I was a little concerned when I heard that Peterson announced the new VS-II shortly after they started shipping the V-SAM, so I contacted Peterson representative and fellow steel guitar player, John Norris.

He emailed me the following and detailed comparison of the two tuners, which I am posting with his permission.

It appears that for the most versatility, the V-SAM is the tuner of choice for steel guitar players.

Here is John’s email to me:

Dear Sam,

The VS-II will ship around the middle of the month.
I see you´re a steel player so I will first give you the basic differences
and then the diffences regarding steel guitar:
The basic differences are:

Selectable temperament presets:
VS-II=Yes (12) V-SAM=Yes (12)

Selectable temperament roots
VS-II=No V-SAM=Yes (12)

Programmable temperaments
VS-II=Yes (2) V-SAM=Yes (2)

Tone generator
VS-II=Yes (Passive) V-SAM=Yes (active - built-in speaker)

Metronome
VS-II=No V-SAM=Yes

Headphone jack
VS-II=No V-SAM=Yes

Thru jack
VS-II=Yes V-SAM=No

DC Adapter included (100V-240V universal)
VS-II=Yes V-SAM=Yes

Now for the steel guitar feature differences:

1. The Peterson V-SAM Virtual Strobe Audio Metronome -
Features for Steel are as follows:

Just Intoned E9 & C6 tempered tuning presets which are "root adjustable".
That means D9, B6, Universal type tunings etc. are also preset in the tuner.

There are 12 other temperaments in the tuner including GTR & BAS tempered
tunings as well as the common Equal temperament and two user-programmable
tunings for any off-the-wall tunings or to compensate for cabinet drop etc.
There is also a tone generator and a metronome included.

The V-SAM is an input-only tuner (output is purely a headphone jack for
audio tone generator & metronome).

This is the only tuner of its kind in the world, no other tuner has steel
guitar presets. It is the ultimate live/studio tool for the busy musician.

DC Adapter included.

Accuracy: 0.1 cent (compared with +/- 2 cents for other makes)

2. The Peterson VS-II Virtual Strobe Tuner -

This is an updated version of the previous VS-I (Tuner only).

Features for Steel are as follows:

It contains E9 & C6 presets but is not as flexible (no D9, B6 etc.) as it
does not offer the "root" feature, suitable for players who are settled at
regular E9 & C6 setups and just want to tune in JI in-line without having to
adjust anything on a tuner (on all other makes of tuner, the user has to
adjust for each note). The VS-II is also programmable.

DC Adapter included.

Accuracy: 0.1 cent (compared with +/- 2 cents for other makes)

This tuner will be officially released at Summer NAMM in Nashville this
month.

We have also designed a clamp to hold the tuner in position and out of the
way which fits anything from a MSA guitar leg to a mic stand, it will be
available in about a week.

Thank you for your interest in Peterson Strobe Tuners.

Sincerely,

John Norris
Peterson Electro-Musical Products, Inc.
11601 S Mayfield Ave
Alsip, Illinois 60803
708-388-3311
Fax 708-388-3341 www.petersontuners.com www.petersonemp.com
jnorris@petersonemp.com

Check out the new ground-breaking peterson V-SAM! http://www.petersontuners.com/products/modelvsam/index.cfm

Get it all tuned with the peterson TP-1: http://www.petersontuners.com/news/ttopics/results.cfm?this_topic=14

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www.samminnitti.com

However the V-SAM's metronome has many features that I didn't know about and now use - Tap Tempo, Different sound for the one beat, and elapsed time.

My orignal now sits on the shelf.