Korg GA-30 review (GA-40, GA-1 )

I have been having the Korg GA-30 for about 7 years now and have always been very happy with it. It is ultra compact, very lightweight, can easily slip into any guitar package, case, bag. Also, the first batteries have just worn out, after 7 years. This means, according to factory specifications, that I spent about 100 hours with tuning during the last 7 years :-), I hope this is not the case.

The Korg GA-30's built in mice is really sensitive, I have never had issues when I was tuning any of my guitars without a jack cable. The LCD is of good size, though it does not have a backlight, so tuning on stage, in a semi-dark environment could be a challenge. Also, as with any other similar lcds, the viewing angle is somewhat limited. This could have been easily solved by designing a tilting hold to the back of the case, so that you could make the tuner stand like a travelling alarm clock. Luckily, designers at Korg also spotted this need, and the replacement of the Korg GA30 features the little plastic piece on its back that allows the tuner to stand alone in an angled way.

This Korg tuner has a number of useful features such as the reference sound output, the ability to tune bass guitars, the easily readable, needle-type lcd screen or the extreme option to tune even 7 string guitars. It also switches itself off automatically, so accidental battery draining is not possible with this tuner.

One may easily argue that some important features are missing from it, such as a jack bypass output or faster note detection, but let's be honest here, this tuner costs about 12 EURs these days, so you cannot expect to much at this price level.

Let me have a small remark about how the prices of tuners have changed over the years. About 7 years ago, I bought my Korg GA-30 for approximately 15 EURs, and 15 EURs at that time worthed more than they do now.

Nowadays, it is fairly difficult to purchase the KORG GA-30, though it is still available at some shops. The new, advanced version of the GA30, called Korg GA-40 costs about 15 EURS, and for the three extra euros, you get a bypass jack out option and the tilting hold in the back, in a somewhat less stylish format and black housing.

Even though the Korg GA-40 is available now, GA-30 still lives on under a new name, and bit smaller housing, known as Korg GA-1. It costs about 10 EURs and offers exactly the same features as the Korg GA-30 used to.

Of course, at the end of the day, it is just a tuner, if it tunes properly, it should be fine, everything else should be less important.