Even the Jesus & Mary Chain use tuners. But when you're still limbering up at the foot of the Ladder Of Success, how do you decide which of the myriad little boxes is for you? One Two Testing raises the critical machete to hack a path through the jungle of tuners currently available. No longer will scheming shop assistants be able to pull the sheep skin over your eyes, ending their spiel with "so you see it is worth the extra money."

There are two types of tuning box: simple ones and clever ones.

Simple ones like the old faithful GT6 require you to dial up a string letter on the box before touching your machine heads. Once you've done that, a large VU and wobbly needle will show how far away you are from being in tune, within a range of half a semitone (usually) on either side.

The clever ones, like the Boss TU12, are commonly known as chromatic, and generally offer fully automatic tuning. This means that you do not necessarily have to tell the tuner which note you are attempting to tune, as clever little electronic things sense which note you are nearest, and indicate the state of affairs on an LED bar graph (which normally runs from C up to B). The accompanying VU and wobbly needle show how flat or sharp you are. The rest is up to the fine tuning facilities on your guitar or keyboard (or sax etc).

When looking for a tuner, first assess your own needs. Guitars and synths can be serviced with a standard six-setting guitar-type tuner. Wind and brass instruments will require the services of the chromatic machine, with its wider range of available notes.

Will you be using the tuner on stage, in which case is it readable in dim light? Will you want to use it in-line between instrument and amp, for which you require both input and output socket? Should you ever have to work with non-tuneable pianos, a pitch-adjustable tuner is useful; this allows you to vary A (normal pitch 440Hz), usually by 5Hz either side. Do you want automatic tuning, which tells you which note you're play ing? Would you prefer a VU meter, or red and green LED indicators? Think on these things, then peruse our pictures and consider the (approximate) prices.

ARION HU8400. Fully automatic, chromatic tuner with manual option (like the Boss TU12). In-line, but not pitch-adjustable. Pocket-sized. £40.

ARION HU8300. As the HU8400, only less so. Neither chromatic nor automatic, it offers guitarists EADGB options. Also pocketable. £30.

KORG GT60X. Pocket-sized, quartz crystal-based version of the GT6. No LEDs, basic EADGBE scale, simple design. Non-automatic. £40.

KORG AT12. An older automatic-tuning chromatic model. In-line and pitch-adjustable, the AT12 can cover seven octaves. Tuning via VU, and a bar LED display to indicate note. Will also feed tones to you for aural tuning. £110.

WASHBURN CT5. A late contender, this is apparently a "chromtic" tuner, functional over six octaves. Although not automatic, it offers separate modes for chromatic (CDEFGAB and sharps) and guitar (EADGBE) tuning. Provides both VU and LED tuning indicators. Pocket-sized. £40.

SEIKO ST361. Not a transistor radio, but a chromatic tuner; in-line and pitch-adjustable between 415 and 445Hz. Generates 72 tones between C₂ and B₇. Notes and octaves are selected by means of two dials on the top of this old-fashioned looking box. Dated? £80.

ARION HU8500. The only footpedal-shaped tuner here. Automatic tuning on a nine-section LED bar ("in tune" is the centre green light), with a string-indicating LED also provided. Pitch-adjustable; but why two outputs? Interesting variation. £45.

KORG GT6. Very straightforward guitar type (EADGBE) tuner. Large - bright VU and chunky controls make for stage suitability. Nonautomatic, non-adjustable (but correctable), and reliable. Good if you can still find it. £40.

KORG DT1. Newest Korg does everything shock horror: automatic, chromatic, pitch-adjustable, in-line, tones provided for aural tuning. There’s also a slow/fast option for the LED tuning indicator. All this in a pocket-sized package. £60.

BOSS TU60. Older style LED tuner, still available in some shops. Pitch-adjustable, but non-chromatic, offering standard EADGBE. When in-line, can also generate tones for tuning by ear. Old, but still functional. £40.

BOSS TU120. As above, but chromatic. Not automatic, but covers C₂ to B₆. Larger LED display (16 lights instead of eight), larger machine. £60.

BOSS TU100. The new one. Automatic, in-line, pitch-adjustable, LED and VU, transposable (handy for saxes), with a tuning range from C₁ to B₇, the TU100 even has a stand. Generates tones. But at nearly 16in long, not small. £125.

SEIKO ST366. Straightforward, basic, six-note guitar tuner with VU. Large pocket-sized. Input only. £33.

SEIKO ST368. Another smallish, non-automatic EADGBE guitar tuner with VU. Not pitch-adjustable, but offers tones for relevant notes. In-line capability. £45.

OSCAR SCHMIDT OST5. As the Washburn CT5, but with a different name. £40.

BANANA BT2. Calculator-sized EADGBE non-automatic guitar tuner, from Taiwan via the USA (?). Very basic, but operates in-line if desired. Not pitch-adjustable, but offers a small degree of calibration via an internal adjuster screw. £32.