OverTune
OverTune — Precision Overtone Tuner
The Tuner That Hears What Others Miss
OverTune is a professional-grade chromatic tuner for iOS that goes beyond simple pitch detection. Built for musicians who demand accuracy, OverTune performs real-time spectral analysis across three independent frequency panels — letting you see your fundamental, octave, and compound fifth overtones all at once.
Whether you’re tuning a handpan, guitar, violin, or any acoustic instrument, OverTune gives you the precision and visual feedback to achieve perfect intonation every time.
Three-Panel Overtone Analysis
Most tuners show you a single detected pitch. OverTune shows you the full picture.
Three independent tuning panels analyze your sound simultaneously:
- Fundamental — The base pitch of your note
- Octave — The second harmonic, one octave above
- Compound Fifth — The third harmonic, a perfect twelfth above the fundamental
Each panel has its own frequency spectrum, needle gauge, and note history graph. Select any note from C1 to B7, and all three panels configure automatically with the correct frequency ranges for that note’s overtone series.
This is especially valuable for handpan builders and tuners, where getting the fundamental, octave, and compound fifth in precise alignment is essential for a rich, balanced tone.
Real-Time Spectral Analysis
OverTune uses FFT-based (Fast Fourier Transform) spectral analysis with sub-bin accuracy for frequency detection that goes well beyond what standard tuners offer.
Each panel displays a live logarithmic frequency spectrum showing the energy distribution across the frequency range. You can see exactly where your sound’s energy is concentrated — not just the strongest peak, but the full spectral shape.
Adjustable detection range — Drag the green teardrop anchors at the top of each spectrum to narrow or widen the frequency window. This lets you isolate the exact harmonic you want to tune, ignoring interference from other overtones or ambient noise.
Amplitude threshold — Use the orange slider on the right side of each spectrum to set a noise floor. Only peaks above this threshold are detected, filtering out background noise and giving you clean, reliable readings.
Needle Gauge with Cent Deviation
Each panel features a precision needle gauge showing your tuning accuracy in cents — the musician’s standard unit for fine pitch measurement.
- The gauge spans ±50 cents with tick marks every 10 cents
- A bright green zone at center marks the sweet spot: within 5 cents of perfect pitch
- The needle’s base indicator changes color as you approach the target: green when in-tune, yellow when close, and red when far off
- Smooth spring animation provides natural, responsive needle movement
Alongside the gauge, you’ll see the detected note name, exact frequency in Hz, and cent deviation — all updating in real time.
Note History Graph
Tuning is not just about hitting the right pitch — it’s about holding it there. The note history graph gives you a visual record of your tuning stability over time.
The rolling graph plots your detected pitch continuously, showing how it moves relative to your target note. Grid lines at semitone intervals give you context, and the entire graph spans a range of ±2 semitones from center.
Use this to see whether your instrument’s pitch is stable, drifting, or oscillating — essential information for fine-tuning adjustments.
Focus Modes
Switch between two spectrum display modes to match your tuning workflow:
- Narrow — Shows a wide frequency range around each target note, useful for initial tuning and finding the right harmonic
- Tight — Zooms in to just ±2 semitones from each target, giving you maximum resolution for fine-tuning
Toggle between modes with a single tap using the focus button next to the note selector.
Instrument Presets
OverTune includes an extensive library of instrument presets to speed up your workflow:
Handpan Scales
21 popular handpan scale layouts including Kurd, Celtic Minor, Integral, Pygmy, Hijaz, Amara, Akebono, and many more. Select any root note and scale pattern to instantly filter the note selector to just the notes in that scale.
Musical Scales
20 scales across three categories:
- Basic — Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Minor, Blues
- Modes — Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian, Whole Tone, Chromatic
- World — Hijaz, Akebono, Hungarian Minor, Arabic, Persian, Japanese
Select any root note and scale type to see all matching notes across the full range.
String Instruments
13 common string instrument tunings ready to use:
- Guitar: Standard, Drop D, Open D, Open G, DADGAD, Half-Step Down
- Bass: 4-String, 5-String
- Ukulele, Violin, Cello, Mandolin, Banjo
When a preset is active, the note selector shows only the relevant notes, and the current instrument name appears under the app title for quick reference. Tap the close button to return to full chromatic mode at any time.
Reference Tone Playback
Need to hear what perfect pitch sounds like? Each spectrum panel has a speaker button that plays a pure sine wave reference tone at the target frequency for that panel.
Press and hold the speaker icon to hear the tone. Release to stop. Each panel plays the correct frequency for its overtone — fundamental, octave, or compound fifth — so you can train your ear or use it as a drone reference while tuning.
Configurable Reference Pitch
Not every ensemble tunes to A4 = 440 Hz. OverTune lets you set your reference pitch anywhere from 400 Hz to 480 Hz, covering everything from baroque tuning (415 Hz) to modern orchestral pitch and beyond.
All frequency calculations, note detection, and reference tones adjust automatically to your chosen reference.
Sharp and Flat Notation
Switch between sharp (♯) and flat (♭) notation with a single tap in Settings. All note names throughout the app update instantly — in the note selector, spectrum readouts, history graph labels, and instrument presets.
When you select an instrument preset with a flat-oriented root note (like E♭, A♭, or B♭), the notation automatically switches to flats. Sharp-oriented roots (like C♯ or F♯) switch to sharps.
Appearance
OverTune adapts to your environment. Choose from:
- System — Follows your device’s light or dark mode setting
- Light — Always light background
- Dark — Always dark background for low-light environments
Startup Hints
First time using OverTune? A series of helpful hints walks you through every feature — from adjusting frequency ranges to using focus modes and instrument presets. Browse through them at your own pace, and access them again anytime from Settings.
Built for iPhone and iPad
OverTune runs natively on both iPhone and iPad with an optimized layout for each. On iPad, the note selector and controls scale up for comfortable use on the larger screen. The same three-panel layout ensures a consistent experience across all your devices.
No Ads. No Tracking. Pure Tuning.
OverTune is built with zero third-party dependencies — no analytics SDKs, no ad frameworks, no tracking code. Just pure Apple frameworks for the fastest, most private tuning experience possible.
OverTune is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
