SAT & RCT

[Frank Weston]

Jim,

You are absolutely correct.  Although a good tuning above about A3 can be
had with relatively few measurements, below A3 is usually a different
question.  The inharmonicity curve in the bass is discontinuous and
unpredictable.  Worse yet, even if every note in a piano were measured, no
machine now has the capability to select and match the optimum set of
partials in the lower range.  What aural tuning does is not only examine
every note, but examine it in reference to notes above and below it and
determine which partials need to be dealt with.  Unless there have been
some recent advances of which I am unaware, no machines do this. 
Interestingly, TuneLab does show all the partial/inharmonicity information,
but leaves the choices to the user.  This intelligence is enlightening, but
is no real help, since the user still does not have the information
necessary to determine which partials to match with which unless he uses
his ears.

Yes, the machines can generate a stretch curve, and yes it will be a pretty
good curve in most areas, but no it will not satisfy a discriminating ear. 


Frank Weston   
----------
> From: james turner <JTTUNER@webtv.net>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: SAT & RCT
> Date: Monday, June 08, 1998 4:04 AM
> 
> Friends,
> 
> I have been thinking about getting the SAT lll, RCT or the TuneLab.
> When one tunes aurally, we listen to every note on the piano, intervals
> and so on.  What puzzels me is how a machine can measure only 3 or 6
> notes and compute an optimum tuning for a piano.  It seems to me that
> for any machine or computer to create a really good tuning, it would
> have to sample many more notes than 3 or 6?  Wouldn't a machine that
> sampled every note on the piano be a better tuning? Isn't this what
> aural tuning does to a degree?
> Thanks,
> Jim Turner
>