Kristinn, <<Thatīs why I raised an eyebrow when a colleague of mine told me he tuned only using two mutes. No temperament strip, so when he does the temperament he has to tune all the strings of a given unison, and then tunes the next note.>> The unisons first method probably gives a slightly better tuning because it factors in any pitch changes when two or more strings are sounding together. Most people for whom I tune do not care enough to really appreciate that method, so they get the strip muting, although I usually tune the middle section first and move into the treble and bass using the previously tuned unisons. <<Now, if he has to change a note, (which is quite normal when tuning temperament as you know) he has to tune all the unisons again! He says it doesnīt take more time, that the time of putting the strip in weighs against the time it takes to tune all the strings all the time.>> Strip muting takes only about a minute for the whole piano, and is much quicker for me to tune that way than unisons as I go. I have tuned with only two mutes, but for the reason you have expressed, prefer to mute one of every three in the "temperament" section with a strip, using a single mute to mute the next middle string to be tuned. It seems to be faster than moving two mutes (less hand movement) and you can also change two strings more quickly than all three. I have also found that if you strip mute the treble section (if using the unisons first method), it is faster to just pull out the strip one at a time than to constantly be moving two mutes. You still tune unisons as you go, just without using rubber mutes. Ditto for the bass. One other thing I noticed.... It seems to be easier for me to hear the best place for the upper octave note when the lower octave unisons are all tuned and sounding together. Anyone else noticed this, or is it just me? John Formsma Blue Mountain, MS
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