SATS

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Frank:

What you are doing looks very good and it does work. About a week ago I
wrote about a faster method of measuring the FAC. I think that once you
get used to doing FAC, you may not go back to the other method as often.

There are not many pianos that you would care to use 10-5 tuning in the
low Bass. You might want to go to the 6-3 tuning a little earlier in the
Bass. and maybe 8-4 tuning in the bottom octave except on spinets.

In the treble, I would probably do 4-1 double octave tuning a little 
sooner,
and for the Exam purposes, cut back to simple 2-1 type at octave 7.

Jim Coleman, Sr.


On Tue, 9 Jun 1998, Frank Cahill wrote:

> Jim Coleman, Sr. wrote:
> > 
> > This is a little chronological presentation of ETDs......
> > 
> > 
> 
> Hi, Jim!
> 
> I haven't read all the posts so maybe I missed one.  But..I use my SAT
> mostly in the manual mode. I set the temperment using the old stretch
> calculator program (not the FAC program) and then check it by ear. I
> often change the stretch number so that my fifths are appropriate for
> the size of piano I am tuning.  Then, I switch to manual mode.
> 
> To tune above the tempermant I set scope to measure 4:2 octaves. Then I
> tune F4#  to F#3 so that the octave is the same as F3-F4. The SAT
> usually produces octaves about 1 cent wide. I continue in this fashion
> until I hit C5.
> 
> At C5, I set the scope to measure 2:1 ocataves.  I tune C5 to C4, 1 cent
> wide.  Then I 
> play F3 ( 12th) and the interval should be pure or maybe slightly wide. 
> I continue on up.  Somewhere between C5 - C6 the 12th test no longer
> works, so I just tune the octaves 1 cent wide.
> 
> In the bass direction, I tune octves as 4:2, 1 cent wide. The tenths
> will progress nicely (get slower). At some point, the tenths will slow
> waaay down. Time to switch to 6:3 octaves.  I adjust scope to measure
> 6:3 octaves. Then I continue down with all octaves as pure 6:3, maybe
> expanding to 1 cent wide if the tenths slow down.
> 
> This is basically the procedure Micheal Travis talks about in the tuning
> exam source book.  Now obviously, if I was working on a large grand I'd
> need to tune some 10:5 octaves, but I've never seen anything larger than
> a 6 footer.  With the competition around here (Washington DC), a lot of
> guys will need to move or die before I set foot into the White House to
> tune one of those big grands.
> 
> This is a very conservative tuning, but my immediate goal is to pass the
> tuning exam, so I practice this way.  While this methods produces a very
> consistant tuning, it is quite slow. 
> 
> I've never mastered changing FAC numbers to the piano.  Seems like it
> takes too much time to adjust the number, check the paino, and adjust
> again.  I found that my manual tunings produced a better tuning than
> the  SAT did, at least on the junk I usually tune.  Of course, this
> attitude may just be making me work alot harder.
> 
> On a good piano, the SAT does a fine job, but a little narrower than I
> would like (5th pure for example). 
> 
> I wish to thank you for your constant input on tuning matters on this
> site.
> -- 
> 
> Frank Cahill
> Associate Member
> Northern Va
>