Peterson 490ST Strobe tuner....good?

[Bradley M. Snook]

Oh, I see, you are not unconvinced about tuning curves in general, just the
ways in which they are currently being calculated. Yes, I completely agree.
Even though I prefer TunLab, I really dislike the way in which it calculates
the inharmonicity constant. After you measure the inharmonicity of a note,
it condenses all that data into a single number. It is this number that is
used to reconstruct where any given partial should be located. I really
think that this is a serious flaw, because where the partial is, and where
the software thinks it is, are almost always slightly different. This
naturally gives a slight difference when one confirms the tuning aurally.

It is often overlooked that it is possible to do a 'perfect' tuning curve
manually if one is willing to invest the multitude of hours. Once every
partial is measured, it is very easy to use a spread sheet to adjust the
tuning curve to what ever you feel is most appropriate. Naturally no one has
the time to spend on every piano, but if there is a piano that you tune
regularly for important concert situations, it might be worth some time. One
more thing: as long as you know the fundamental/partial ratio, you can use
any partial to tune any given note. For example if I know that the 2nd
partial is 2.00271895424837:1 and the 3rd partial is 3.00965728900256:1,
tuning either of these partials will produce the same results for the
fundamental and all the other partials.

> I agree its interesting, but I am not sure I agree with your second point.
To
> be sure there is more information provided. That doesn't at the same time
mean
> that less information is actually being used.

I was trying to say, that software, in general, allows for the utilization
of more information. For example, if you were to measure all the relevant
partials of the piano, software could assist you in the positioning of a
tuning curve based on many different approaches. You could monitor the
progression of 3rds, or whatever kind of interval you think is important.


Bradley M. Snook