Strip mute or not?

[Ted Simmons]

I guess there has always been a controversy on whether to strip mute or
not.  If a piano is at pitch at A-440 I don't bother strip muting.
Otherwise I do.  I once went to visit a tuner friend and interrupted him
while tuning his piano with a SAT.  He used a Papps mute throughout.  I had
just bought my SAT and hadn't yet used it, so I asked him if I could watch
and see how he uses it.  He tuned the left string with the SAT, then the
right string with the SAT, then the center string with the SAT.  Never once
did any checks.  He finished tuning the piano and invited me to check it
out.  I did and it was horrible.  Like I said I came in the middle of it
and don't know how flat it was to start with, but I was obviously skeptical
about the method he used.  I'd like to hear from Jim Coleman, Sr. on this.
Jim, are you there?  Also, is it advisable to start tuning from A0?  Where
are the checks?

>    "To strip mute or not to strip mute?  That is the question."
>
>    When you're using your SAT how many of you strip mute the entire piano?
>    or any portion of it?
>
>   i have found that starting at A0, and tuning unisons as I go, the piano
>is more stable (closer to where you want it when finished) when I finish
>a pitch raise, and for that matter, the final tuning.  I used to
>strip mute when I first learned about it in the late '70's, but there
>was an old-timer in our area who always said that he thought tuning unisons as
>you go was better. I have found that to be true.
>
>vince mrykalo  rpt
>byu provo utah