu and the peg labels, string lines, and detection targets update together. The gauge answers how far off you are; the headstock answers which string you are on. Six-string layout with left and right peg columns matches how most players read the neck. Green peg latches give you a visual done list; optional looped reference tones support slow, careful turns. Everything runs in the browser—phone, tablet, or laptop.
- Sixteen presets: standard, drop tunings, DADGAD, half- and whole-step down, and common open shapes.
- Live cents gauge with note name and frequency—readable while you pick.
- Flat and sharp hints in plain language when you are close but not quite there.
- Reference tone on each peg button where samples exist; loop playback for ear tuning.
- Drop A shows read-only peg labels when the lowest reference is out of sample range—mic tuning still works.
- No account, no download—useful when the clip-on battery died or someone else has it.
How to tune a guitar with this page
Quick check before practice
Run through all six strings once. Green pegs are a quiet checklist even when a fan or amp hum is in the room.
Drop D between songs
Switch the menu preset, retune the sixth string, and leave the others if they still read green on the new targets—or reset all six if you want a clean slate.
Open tuning for one track
Select Open D or Open G, use reference tones while you turn, then confirm with the gauge before the intro starts.
Where a browser tuner beats digging for a clip-on
Common situations—not polished endorsements.
Our rehearsal room clip-on is always on someone else's headstock. This one spells out flat or sharp, and the peg picture stopped me from tightening the wrong string when we jumped into DADGAD.
Alex R.
Acoustic songwriter
"Sixteen tunings in one bookmark beats hunting presets in an app that assumes everything stays in standard. Drop D and open G are two taps."
Jordan K.
Electric guitar · covers band / Weekend gigs
"Students stare at the cents number while they learn to hear beats. The green lights are a cheat sheet—they still turn the peg themselves."
Elena M.
Guitar teacher / Private lessons