SAT & RCT

[mitchkiel@olywa.net]

>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
>  

Jim,
   It may be true that sampling every note might be better in 
some situations (but not all. If the piano's scale is smooth and the
sampled notes are truly representative, then there would be 
zero advantage in more samples, correct?) However,
the real question is if more samples are worth the extra time. 
My experience is that RCT, which samples A1, A2, A3, A4, 
A5, and if necessary A6, takes an extremely good "snapshot" 
of the piano's scale and does an *amazingly* good job that
more samples usually can't be improved. In my opinion, the extra time 
it might take to sample every note probably wouldn't be worth it because 
it takes
me only a few minutes to aurally check RCT's tuning and make any 
necessary improvements. In other words, I always use my ears to 
double-check and fine-tune RCT's already fine tuning,
a *very* important point that anyone who uses ETDs or contemplates
their use should always keep in mind. In other words, using an
ETD shold not mean you use use *only* the ETD. 

   To shed a little light on the question of sampling 
every note, let me ask you some turn-about questions:
   As aural tuners, do we use every aural check on every
note, or because of limited time use only those checks which are 
most important? And do we use every aural check during the first pass
through the tuning or do we save some for our final pass?

Mitch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mitch Kiel, RPT
authorized Reyburn CyberTuner sales and support
1-888-I-LUV-RCT (1-888-458-8728)

11326 Patsy Drive SE    
Olympia, Washington 98501 USA
email: mitchkiel@olywa.net
Visit the RCT Web site at www.reyburn.com