Strip muting problem

[Brad Smith]

>Hi Brad,
>    I believe firmly in finishing unisons as I go instead of strip
>muting and tuning octaves first for the following reasons:
>1. Every check test becomes a test for the unisons also.
>2. I cannot lie to myself about a unison being good if it's not when I'm
>finished with it and get away with that.  This is because I will be
>tuning and testing off of it later in the tuning.
>3. Compounding of errors is mimimized, and can be used to the advantage
>of the temperament.  Example would be if a fourth is .5 cents too wide,
>that may be an acceptable error by itself, but add a unison with a .5
>spread and you could have a 1 cent error. The temperament is thus
>considered with its finished unisons (i.e. unisons can also be used to
>improve that wide fourth)  Unisons will uncover peculiarities with the
>temperament that are otherwised unnoticed.  It's good to find these
>things right away before you build a whole pianos tuning on a crooked
>foundation.
>4. ETD tuners tell me that a finished unison can show a slightly
>different pitch that of the three strings tested alone.  The final total
>sound of the unison is what counts, not the individual strings.
>5. False beats can be made to cancel each other out which may require
>fudging.  This must be done while also considering the affect on
>temperament.
>6. Choose which ever string to tune first of a unison,  If one is false,
>try a different one.
>7. Finishing unisons provides additional test blows and other stresses
>to the temperament octave early on in the process, which strengthens the
>foundation for the entire tuning. Because I have a finished area, it is
>a foundation for the rest of the tuning.
>8. I am always working with a finished product so I can better gauge my
>time and get a better feel for the kind of results the piano will
>allow.  Finished unisons gives me a clear picture of how much stetch and
>fudging I can really get away with.  If I end up running low on time, it
>is the extreme ranges of the piano that will suffer which I view as less
>important.- I expect flack on this one!
>9.  Temperament strips add tension to the piano and to those who use
>them, please depress the damper pedal, or damper felts will be
>distroyed.
>10.  The best overall test is the sound of the double octaves when the
>piano is finished and I am conviced I get a better and clearer tuning
>with more consistency of sound finishing unisons as I go.
>
>-Mike Jorgensen RPT
>A devout unisonist.


Thankyou Mike,
I will change my procedure based on your great information! It makes good
sense to
me, especially creating a stronger foundation by the added test blows to
already tuned
strings. Thanks for taking the time to detail your thoughts for us.

Brad Smith, RPT
Manchester, NH