I purchased a cheap tuning fork from Asia, hoping to use it to calibrate my iPhone app. The Asian tuning fork was 7.9 cents flat. So I decided to try the Wittner fork offered by Steve Weiss Music. It was absolutely correct. So, I wasted the money for the cheap tuning fork. The one from Steve Weiss is definitely better.
This is a quality fork, I use it while playing timpani in my community symphonic band. Easy to use and is plenty loud when used correctly.
The Wittner tuning fork has been the old standby ever since I started playing timpani over 25 years ago. I was always happy with its durability, volume, and comfort. I didn't understand how great of a tuning fork it really is, til I bought a Planet Waves one (Weiss was temporarily out of stock on the Wittner), which was so uncomfortable and quiet that I nearly chucked it straight into the garbage. A piece of wisdom for younger musicians: your ears are better when you're young! They just are! Our bodies age over time, and our hearing does tend to get a bit worse. If you're smart, buy a Wittner and if you don't lose it or give them away too many times like I have, you'll have your Tuning Fork For Life!
These are good. I don't like my students to use "harmonica" type pitch pipes when tuning timpani. Talking an A and finding the intervals (even at a younger age) pays big dividends for the students in their later musical careers.
