Excellent musicianship requires a good grasp of rhythm and pitch, and thus the metronome and tuner have become excellent tools to help the musician train himself or herself for this purpose. As reiterated in some examples of news regarding various pieces of gear here on Gearwire, simplification has always been the focus for getting the most out of work time or rehearsal time. Therefore, products with multiple functionality such as the TASCAM PT-7 chromatic tuner/trainer are a welcome addition to the set of tools any musician requires.

The TASCAM PT-7 is a unique tool that is a combination of a chromatic tuner, metronome, and recorder. Such functions are ideal for the musician, educator, and student. The PT-7 starts off as a high-speed chromatic tuner that is adjustable to seven scales. This tuner possesses a display that is ideal for students practicing finding their pitch on wind or string instruments. Whether you have a musical idea that you want to capture, listen back to a phrase, or slow down a tricky passage that you wish to learn, the PT-7's built-in mono recorder and internal mic can help you out. These features make the PT-7 the ideal companion for any instrumentalist whether wind or electric guitar player.

Tuner Features:

• High-speed chromatic tuner
• Calibration option
• Oscillator out function
• 8 musical scales (12-note equal temperament, Pythagorean, Mean Tone, Werckmeister III, Kirnberger III, Kellner, Vallotti, Young)
• On-screen display ideal for students' "Pitch Training"

Metronome Features:

• 30-300 bpm metronome
• Internal speaker or headphone output
• Six time signatures (0-7 beats, duplets, triplets, shuffle, quadplets, quadplets without center beats)

Recorder Features:

• Record practice through built-in microphone
• Loop and slow down playback without changing the pitch
• Audio playback with pitch correction
• Quickly capture song ideas or phrases
• 20 minute recording time

General Specifications:

• Internal speaker
• Headphone Output
• Custom Backlit LCD display
• Powered by AA battery or optional PS-P520 adapter
• Flip stand on rear panel
• 5.9" W x 2.5" D x 1.0" H
• 0.33lbs/150g without battery
• Battery life approx. 10 hours (without backlight) / 4 hours (with backlight)

This unique tool combines many features in to one pretty package. The TASCAM PT-7 will be available through dealers by October 2009 and will have a street price estimated at 99.00 USD.