OK here it is 4PM on Monday and I will try to put it all together. First of all, after I posted last night that all had glowing things to say about the business practices of D.R. I got one reply that had a past difficulty, still unresolved but not with the RCT program. I got a total of 10 responses. I will try to sum up each of them after this. No one claimed to be using the RCT with the 66Mgz. Mac and also no one else up into the 166Mgz range. All agree that the more RAM the better even at the expense of clock speed if dollars are at stake. Many said to buy a Mac from other sources and buy the program separately to save money. Everyone had good things to say about Apple factory service and not to use local service vendors. IT IS NOT CLEAR JUST WHO WAS USING THE ORIGINAL RCT-1 OR RCT-2 PROGRAMS SO SOME THINGS MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM ONE VERSION TO THE BETTER IN THE SECOND. Most agree that the person using the device is more important than which device is used. Good tool-lousy worker -poor job. good tool- fine worker-fine job. Most who used a SAT first, use it for a backup. Descriptions as crystal clear, high resolution, rock solid spinner, ability to work fine on tenor area of small pianos abound. Ability to keep client record on tuner a plus. The fact that the RCT collects more raw data to calculate the tuning should make it more suitable for all pianos. In RAM , all had at least 16 megs up to 40 or more and complained that OS-8 is RAM hungry. Person would not recommend anything under 100Mgz because of other user requirements, other programs in memory. Not many problems to speak of on wear and tear. Everyone backs up their data either on floppies or another HD or computer. Everyone said get the most RAM, hard drive and fastest speed you can afford. The private list server RCT puts you on is under used but helpful. Most claim to be comfortable with use after just one tuning if used an SAT before and quick learning curve for aural tuners. Almost everyone who responded used a different model MAC so it is difficult to tell if there might be problems due to model of computer or the program itself. Some used a monochrome display and had no reservations about it not being color although if color is gotten, make sure it is active matrix, not dual scan color. The color screen makes you more impressive for your clients who watch you tune. NO ONE HAD ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT SLOWNESS OF AUTOMATIC NOTE CHANGING, ALTHOUGH NO ONE HAD THE 66 Mgz MACHINE. One fellow does all his record keeping on paper and does not use computer database for any of it. Some recommended getting the program to run the clone Win/95 although it takes a lot more disk and memory space and backing up data on your PC at home. Most brought their SAT with them for a few days and then left it at home. One used the quick start manual to get started, tuned for a few weeks, and then read the manual. One person complained about the perceived difficulty of reading the screen for extreme accuracy. Person also did not like the packaged Claris Works because of having to relearn programs on a different machine. One fellow suggested trying TuneLab97 that will run on a PC. I downloaded it for free ( program costs $40) and demoed it and it looks interesting although no bell and whistles but the price is right. If you don't have a PC notebook you still have to buy another machine to take with you. Most bought their MAC new or near new. The pitch raise or lower program was harder to use than the SAT program according to one user. One person did not like the docking port being unique and advised to get one without a docking port.. He also said that the MAC 2300 was too slow to run softwindows 95 and had upgraded to 56 MEGs and it is now adequate. Most agree that a slow note advance would be agonizing to live with. He gets about 2 hours per charge and carries a spare battery. He gives after sale service a 9 out of a possible 10. He says that the RCT over the SAT is clearer and easier and his learning curve was 0. Some complained that the program started at $600 and has now risen to $995. There is so much different because a lot depends on the speed of the processor, the amount of usable RAM and now an improved version (RCT-2) I am not sure if the clarity of the screen has to do with monochrome, dual scan, or active matrix or even the size of the screen. I hope this exercise has been helpful to you all who are trying to make up their mind to take a different route to the same place; a tuner that can please the client is not difficult. When paying this kind of money the tuner performs a much more important function; keeping us further interested in what we are doing for a living and giving us more control over our final results so that we can duplicate at will our finest tuning for any particular piano. Thanks to all who helped me in this adventure. I am still waiting for my demotape and still have not seen the display on a live MAC powerbook yet. I remain James Grebe R.P.T. from St. Louis pianoman@inlink.com "Do it because it is right"
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