E.T.D.

[Ron Koval]

Some random thoughts about the "tuning calculators"

I see three basic types of tuning machines out there.

1.  flat liners: most of the needle-type, along with the basic strobe 
tuners.  These (mostly) will read in equal temperament only and have varying 
precision, listening to the fundamental.  There is no provision for 
inharmonicity and stretch. (Though they can be used for piano work, even a 
cheap one has value for a beginning aural tuner to avoid major blunders in 
the temperament octave.)

2.  Template tuners:  Korg Mt-1200, Yamaha tuner, the new Peterson strobe.  
These tuners have various piano stretches loaded in.  Pretty much a 
crapshoot if the generic curve will fit the piano.  Still of value in piano 
work, used everyday by many, though set-up to read the fundamental only.  
(Not sure about the Yamaha)


3.  Sampling tuners:  SAT, Tunelab, RCT, Verituner.  All have some ablility 
to "listen" to sample notes and extrapolate a tuning, filling in the blanks 
using math. Different partials are chosen to read for different parts of the 
piano.  (Verituner uses many at once)

Here's where it gets interesting.  I've been doing a bunch of inharmonicity 
research.  It's not the upper partials that get wilder, it's the lower ones, 
as you progress down into the wound strings that get unpredictable.  So, 
depending on which partial is chosen to be tuned to a smooth curve, the 
resultant tuning will be different with each machine.  I'm always amazed 
that people say there isn't any difference between the tunings calculated by 
the different machines. In the tests I've done, there are many different 
tuning curves generated by these machines.  Maybe people mean that the end 
result sounds ok using the different gear. (allright, that's something 
different) Using the fundamental only pretty much forces the upper partials 
into a randomized mess, so with the more basic tuners, it's important to 
know how to check the upper partials.

I guess it really comes down to what you expect from a machine.  If you want 
the best tuning possible generated, you'd be best off with a sampling 
machine. With the amound of non-linear partial stuff in the wound strings 
I've been measuring, I'd go with the one that samples the most notes.  If, 
however, you're just looking for something to get the temperament close, get 
a needle tuner (or the new mini-strobe).  Like research?  One of the 
computer-based ones can be informative, with graphs, charts and things.  
Looking for maximum battery life with a proven track record- then go with a 
SAT.

These ramblings help any?

Ron Koval
Chicagoland





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