EBVT compared with FAC Prg for same`

[Kent Swafford]

on 10/30/00 8:59 AM, Farrell at mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com wrote:

> You make a very good point regarding the need to go beyond plugging in FAC
> numbers, using offsets and expecting a great Valotti (or whatenver HT)
> tuning on the piano. Such use of the SAT (or any other VTD) is nothing more
> than a machine tuning (even if only used for ET) that might be OK (perhaps
> on a well-scaled piano) or more likely be off ranging from a bit to LOTS!
> 
> I have only tuned a few pianos with the Valotti, Young and Meantone HTs. In
> the absense of any suitable aural checks for these tunings - and lack of
> knowlegde of how to tune them aurally - what I did was to work out an ET
> tuning (with appropriate aural checks) that I was happy with (essentially an
> aurally modified FAC tuning - as are all my tunings) and record this in the
> SAT (there are a variety of methods to save the tuning). After I am happy
> with the ET, I enter the HT offsets to that tuning and proceed to "machine"
> tune the piano with the SAT. Actually, most of the pianos I have tried HTs
> on are pianos that I had tuned previously and have an established ET tuning
> for them.
> 
> I'm no expert (just getting into the adequate range) ET tuner. Only
> experimenting with HTs. Is mine a logical approach that is likely to yield
> good results?
> 
> Terry Farrell

The answer to your question, I think, is yes; making careful offsets from a
ET tuning that has already been established for a particular piano is likely
to yield good results. This is surely a great way to get your feet wet.

But -- by using offsets you are still dependent upon someone else's efforts;
someone else derived those offsets. Look around and you will see different
offsets purporting to be the same HT. This should raise red flags, IMO.

We wouldn't (I hope) go out and tune ET without some aural beat rate checks
to prove our work. Why should it be any different for HT's? The complete
tuner will have studied the instructions for tuning the HT's aurally and (at
least) run through them to prove his work on electronically-tuned HT's. No?

Kent