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. A global default threshold for all panels can be set in Settings → Detection Sensitivity, with per-panel fine-tuning available at any time.

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.

Stroboscope Visualization

OverTune includes a stroboscopic tuning display — a classic technique used by professional tuners, now brought to your screen as a live animated background in the needle gauge.

When enabled, an animated pattern fills the upper half of each gauge. The pattern scrolls continuously, with its speed directly tied to how far off pitch you are:

Stationary — perfectly in tune (0 cents deviation)
Slow scroll — close to the target (within 5 cents), shown in green
Moderate scroll — approaching the target (within 20 cents), shown in yellow
Fast scroll — significantly off pitch, shown in red

The pattern stops entirely when no audio signal is detected, saving battery.

Two pattern styles are available in Settings:

Chevron — Repeating V-shaped bands that create a classic strobe effect
Sine Wave — Smooth curved bands for a softer, flowing appearance
Square — Hard-edged alternating blocks for the most striking on/off strobe effect

The stroboscope is optional and off by default. Enable it in Settings under the Stroboscope section, where you can also select your preferred pattern style.

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 graph plots your detected pitch continuously, showing how it moves relative to your target note. Four direction modes are available in Settings:

Left → Right — The classic rolling-paper view. Time moves left to right, most recent reading at the left edge. Covers ±2 semitones from center, with note names labeled on the left side.
Right → Left — Same ±2 semitone range, time flowing in the opposite direction.
Top → Bottom — Time flows downward, most recent reading at the top. Covers a wider ±6 semitones from center, with note names and octave numbers labeled across the top edge.
Bottom → Top — Same ±6 semitone range, time flowing upward.

Grid lines at semitone boundaries give context in all modes, and a subtle green highlight marks the in-tune zone at the 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.

Custom Presets

Build your own note sets and save them as named presets alongside the built-in library. Tap the + button in the Custom Presets section of the Instruments panel to create a new preset — pick any notes from C1 to B7, give it a name, and save.

Swipe left on any custom preset to Edit or Delete it. Swipe right to Duplicate it. Use the reorder button at the top of the section to drag presets into your preferred order.

Free tier supports up to 2 custom presets. An active subscription removes this limit.

Tuning Temperament

Equal temperament is the standard tuning system used on modern keyboards and fretted instruments — but it is a mathematical compromise. Many acoustic instruments, and especially handpans, can be tuned to historically accurate systems that produce purer, more resonant intervals.

When an instrument preset is active, OverTune lets you switch the reference system used for cent deviation calculations. Choose from four options in Settings:

Equal (12-TET) — The default. All semitones are equal. Cent readings match what every standard tuner shows.
Just Intonation — Based on pure integer frequency ratios (3:2 perfect fifth, 5:4 major third, etc.). The most natural-sounding system for a single key. Perfect for handpan builders targeting pure harmonic relationships between the Doum, Tak, and compound fifth.
Pythagorean — Derived from a chain of pure 3:2 fifths. Produces perfectly resonant fifths at the expense of slightly wider major thirds. Used in early music and plainchant traditions.
Meantone (¼-comma) — Narrows each fifth slightly to produce pure 5:4 major thirds. The preferred tuning system for Renaissance and Baroque keyboard music.
Custom — Define your own cent offset for each of the 12 semitones from the root note. Adjust each interval independently in steps of 0.5 cents, from −50¢ to +50¢.

All cent readings in every panel update instantly when you change temperament. The reference system is relative to the active preset’s root note — so D Just Intonation uses D as the 1:1 unison reference.

In chromatic mode (no preset active), the picker is visible in Settings but disabled, and OverTune falls back to equal temperament.

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 while your finger is down. For continuous playback, double-tap the icon to lock the tone on — the icon turns green to confirm. Double-tap again to stop. Selecting a different note stops all tones automatically. 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.

Landscape Orientation

Rotate your device sideways and OverTune adapts automatically. In landscape mode:

The three tuning panels sit side by side, each taking one third of the screen width
The note selector moves to a vertical sidebar on the right, with the instrument button at the top and the focus toggle at the bottom
Each panel’s readouts (detected note, frequency, and cents) shift to a compact row above the full-width needle gauge, maximising the space available for the spectrum and history graph

Portrait and landscape layouts switch seamlessly as you rotate the device — no restart required.

Panel Order

Prefer to see the Compound Fifth at the top, or the Octave first? Drag and drop the panels into any sequence in Settings → Panel Order. The order is saved between sessions.

Built for iPhone and iPad

OverTune runs natively on both iPhone and iPad, in both portrait and landscape orientations. 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.

Privacy Policy

OverTune does not collect, store, or share any personal data. Ever.

Microphone Access

OverTune requires microphone access to analyze audio in real time. All audio processing happens entirely on your device — no recordings are made, no audio data is stored, and nothing is transmitted anywhere. The microphone is active only while the app is open and in the foreground, and is used exclusively for frequency analysis.

Settings and Preferences

App settings — such as your reference pitch, notation preference, last selected note, instrument preset, and display options — are stored locally on your device using iOS standard storage (UserDefaults). This data never leaves your device and is not accessible to anyone other than you.

Subscriptions

In-app subscription purchases are processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. OverTune has no access to your payment information, Apple ID, or any account details. All billing and subscription management is handled by Apple. Apple’s Privacy Policy applies to all App Store transactions.

Analytics and Tracking

OverTune contains no third-party analytics SDKs, advertising networks, or tracking code of any kind. App Store Connect provides Apple’s standard aggregate analytics — download counts, crash reports, and anonymised usage metrics — which are made available to the developer by Apple. No individual user data is collected or identifiable through these reports.

Data Sharing

OverTune does not share any data with third parties. This is straightforward because no user data is collected in the first place.

Children’s Privacy

OverTune does not knowingly collect any information from children under the age of 13 or any other user. The app has no accounts, no sign-in, and no data submission of any kind.

Changes to This Policy

If OverTune’s privacy practices ever change, this page will be updated. Given the app’s architecture — no server, no accounts, no third-party SDKs — significant changes are unlikely.

Contact

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or OverTune’s data practices, please contact: mishte.hp@gmail.com

Last updated: April 2026

Mishte instruments