Behringer Racktuner BTR2000 User Manual

RACKTUNER BTR2000 User Manual

1.  Connect your instrument to an input of the BTR2000. You can 

also use the built-in microphone (select INPUT 2 and press the 

MUTE button).

2.  Depress the TRANSPOSE/REF button for at least two seconds. 

The display shows the frequency currently set for the standard 

“A” and the ≠ 440 light flashes above the TRANSPOSE/REF 

button during the entire process.

3.  Turn the frequency all the way down (to the left) with the 

wheel. After the lowest possible frequency for the standard “A” 

(428 Hz), auT appears on the display, automatic calibration is 

activated and the unit waits for an input frequency.

4.  Play a note. The display shows the name of the note closest to 

the one you played. The LED bar indicates the deviation from the 

displayed note. If this is unsatisfactory, you can play the note 

again. You can cancel the calibration by pressing and holding 

the TRANSPOSE/REF button.

5.  If the note is satisfactory and the display in the LED bar is stable, 

you must briefly press the TRANSPOSE/REF button. The BTR2000 

stores a standard “A” pitch that is attuned to the note you 

played. The frequency of this “A” is displayed.

6.  The calibration is completed by pressing and holding the 

TRANSPOSE/REF button. If you do not hold the button long 

enough, the calibration process restarts. 

7.  If the pitch of the standard “A” is other than 440 Hz, 

the ≠ 440 LED above the TRANSPOSE/REF button lights up.

In order to change the frequency of a stored standard “A,” press the 

TRANSPOSE/REF button for at least one second and adjust the 

frequency using the wheel.

For certain applications, it may be useful to shift the tuning of the 

instrument by a few half-tones. 
Easier interplay with other instruments
Say a song needs to have brass accompaniment. While pieces in a flat 

key (such as F major (1 flat), B flat major (2 flats) and C minor (3 flats)) 

are especially well suited to brass, many guitarists and bassists are 

not very comfortable playing in these keys. There are several options 

for playing such pieces:

The guitarist and bassist play the complicated fingerings of the 

flat keys.

These two players’ instruments are tuned (transposed) so that the 

easier fingerings of a different key (e.g. C major or G major) can be 

used to produce the correct chords in the actual key of the piece.

Achieve a specific sound
With a different tuning, the tension on the strings is different. 

This change creates different overtones when the strings are played, 

giving the instrument a different sound.
The BTR2000 lets you complete such a transposition easily 

and accurately.
1.  Briefly press the TRANSPOSE/REF button. The TRANSP light 

flashes and the display shows the trans position currently set 
(0, if no transposition is set).

2.  Turn the wheel to transpose up to 7 half-tones higher or lower. 

The display indicates the number of half-tones by which a non-

transposed instrument is too high (1, 2, ..., 7) or too low  

(-1, -2, ..., -7), when compared with the BTR2000 transposition.

3.  You can exit this menu by pressing the TRANSPOSE/REF 

button again.

4.  When a transposition is set, the TRANSP LED above the 

TRANSPOSE/REF button lights up.

Example
A piece should be played in F major. This key has 1 flat, and thus it has 

several complex fingerings. You want to retune the guitar so that you 

can use G major fingerings to play F major chords. To do this, you must 

transpose the instrument down 2 half-tones.

To set the transposition, briefly press the TRANSPOSE/REF button. 

The display still shows the number 0 (no transposition set).

Turn the wheel so that the display shows the number 2 

(2 half-tones higher). Now your instrument is tuned 2 half-tones 

above the tuner and must be tuned down.

Select a tuner mode (chapter 4.2) and tune all strings of your 

instrument as described in chapter 4.1.

When the tuning process is finished, the fingering for a G major 

chord plays an F major chord.

To turn off the transposition, press the TRANSPOSE/REF button and 

turn the wheel until the display indicates a transposition up/down or 
0

. The TRANSP light goes out.

The topic of “tempering” is a very interesting and extensive one. It has 

been much studied scientifically and this knowledge gives you many 

ways to work with the specific characteristics of your instrument and 

individual pieces.
This topic can only be touched upon here. You can find 

more exciting information about this at our website at 

behringer.de (behringer.com).
Equal tempering
The pre-set tuner modes of the BTR2000 are all based on an equal 

tempering. This means that only the octave interval is exactly 

right (frequency doubling); to generate other intervals, the octave 

is divided into 12 equal half steps, which make up the individual 

intervals (e.g. a fourth = 5 half steps). However, the resulting 

intervals do not correspond entirely to the ideal intervals 

(intervals of a natural scale); each interval is slightly out of tune. 

At any rate, these deviations are barely audible and are thus not 

perceived as dissonant.
This type of tuning is nevertheless a compromise, but it enables all 

keys to be played with just one tuning.