LochTone Support

LochTone is a tuner and metronome designed specifically for Highland bagpipers. It understands the unique intervals and frequency range of the Great Highland Bagpipe, so every note target is meaningful — not just a generic chromatic pitch.

iPhone (iOS 17+), iPad, and Apple Watch. The Watch app is a companion that provides haptic beat feedback from the metronome.

Yes. The built-in Practice Chanter 235Hz preset is tuned for typical practice chanters (~230 Hz Low A) and disables drone notes, since practice chanters don't have them.

Tap the microphone button on the Tuner screen. LochTone will listen for your instrument and display each detected note with its deviation from the target tuning. Green means in tune; blue means flat; orange means sharp.

LochTone processes audio in real time to detect pitch. All audio stays on your device — nothing is recorded, stored, or transmitted.

It controls how many cents of deviation are considered acceptable (shown as the green zone on each note's slider). A wider zone (7–10 cents) is forgiving for practice; a tighter zone (3–5 cents) is better for competition preparation.

To save battery. The tuner times out after 5 minutes of listening. Tap the microphone button again to restart.

Each note row has a target button (the crosshair icon on the left). Tapping it locks the tuner's attention to that note — when a detected pitch could match more than one note (for example, a drone and a chanter note at the same frequency), focus ensures the reading goes to the note you care about. Tap it again to unlock. This is especially useful when tuning drones, where the bass and tenor frequencies overlap with chanter notes.

Yes. Tap the speaker icon next to any note to hear its target frequency through your device speaker or headphones.

This feature listens to your instrument's Low A through the microphone and measures its actual frequency over several seconds. The result can be saved as your reference pitch, so all other note targets adjust to match your specific instrument.

A preset is a complete tuning configuration: reference pitch (Low A frequency), note ratios (temperament), in-tune threshold, and drone display. Switching presets applies all of these settings in one tap.

• Standard Highland 476Hz — common solo piping pitch
• Competition 482Hz — tight tolerance for competition
• Concert Pitch 440Hz — equal temperament, standard orchestral reference
• Bb Chanter 466Hz — Bb practice/band chanter
• Practice Chanter 235Hz — low-pitch practice chanter, drones disabled

Yes. Tap "New from Current" in the preset sheet. You can also duplicate any existing preset (including built-ins) and edit the copy.

When editing a preset, this button appears if the tuner has measured at least one note. It takes your measured note frequencies and sets them as the new target ratios for that preset. This is useful for a pipe major who wants to capture a specific chanter's tuning and distribute it to the band.

Tap the ellipsis menu on any preset and choose "Share." This sends a link that other LochTone users can tap to import the preset. The link contains only tuning parameters — no personal information.

LochTone automatically renames it (e.g. "Band Tuning" becomes "Band Tuning (2)") and shows you the new name before you confirm the import.

Highland bagpipes don't use equal temperament. The chanter produces a Mixolydian scale with intervals that differ from the piano. LochTone's default "Standard Highland" profile uses the traditional just-intonation ratios that pipers expect.

Yes. In the preset editor under Temperament, tap "Equal Temperament." The Concert Pitch 440Hz preset also uses equal temperament.

Yes. In the preset editor, tap "Edit Ratios" to adjust each note's frequency ratio or target Hz individually. This is useful for matching a specific chanter's characteristics or a band's agreed temperament.

None (no accented first beat), 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8. Each time signature has multiple rhythm patterns (quarter notes, eighths, triplets, sixteenths, swing, etc.).

It plays four beats with no accented first beat — useful when you want a steady click without downbeat emphasis.

When enabled, the metronome continues playing when you switch to another app or lock your screen. When disabled, the metronome stops when the app goes to the background.

The metronome automatically stops after a set time (1–15 minutes) to prevent battery drain if you walk away. A countdown warning appears before it stops.

Tap the "Tap" button at least three times at your desired tempo. LochTone calculates the average interval and sets the BPM accordingly.

The Watch companion app provides haptic (vibration) beat feedback on your wrist, synchronized to the phone's metronome. This is especially useful for pipers, since the instrument's volume makes it difficult to hear a click metronome. Note that fast notes are a challenge for the Watch's hardware — only slower tempos are supported reliably.

Install the LochTone Watch app on your Apple Watch from the iPhone's Watch app. Open both apps — they connect automatically via Bluetooth.

Yes. The Watch displays the current BPM and has start/stop and BPM adjustment buttons that control the phone's metronome.

Yes. In the metronome controls, tap "Watch Haptics" to choose different vibration types for strong, medium, weak, and ghost beats. You can also enable subdivision haptics for faster patterns.

This means your current BPM and pattern produce subdivisions faster than the Watch can reliably deliver haptics (under 250 ms apart). The Watch will still tap on main beats but skips subdivisions to avoid unreliable timing.

1. Turn on Prominent Haptic in Watch Settings > Sounds & Haptics
2. Lower the Alert Volume to minimize the brief chime that accompanies each haptic tap

Yes. Open the About screen and use the Appearance picker. Choose System (follows your device setting), Light, or Dark. The default is System.

No. LochTone does not collect, store, transmit, or share any personal data. There are no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, and no network requests.

No. Audio is processed in real time on your device for pitch detection only. It is never recorded, saved, or sent anywhere.

Locally on your device. Settings are included in standard iCloud/iTunes device backups if you have those enabled, but are never sent to any external server.

Open the About screen (info button on the Tuner tab) and tap "Factory Reset." This erases all presets and settings (including appearance mode) and cannot be undone.

• Make sure microphone permission is granted (Settings > LochTone > Microphone)
• Move the microphone closer to the instrument
• Ensure no other app is using the microphone
• The tuner works best with a single sustained note — avoid playing multiple notes quickly.

Enable "Play in background" in the metronome controls. This allows audio to continue when the app is not in the foreground.

LochTone automatically recovers from audio route changes. If audio doesn't resume, tap the listen or play button to restart.

• Ensure both apps are open (LochTone on iPhone, the LochTone Watch app on Apple Watch)
• Check that Bluetooth is enabled on both devices
• The Watch may take a few seconds to connect after opening the app
• If previously paired and now showing "No Watch," try reopening the Watch app

Presets include a temperament profile name. If the imported preset references a profile that doesn't exist on your device, it may fall back to Standard Highland. The note ratios themselves are always preserved.