Own the Stage with an Acoustic Guitar Auto Tuner That Reads Every Cent — Powered by Arduino Mega and Real-Time FFT

Every part needed, pre-tested for compatibility, with an AI build companion trained on this exact project. Shipped from Bengaluru in 3-5 days.

Pick up your acoustic guitar, pluck any string, and watch the note appear on a bright LCD with its exact tuning error in cents — all from a standalone box you assembled yourself. This kit takes the iconic MAX9814 microphone amplifier, the computational muscle of the Arduino Mega 2560, and a carefully tuned ArduinoFFT library to create a pitch-detection instrument that would cost several times more as a commercial unit. Whether you layer it into a live performance rig or submit it as a semester project in digital signal processing, you’re building a real-time audio analyzer that turns sound into actionable data.

What You'll Build

You’ll solder and wire a self-contained tuner that listens to your acoustic guitar through the MAX9814’s gain‑controlled preamp, samples the waveform at high speed, transforms it into a frequency spectrum using a 256‑point FFT, and identifies the fundamental musical note. The 16x2 LCD displays the note name (E, A, D, G, B, e) and a bar showing cents deviation from perfect pitch — no computer, no smartphone. Two tactile buttons let you recalibrate or cycle through reference pitches.

What You'll Learn

• Execute efficient Fast Fourier Transforms on a Mega 2560 and isolate the fundamental frequency of a plucked string
• Condition and level‑shift a high‑impedance electret signal using the MAX9814’s automatic gain control
• Render real‑time pitch and cent‑deviation graphics on an I2C‑backed 16x2 character LCD
• Debug a full embedded audio pipeline — from analog capture to spectral binning to musical note mapping

Kit Contents

Why Buy This Kit Instead of Sourcing Parts Separately

Who This Kit Is For

B.Tech ECE or EEE students hunting for a DSP-heavy mini or capstone project that demonstrates real-time audio processing and embedded C. Makers at IITs, NITs, VIT, BITS Pilani, and other engineering colleges who need a polished demo for Smart India Hackathon or departmental showcases. Music technology enthusiasts who want to understand spectral analysis from the silicon up, and gigging guitarists keen on a custom tuner that matches their pedalboard aesthetic.

Built and Backed by Compoden

Every Compoden kit ships with an AI build companion trained on this exact project — accessible via a QR code on the box, with WhatsApp and email backup. We've spent 10 years building projects for makers, schools, and institutions across India. If a part fails because of a manufacturing defect, replace it free within 7 days.

Choose your assembly option:

• Soldering Kit — 25W soldering iron, 60/40 solder wire, flux, and small perfboard for permanent assembly.
• Breadboard Combo — 800-point full-size breadboard with 65-piece jumper wire pack for solderless prototyping.