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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 15, 2022 13:46:02 GMT
Yesterday I pulled out my Jazzmaster for rehearsal and when I reached into the accessory pocket the tuner was covered in sticky patina. When I looked it it the plastic for the entire unit seems to have degraded at the same time and the color of the plastic itself came off onto my fingers- like someone has dipped it in varsol. I've been using Snarks for many years and I've never seen anything like this. There is nothing in the accessory pocket that should have caused such a situation. The tuner still works electronically but with it in this state I am obviously never going to use it again.
Oddly enough, the last time I played that guitar was maybe 2-3 weeks ago and I didn't detect anything like this so this breakdown of the plastic seems to have happened fairly quickly.
Has anyone seen a condition like this? Sure it is just a $10 tuner, and could be 10 years old, but I'm tempted to call the company and make them aware.
Will try to post pictures.
dB
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Post by infant on Feb 15, 2022 14:20:49 GMT
Funny but I just had that happen to one of my Snarks (blue one) around Christmas time. It was also around 10 years old and it was an old one that I repaired after Snark had sent a replacement. It was working well until recently and then at Christmas, I went to tune up my guitar and noticed that it wasn’t turning on and it felt very sticky. It wasn’t sitting near anything that should break down the coating as I kept it on top of a metal shelving rack, where it’s been for the last 5 years. Strange that it should happen to yours too.
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Post by laristotle on Feb 15, 2022 15:24:26 GMT
Design flaw built into the product to make one go out and buy a new one?  |
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Post by infant on Feb 15, 2022 15:49:06 GMT
Design flaw built into the product to make one go out and buy a new one? <button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button> The first ones had problems where the battery contacts would oxidize. Snark sent me 2 replacements, one for me and one for my son. I took my bad one apart, cleaned the contacts and it’s been working for the last 5 or 6 years until it got all sticky recently. |
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 15, 2022 17:05:16 GMT
Design flaw built into the product to make one go out and buy a new one? <button disabled="" class="c-attachment-insert--linked o-btn--sm">Attachment Deleted</button> That certainly would not surprise me.... |
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 15, 2022 17:10:14 GMT
Funny but I just had that happen to one of my Snarks (blue one) around Christmas time. It was also around 10 years old and it was an old one that I repaired after Snark had sent a replacement. It was working well until recently and then at Christmas, I went to tune up my guitar and noticed that it wasn’t turning on and it felt very sticky. It wasn’t sitting near anything that should break down the coating as I kept it on top of a metal shelving rack, where it’s been for the last 5 years. Strange that it should happen to yours too. That's exactly the same issue. Now it is covered with the "fur" lining of the Jazzmaster's case- it is actually pretty gross and based on the amount of the red plastic that rubs off on your finger when one touches it, it really could never be used again. This does make me a little leery however as I keep one in each guitar's case |
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Post by infant on Feb 15, 2022 18:44:26 GMT
It’s not the case, if that’s what you’re thinking
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 15, 2022 19:53:03 GMT
It’s not the case, if that’s what you’re thinking No, I'm just concerned that these things degrade and mess up my cases- not that the cases are causing the issue! |
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 15, 2022 19:58:56 GMT
See if this works... Attachments:
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Post by infant on Feb 15, 2022 21:20:24 GMT
I still have the cloth bag that they come with and i keep mine in it. I only have one tuner now and that stays in my gigging bag. I have a Korg tuner that a luthier left in my Martin case after I had something done. I was going to return it but I decided to keep it when I noticed that they put a little gash in the headstock. I find the snark to be much more accurate than this Korg
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 15, 2022 22:47:09 GMT
I still have the cloth bag that they come with and i keep mine in it. I only have one tuner now and that stays in my gigging bag. I have a Korg tuner that a luthier left in my Martin case after I had something done. I was going to return it but I decided to keep it when I noticed that they put a little gash in the headstock. I find the snark to be much more accurate than this Korg In retrospect I now wish I had keep mine in that cheesecloth bag too, although it doesn't appear that the case is messed up from the plastic degradation |
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Post by Sgt Rock on Feb 15, 2022 23:04:52 GMT
Funny but I just had that happen to one of my Snarks (blue one) around Christmas time. It was also around 10 years old and it was an old one that I repaired after Snark had sent a replacement. It was working well until recently and then at Christmas, I went to tune up my guitar and noticed that it wasn’t turning on and it felt very sticky. It wasn’t sitting near anything that should break down the coating as I kept it on top of a metal shelving rack, where it’s been for the last 5 years. Strange that it should happen to yours too. That's exactly the same issue. Now it is covered with the "fur" lining of the Jazzmaster's case- it is actually pretty gross and based on the amount of the red plastic that rubs off on your finger when one touches it, it really could never be used again. This does make me a little leery however as I keep one in each guitar's case I'm wondering if you might want to check on the condition of the others that you own. |
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 15, 2022 23:32:31 GMT
That's exactly the same issue. Now it is covered with the "fur" lining of the Jazzmaster's case- it is actually pretty gross and based on the amount of the red plastic that rubs off on your finger when one touches it, it really could never be used again. This does make me a little leery however as I keep one in each guitar's case I'm wondering if you might want to check on the condition of the others that you own. Yeah I've been thinking that too. I never leave the tuners on headstock but I don't really want the accessory pockets of cases getting ruined |
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Post by Bill h on Feb 16, 2022 1:30:05 GMT
Built in obsolescence.
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 16, 2022 1:59:21 GMT
I checked tdpri- I am seeing others are having the same issue so it isn't just Rob and me.
"Engineered to fail"
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Post by zontar on Feb 18, 2022 6:45:46 GMT
Weird stuff, maybe it was made from old celluloid? (Sort of joking)  |
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Post by highdeaf on Feb 18, 2022 14:38:08 GMT
I've had this happen to a few things, like a cheap cordless drill and more recently, a fancy automated corkscrew. So it's not your case or how you are storing it or anything else. AFAIK, they become unusable so 'planned obsolescence' isn't entirely wrong, IMO. www.quora.com/Why-do-some-plastics-become-sticky-after-a-while |
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Post by infant on Feb 18, 2022 16:50:42 GMT
I've had this happen to a few things, like a cheap cordless drill and more recently, a fancy automated corkscrew. So it's not your case or how you are storing it or anything else. AFAIK, they become unusable so 'planned obsolescence' isn't entirely wrong, IMO. www.quora.com/Why-do-some-plastics-become-sticky-after-a-whileI think I have the same corkscrew as you. Our niece also has one and I noticed that hers was getting sticky last year. I just thought that hers was dirty. Then ours started feeling sticky about 6 months ago. |
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Post by Die Bullen on Feb 18, 2022 17:02:00 GMT
I've had this happen to a few things, like a cheap cordless drill and more recently, a fancy automated corkscrew. So it's not your case or how you are storing it or anything else. AFAIK, they become unusable so 'planned obsolescence' isn't entirely wrong, IMO. www.quora.com/Why-do-some-plastics-become-sticky-after-a-whileChecked the link- good info and makes sense. I also took a peek over at TDPRI and I see others reporting the exact same problem so obviously this either deliberate by the manufacturer or inferior Chinese plastics- or both. For laughs I took the guts out of this tuner and put them into thecase of a snark that stopped working years ago (no idea why I didn't throw it out..) so now I have 1 good tuner from 2 bad ones. |
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Post by highdeaf on Feb 18, 2022 19:58:21 GMT
I was hoping I could blame soy-based plastics. You know, the stuff they make car wiring out of that rats just love to eat. What a great way to save the planet that was.  I've had this happen to a few things, like a cheap cordless drill and more recently, a fancy automated corkscrew. So it's not your case or how you are storing it or anything else. AFAIK, they become unusable so 'planned obsolescence' isn't entirely wrong, IMO. www.quora.com/Why-do-some-plastics-become-sticky-after-a-whileI think I have the same corkscrew as you. Our niece also has one and I noticed that hers was getting sticky last year. I just thought that hers was dirty. Then ours started feeling sticky about 6 months ago. It was a real bummer 'cause I really liked the corkscrew. It worked like a hot damn and it was mechanically elegant. I love overly complicated things like that - and it woulda kept going for years, I think, except for the plastic failure. I'm resistant to buying another one, of course. |
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 7, 2022 22:30:09 GMT
Update- got one of my guitars out today that I haven't played in a month or so. Same problem- the whole surface of the tuner has gone sticky. So I guess this one gets thrown out too. I know I bought 4 or 6 at the same time so obviously all of those batch are now degrading.
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Post by highdeaf on Mar 22, 2022 14:43:20 GMT
Update- got one of my guitars out today that I haven't played in a month or so. Same problem- the whole surface of the tuner has gone sticky. So I guess this one gets thrown out too. I know I bought 4 or 6 at the same time so obviously all of those batch are now degrading self-relicing.
FIFY 
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Post by spellcaster on Mar 28, 2022 3:58:22 GMT
I never messed around with Snark tuners, so I dodged that landmine. However, I have an item that's developed the same issue. When I bought my PA system, the seller gave me an Alesis Vocalist Playmate. I never used it, but last night I put it up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, and had a buyer within two minutes. They're coming up from Victoria Tuesday to pick it up, so I unboxed it to clean it and noticed that there's a tacky feeling to the bottom half of the plastic housing. I cleaned it, first with Fantastik APC, then with 99% Propranolol, and then with Maguier's Vinyl Conditioner. It's not as sticky as it was, but it doesn't feel right. I'm wondering at this point if I should advise the customer and let them make a decision as to whether to go ahead with the sale.
(Edited to add:) My conscience gets the best of me in these situations. I messaged the customer and told him. My guess is that he'll still go for it because it was super-cheap and he'll never find another one at this price.
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Post by Die Bullen on Mar 28, 2022 12:01:26 GMT
I never messed around with Snark tuners, so I dodged that landmine. However, I have an item that's developed the same issue. When I bought my PA system, the seller gave me an Alesis Vocalist Playmate. I never used it, but last night I put it up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, and had a buyer within two minutes. They're coming up from Victoria Tuesday to pick it up, so I unboxed it to clean it and noticed that there's a tacky feeling to the bottom half of the plastic housing. I cleaned it, first with Fantastik APC, then with 99% Propranolol, and then with Maguier's Vinyl Conditioner. It's not as sticky as it was, but it doesn't feel right. I'm wondering at this point if I should advise the customer and let them make a decision as to whether to go ahead with the sale.
(Edited to add:) My conscience gets the best of me in these situations. I messaged the customer and told him. My guess is that he'll still go for it because it was super-cheap and he'll never find another one at this price.
Don't cave on the price if it is already a bargain... |
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Post by spellcaster on Mar 28, 2022 22:43:20 GMT
I've had a message from the buyer. He's okay with the sticky nature of the plastic, but he's had to delay a couple of days because his wife's having some emergency dental work done. I told him that was okay and I'd wait for him. I have an appreciation for conscientious buyers who communicate and stay in touch. So, the Alesis unit will be going out Friday.
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Post by infant on Mar 29, 2022 2:50:29 GMT
I've had a message from the buyer. He's okay with the sticky nature of the plastic, but he's had to delay a couple of days because his wife's having some emergency dental work done. I told him that was okay and I'd wait for him. I have an appreciation for conscientious buyers who communicate and stay in touch. So, the Alesis unit will be going out Friday. Just ask him to let you know if he changes his mind. It pisses me off if I hold something for someone and then he doesn’t show up or answer emails. |
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Post by edwardbloom on May 25, 2022 14:03:23 GMT
i'm guessing you guys use a snark because your acoustic has no pickup? that's only reason i own one. my electrics all get plugged into a polytune which will never have those issues. before that, i had a boss tuner.
believe it, or don't but snark's aren't that accurate. i learned this back when i was in the rehearsal studio every week. my rhythm guy had a snark, i use the polytune. we were never quite in tune with each other, or the bass. he'd have to plug into my board and tune up. he bought one, problem was solved. just for shits & giggles, we compared a few tuners we had laying around between the 3 of us. there were only 2 that matched every time. the tu-2 and the polytune.
clip on tuners suck, and i won't use them if i can plug in.
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Post by Bill h on May 26, 2022 17:10:19 GMT
I used boss tuners for the longest time, the last one I had took a shit and I bought a korg strobe tuner, never been back, solid tuner.
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