SATs

[EugeniaCar@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-08-05 12:53:18 EDT, Brent.Fischer@asu.edu writes:
<<I am eager to see where it can be of assistance but I have several
questions that have always been unclear.>>

Dear Brent,
Thanks for your response. Let me say up front that I am not an expert on the
SAT. I use it, as do many others, only as one of my basic tools. I find that
the SAT enables me to increase my stability and decrease my tuning time. I
always use my ears as the final determining factor. Hopefully, one day I will
have observed and used Jim Coleman Sr's method of tuning unisions with the
SAT enough that I will trust myself to do likewise. Thus stated, I will try
to answer your questions:

<<Can you record your finest tuning and use it without still having to nudge
treble stretch or make a minute adjustment in the temperment ?

For each concert instrument I service, I have its tuning on its own page.
When I initially stored the tuning in the memory, I changed it almost every
time I subsequently tuned. I might change the partial on a particular note, I
might change the cents slightly more sharp or flat on another note, etc. It
took several months before I finally said--self, it's time to accept what you
have. There are still times today when my ears may hear something else and I
"tweak" the tuning I have in memory. As you know, a lot of our tunings are
not explained, just done. For me, the final result must be a tuning that
satisfies my ear when I play the instrument.

<<Isn't brilliance in the instrument developed by taking the stretch to the
limit without becoming dissonant and harsh?

Without being able to explain why, my answer is yes. My ears tell me when
that limit is reached, bearing in mind all the necessary compromises we make
when we tune. The tuning I have stored in the memory reflects that final
result.

<<Can the SAT measure that point in octave tuning where there is no
discernable change in beat speed but only increase in amplitude because your
at the top of the stretch?

This is one of those questions I am technically unable to answer. Maybe
someone more knowledgeable than I can help us out. Jim Sr recently pointed
out that he is using arpeggios. I too have used arpeggios for many years to
achieve a stretch in the top that is right for my ears. When I initially
store a tuning, I tune to where I want it to be, measure what I've tuned, and
then put it in the memory.

<<The crafting of the tuning I think should come from the mind and heart and
not a circle of red lights.>>

Precisely! I think I finally understand where much of the controversy comes
from. If I am reading your comments correctly, you are not aware that the
tuning in the SAT, measured by stopping the circle of red lights, is
completely changeable to whatever the person using it wants it to be. And
that is the beauty of the SAT. It will give you a generic tuning that in most
cases will be completely acceptable. But for those notes that are not
acceptable, you the tuner have the capability to change it to what your ear
tells you *is* correct. And from what I learned and heard in Dearborn, this
is also the beauty of the Reyburn CyberTuner. Both of these tools can and
will only help the person using them to become a better tuner when they are
used properly. What more can we ask?

Gina