What does chromatic mean here?

That every one of the twelve notes in the octave is a valid answer, rather than only the open strings of a particular instrument. The tool finds whichever note is nearest the pitch it hears, which is what makes it work on anything from a ukulele to a voice.

Why does a preset still show the note name?

Because the chromatic reading is always available and the preset adds information rather than replacing it. The note name tells you what pitch you are producing and the preset target tells you which string it should be, which is helpful when a string is far enough out to be nearer its neighbour.

How accurate is the cents reading?

Accurate enough for tuning by ear to within a few cents on a steady note. A wavering or very short note gives a less stable reading, since the detector needs enough of the waveform to find its period, so holding the note is the way to get a reliable figure.

Can it tune a note that is stopped rather than open?

Yes, in chromatic mode, because it does not care which string produced the sound. That is the main reason to prefer it over a string-based tuner when setting intonation or checking a note high on the neck, where the open string targets would be misleading.

Does anything get uploaded?

No. The microphone audio is analysed in the page and discarded, and nothing is stored or sent anywhere. Stopping the listening control releases the microphone, and closing the page does the same.

Instrument Tuner

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Instrument Tuner names the nearest note to whatever it hears and how far off it is, without assuming an instrument. Presets for guitar, bass, ukulele, violin and cello add a target when one is wanted.

What is Instrument Tuner?

Start listening and play a note; the panel names the nearest note, gives the offset in cents, and can additionally point at an open string if a preset is selected.

The interface and the reading:

Five instrument presets alongside a chromatic mode, which is the default state until a preset is chosen.
A microphone control with an error message if access is refused.
A needle sweeping fifty cents either side of centre, centred when the pitch is within about five cents of a note.
A large readout giving the note name and the signed cents offset, plus the detected frequency.
A row of open string targets when a preset is selected, with the string being played highlighted and the direction to tune in named.

Chromatic mode is the whole point of the tool, and it works differently from an instrument-specific tuner. It does not ask which string is being played or compare the pitch against a list of targets; it converts the frequency to the nearest note on the twelve-note scale and reports the distance in cents, which is an interval of the same size at every pitch. That makes it usable on any instrument, on a voice, or on a pitch that does not correspond to any open string at all, which is what is needed when setting up an instrument with a capo, tuning a stopped note, or checking a note played high on the neck. Detection spans roughly fifty five hertz to a kilohertz, which covers the practical range of the instruments it is likely to be pointed at, and it uses the same octave-safe correlation method as the guitar tuner, so a strong harmonic does not produce a reading an octave out. The presets are an addition rather than a substitute: choosing one keeps the chromatic reading and adds an open string target beside it, with the direction to tune in, so a player who wants the string named as well as the note has both without losing the general behaviour. As with the other live tools, the microphone feed is analysed in the page and nothing is recorded.

What it does not do:

No reading while several notes sound at once, since a single pitch has to dominate.
No alternative tunings beyond the open strings of the five presets.
A noisy environment can pull the reading toward whatever is loudest.
No temperament other than equal.
Nothing is saved, and nothing leaves the device.
No reference other than modern pitch.

Use it for anything outside the guitar and bass case: tuning a ukulele, violin or cello, checking a note stopped partway up a neck, tuning a wind or brass instrument whose notes are set by the player, or working out what pitch a singer is actually landing on. When the instrument is a guitar or a bass in standard tuning, the guitar tuner names the string directly and is quicker for that job, and when the target frequencies themselves need checking, the note frequency calculator gives them by name.

How to use Instrument Tuner

Allow microphone access and start listening, leaving chromatic mode selected for a general reading.
Play or sing a single note and hold it steadily.
Read the note name and the offset in cents, and adjust until the needle centres.
Choose an instrument preset if you want the open string named alongside the note.

When to use Instrument Tuner vs related tools

Instrument Tuner is the general purpose tuner: it names notes rather than strings, which makes it the right choice for anything other than a guitar or bass in standard tuning. Guitar Tuner is the quicker option for those two instruments specifically. When a target frequency needs to be confirmed rather than sounded, Note Frequency Calculator gives it, and Scale Generator is useful when the notes being checked belong to a scale rather than to a tuning.

Privacy & Security

This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data ever leaves your device. There is no server round-trip, no upload, no logging, and no account required. Your input is processed locally using client-side JavaScript and is never stored, transmitted, or accessible to anyone else. When you close the tab, everything disappears.