Clean unisons

[JIMRPT@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 10/04/2000 6:01:50 PM, Linda wrote:

<<"I had a fun complaint on a tuning today, that it was too clean.">>

Linda;
Notes can't be "too clean". 
But "clean" notes can be very lifeless.
A unison which is very very slightly off, perhaps on just one string, will 
have more presence and sustain than one which is 'dead on'. Played one note 
at a time this should be no problem but if the combinations of notes, as in a 
chord, are all 'dead on' than the overall perception of the chord will 
likewise be more Lifeless than a chord where all the notes were not 'dead on' 
but just a tiny-tiny bit out.

 'WE' need to remember that what we listen to as tuners does not needfully 
relate
to what musicians hear when they play. Perceptions differ widely and 
preferences are formed based on exposure. Witness the revival of HTs, semi 
Hts, and pseudo HTs as well as the altering of ET, on a selective basis, 
which are all becoming more 'normal' than just a few years ago.  

 Is this "too clean" a problem? not usually...unless you run into someone who 
objects to the "too clean" sound. This is similar to the problem of a 
customer who has not had their piano tuned in a looooong time and then when 
it is tuned complains that "it just doesn't sound right". :-(

 Your customer is right, but so are you and you are to be congratulated for 
getting a piano tuned so well that the complaint is 
of the "cleaness" (sic) of the tuning! :-) Put a litttttle hemi-semi quaver 
in some of the notes in question, satisfy your customer, yourself and 
remember that this technique, used judiciously, can be used to add presence 
to some future "dead" notes.........
Jim Bryant (FL)