Plays Nice With Your Interface
USB Audio Interface Guitar Tuner for MacCore Audio. Full Sample Rate. Sub-50 ms.
Tune through whatever you record through. Chromatic Tuner reads any USB audio interface or Aggregate Device macOS recognizes — Focusrite, Universal Audio, MOTU, RME — at full sample rate via Core Audio, with sub-50 ms perceived latency.
Reads Your Interface at Full Rate
Tune Through Your USB Audio Interface, the Way the Signal Actually Arrives
If you record through a Focusrite Scarlett, a Universal Audio Apollo, a MOTU M-series, an RME Babyface, or an Aggregate Device you wired up in Audio MIDI Setup, you don't want a tuner that hands the signal off to a browser tab or a phone app. You want the same Core Audio path your DAW uses.
Chromatic Tuner asks macOS for whatever input device you've selected in System Settings → Sound, then reads it at the device's native sample rate — 44.1, 48, 96, or 192 kHz. The YIN analysis window adapts (4096 samples = ~85 ms at 48 kHz; correspondingly shorter at higher rates), so accuracy stays at ±1¢ in real-world conditions regardless of what your interface is running.
Latency from pluck to display is under 50 ms perceived. That's possible because the app doesn't introduce a software buffer chain — Core Audio talks to the interface driver, the driver talks to USB, the meter responds. Browsers add 12–60 ms of WebAudio jitter on top of all that, plus auto-gain control that fights the YIN algorithm. Native gets out of the way.
Aggregate Devices work too. Build one in Audio MIDI Setup (multiple interfaces, clock source, drift correction) and Chromatic Tuner picks it up the same way macOS does. Useful if you're routing a guitar DI through one interface and reference audio through another — the tuner reads whatever input you've selected.
Why a Native App
A Real Tuner, on Core Audio.
Browser tuners reroute audio through the WebAudio sandbox — 12–60 ms of jitter, silent downsampling, throttled the moment the tab loses focus. Phone tuners can't see your audio interface at all — just the built-in mic, with auto-gain and noise suppression already mangling the signal before any pitch detector touches it.
Chromatic Tuner sits directly on Core Audio. It sees your USB interface at full sample rate, runs YIN on your CPU, and the needle responds the moment you pluck.
Two Display Modes. One Tuner.
The 31-LED bar is what you reach for when plucking — segments blend orange to green and snap to in-tune in under 50 ms.
The Peterson-style rotating strobe is the one for sustained intonation work. Bands lock inside a hard ±0.5 ¢ deadband, so "in tune" is genuinely stationary — not just close.
What's Inside
Nine Things, Done Well.
A tuner should be on screen for fifteen seconds, do its job, and get out of your way. Everything below earns its place by that rule.
YIN Pitch Detection
A0 to C8 (27.5 Hz – 4186 Hz). ±0.14¢ on pure tones, ±1¢ real-world. Octave-error correction for plucked strings, ~22 Hz update rate.
8 Historical Temperaments
Equal, Just, Pythagorean, ¼-comma Meantone, Werckmeister III, Kirnberger III, Vallotti, Young II — with movable tonic for non-equal systems.
Two Display Modes
LED bar with hardware-accurate ticks and a Knight-Rider intro, or a true Peterson-style rotating strobe with a hard ±0.5¢ deadband.
Instrument Presets
Guitar (Standard, Drop D, DADGAD, Open G, half-step down, 7-string), bass (4 + 5-string), violin, viola, cello, double bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo. Capo through fret 11.
Reference Tones
Tap any string row to play a clean sine reference. Keyboard shortcuts c d e f g a b. Soft envelope, 3-second auto-stop, honors your A4 calibration.
Lives in Your Menu Bar
Tuning-fork icon opens a 360 px popover in under 200 ms. Tune, dismiss. Or float the main window with always-on-top for stage use.
Custom A4 + Transpose
A4 reference 349.0–499.9 Hz in 0.1 Hz steps. One-tap presets for 415 / 440 / 442. Transpose ±11 semitones for B♭ trumpet, A clarinet, capo'd guitars.
Light, Dark, System
Theme follows macOS or pin it. The display panel stays a deep amber-on-black either way — the meter is what your eye locks onto.
Keyboard-First
Space starts and stops listening. ⌘W / ⌘Q standard. No mouse needed for the basics.
Design
Lives Wherever You Need It.
A 360 px popover that drops out of the menu bar between takes. Customization tucked behind a flyout. A dock icon that earns its slot. Every surface modeled on real hardware, then matched to your system theme.
How It Works
Three Steps. The Third One Is the Only One You'll Do Twice.
- 01
Open Chromatic Tuner
Drag from the DMG to Applications. Launch from Spotlight or your menu bar. No account, no activation.
- 02
Allow Microphone Access
macOS asks once. Approve, and your default input — built-in mic, USB interface, whatever — is wired in. Audio stays on-device.
- 03
Pluck a String
The LED meter sweeps to the closest note. Amber means off, green means in. Tune until it stays green for a beat.
New · iPhone & Apple Watch
Also in Your Pocket.
ChromTuner: Guitar Tuner brings the same YIN engine to iOS — free. Chromatic mode, Standard E and Drop D, the LED meter and analog needle, plus a gentle haptic tap the moment a string locks in. Since 1.1 it tunes from your Apple Watch too. One $6.99 purchase unlocks everything else.
Free forever — no ads, no account, no subscription.
Prefer the Mac App Store? Same app, same price.
Ready When You Are
One Purchase. Forever Yours.
Today's Total
One-Time · Lifetime 1.x Updates
- Chromatic Tuner — Universal Binary (Apple Silicon + Intel)
- Lifetime 1.x Updates Included
- Direct Email Support From the Developer
After You Pay
- 1Receipt to Your Email
- 2Download Link, Valid 7 Days
- 3Drag Chromatic Tuner Into /Applications
FAQ
Questions, Answered.
Quick answers about temperaments, instruments, accuracy, and what actually runs on your Mac.
Does Chromatic Tuner Work With My USB Audio Interface?
Yes. Chromatic Tuner uses Core Audio at full sample rate with any USB interface or Aggregate Device macOS recognizes — Focusrite, Universal Audio, MOTU, RME, and others. Set your input device in System Settings → Sound and the app picks it up.Do I Need an Audio Interface?
No. Chromatic Tuner uses your Mac's built-in microphone by default, and works with any USB audio interface or Aggregate Device that macOS recognizes.What's the Input-to-Display Latency?
Sub-50 ms perceived. Chromatic Tuner reads your interface at full sample rate via Core Audio, so the meter responds the moment you pluck. Browser-based tuners typically add 12–60 ms of WebAudio jitter on top.How Accurate Is the Tuner?
Chromatic Tuner is accurate to ±0.14 cents on pure sine tones and ±1 cent in real-world use. The in-tune zone (green) opens at ±5 cents, which is what most studio engineers consider perfect intonation. Detection uses the YIN time-domain algorithm with a 4096-sample window, octave-error correction for plucked strings, and median-of-5 + exponential smoothing for stable readings at ~22 Hz.How Is Chromatic Tuner Different From Free macOS Tuners?
Chromatic Tuner runs natively on Core Audio with sub-50 ms latency, ±1¢ YIN accuracy, no ads, no telemetry, and no account. Free tuners typically run in a browser tab (12–60 ms of WebAudio jitter) or hand the signal to a phone's built-in mic — auto-gain and noise suppression baked in before the tuner ever sees it. The $6.99 buys lifetime 1.x updates and direct email support.Does It Run on Intel Macs and Apple Silicon?
Yes — both. Chromatic Tuner is a universal binary that runs natively on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel Macs. macOS 14 Sonoma or later required.Does Chromatic Tuner Work With Aggregate Devices on macOS?
Yes. Any input device that appears in System Settings → Sound — including Aggregate Devices created in Audio MIDI Setup — works with Chromatic Tuner via Core Audio at the device's full sample rate.
Ready to Tune?
Native macOS. Offline. ±1¢ accuracy. Yours for $6.99 — one-time, lifetime 1.x updates.
Buy for $6.99Specifications
The Technical Bits
| Operating System | macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later |
|---|---|
| Architectures | Apple Silicon (arm64) + Intel (x86_64), universal binary |
| Pitch Algorithm | YIN, 4096-sample window with 50% overlap |
| Pitch Range | A0 (27.5 Hz) → C8 (4186 Hz) |
| Accuracy | ±0.14¢ on pure sines, ±1¢ real-world |
| Update Rate | ~22 Hz |
| Latency | Sub-50 ms perceived |
| Smoothing | Median-of-5 + exponential, 70 Hz high-pass before detection |
| Audio Input | Built-in mic, USB interfaces, Aggregate Devices, hot-plug detection |
| Temperaments | 8 historical, with movable tonic for non-equal systems |
| Instrument Presets | 15 across guitar, bass, bowed strings, folk strings, chromatic — plus capo |
| File Size | ~5 MB DMG |
| Network | None — works fully offline |
| Privacy | Sandboxed, Hardened Runtime, Privacy Manifest, no telemetry |
| Updates | Lifetime updates for the 1.x line, included with purchase |
| License | Personal one-time purchase, single user |
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