OK! I enjoy aural tuning, too. Especially on pianos that lend themselves to this process and have the resultant outcome. Pleasing interplay of intervals, as you described. But, due to time constraints and the previously mentioned stress reduction reasons, I do not enjoy setting temperaments, stretching octaves, tweaking and etc on the average home furniture called a piano. Nor do I enjoy the aural process on practice room verticals and some small grands. Just as technology has allowed the cardiologist to gain more usable information with "gadgets" I am sure he/she enjoys listening to the heart with the traditional and old fashioned stethoscope. Aural tuning only, is a luxury that I simply can not afford. Yes, I can do it and enjoy the process. ETD's can get one so close that one a concert tuning one can "tweak" if need be...then sit back a listen to the interplay. Five or so years ago I experienced listening and comparing my aural tuning and then and ETD (Verituner) on an older Kimball grand that I service two to three times a year. In about half the time with the ETD I had a tuning that, I have to admit, was every bit as pleasing (maybe not quite the same character) as my aural tuning. Now, the tuning is saved and since I tune this piano fairly frequently I am quite happy to use the ETD and be on my merry way to the next piano. BTW, I use digital photography. I got out of the darkroom a long time ago, although I still enjoy processing my own film and making prints on real photographic paper. Happy tuning! Henry Nicolaides Southern Illinois University To: caut at ptg.org Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:18:01 -0400 From: tnrwim at aol.com Subject: Re: [CAUT] [SPAM] Re: using as ETD, was Re: Too tall!!?? I very much enjoy setting a temperament, then tweaking it to make it sound the very best I can. I like your wording, "interplay of intervals." I like tuning octaves and unisons and the checks used in octave tuning. I like what the piano sounds like when I'm finished. Susan and Ed This is where I think you two might have the wrong impression of what an ETD can do for you. First of all, as has been cited, for a pitch raise, these things are invaluable. Using the the machine leaves the piano almost exactly on pitch, (if you do it right). On a regular tuning, using an ETD puts 99% of the piano right where it should be. What is left, is exactly what you like to do. You can interplay with all the intervals, and I would go out on a limb and say that it actually allow you to be an even better tuning than you are now. I use my SAT to tune the whole piano. Then I turn it off, and tune the whole piano again, aurally. I tweak every interval. When I get done, I really like the piano when I'm finished, because I've put my personal touch to it. As far as the blinking lights are concerned, well, yes, Susan, I guess they can be a little bit of a distraction. But, as you said, to each his/her own. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Elwood Doss <edoss at utm.edu> To: caut at ptg.org Sent: Sun, Apr 11, 2010 5:50 pm Subject: Re: [CAUT] [SPAM] Re: using as ETD, was Re: Too tall!!?? Hi Susan, I'm with you all the way. It amazes me how many technicians who use the ETDs try to convince us aural tuners how wonderful they are. I tune aurally because I want to. Not because I'm afraid of technology, Wim. Its because I am enthralled with being able to begin with one pitch and tune the whole piano just using my ears and my intellect. I very much enjoy setting a temperament, then tweaking it to make it sound the very best I can. I like your wording, "interplay of intervals." I like tuning octaves and unisons and the checks used in octave tuning. I like what the piano sounds like when I'm finished. I don't care whether it's a Steinway D used on a concert stage or a Henry F. Miller spinet that is to be played by a beginning piano student. I put just as much effort in tuning one as the other. I like to listen to the finished product and realize that, starting from a single pitch source, I tuned that. Me...just me. No ETD, just me. If I started tuning at A1 and tuned up the chromatic scales to C88 using an ETD, then this shear joy would become work...drudgery...I don't care how fast I could tune it or how "relaxed" I might be at the end of the day. I'm sure there are plenty of piano technicians out there just like us, Susan. May our tribe increase! Oh, and Wim, am I afraid of technology? Well, let's see, I use a Sanderson Accu-Fork to get my A=440 pitch and to check how sharp or flat the piano is. Keeps me from having to have 3 hands. Nice technology! Joy! Elwood Elwood Doss, Jr., M.Mus.Ed., RPT Piano Technician/Technical Director Department of Music 355 Clement Hall The University of Tennessee at Martin Martin, TN 38238 731/881-1852 FAX: 731/881-7415 HOME: 731/587-5700 -----Original Message----- From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Susan Kline Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 11:59 PM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: [SPAM] Re: [CAUT] using as ETD, was Re: Too tall!!?? Importance: Low To each his own, Wim. It's true I haven't tried using an ETD myself, but I've watched tuning with one. It didn't look tempting to me. And I hate blinky lights and twitching little readouts. I sometimes even turn off overhead fluorescent lights because they bother me. But mainly, I like the direct contact with the piano, and the interplay of intervals. I just like the sounds. Anyway, enjoy your SAT IV. Susan _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. 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