Which ETD?

[Don]

Hi Ron,

You are somewhat in error about RCT. When it is gathering information it
does not "limit" itself to a single partial. On the six A's that it listens
to approximately 30 measurements are taken and then those partial ladders
are "balanced" just as an Aural tuner would do. In tune mode it becomes a
single partial device.

I can not speak about Tunelab Pro in that regard, but it's latest version
*does* do a measurement at the break--if the user desires it.

Both Tunelab and RCT would in theory allow a tech to "custom" tweak a
tuning on a note by note basis by manually entering offsets in a tuning
chart. It would be painstaking work but could be done.

The SAT 3 allows the user to "on the fly" adjust the double octave stretch
to accomodate what the technician hears.

The tuning exam has not yet been successfully completed by any "aural"
tuner with a "perfect" score. Both RCT and SAT 2 have managed that.

I guess what I am trying to say is that any of the above and also the
Verituner are capable tools that can enhance any techncians workday.

At 03:27 PM 10/10/02 +0000, you wrote:
>
>Yes, size matters..... (couldn't resist!)
>
>Some only carry a fork, others carry a laptop, printer, wires, etc.  And 
>yes, RCT with the equalizer function can somewhat customize a tuning.  I say 
>somewhat, because what the user has control over is the placement of the 
>A's.  So on nicely scaled pianos, you can get a good match with the machine. 
>There really isn't a way to handle the break, other than to treat the piano 
>like two instruments, and create multiple tunings.
>
>Don said that he wouldn't judge anyone's tuning on a spinet, but I think 
>we've been discounting these "challenging" pianos too long.  What single 
>partial tuning does, is create a smooth curve tuning of that one partial.  
>If the other partials relate to that one in a linear fashon, fine.  Many 
>pianos' partials don't 'behave' like that though.  Then choosing which 
>partial to tune for different parts of the scale needs to be addressed.
>
>What I don't hear people talking about, is how far back in your tuning do 
>you make corrections?  If, for example, you need to tweak a note by a couple 
>of cents at the break to make the octave work, do you go back and reset the 
>3rds, 4ths, and all the other intervals?  As you go down into the bass, 
>where the inharmonicity gets a little random, how do you get your machine to 
>adjust all the previously tuned notes to relate to that changed note?
>
>What the Verituner (VT) can do is listen to which partial is strongest, and 
>give more weight to that partial.  Terry wrote about my approach to tuning 
>using 'balancing' two or more intervals to determine stretch.  Instead of 
>any of the other tuners, (or VT in default mode) which listen to for 
>example, the 4:2 octave and tune it sharp by a user definable amount that 
>needs to be customized for each piano, the custom mode is set up to 
>automatically listen to both the 4:2 and the 6:3 octave (or other intervals) 
>and set the note between them.  Voila!Octave stretch based on what the VT 
>hears from the piano.
>
>What determines if a piano is in tune?  Unisons, octaves and then the rest, 
>is the order I use...  Yet all the single partial machines only match the 
>octaves of one note, and then extrapolate from there.  The VT sets the 
>temperament octave and then matches each note back to the same-name note in 
>that octave.(or however far back you set the custom stretch)  Want to set 
>the octave-5th as a parameter?  It's an option now.
>
>I'm doing a chapter presentation on this topic next week, let me say again, 
>that the machines calculate different tunings from each other.  Of course, 
>you can tweak as much as you want, using split records, and all the other 
>tricks that have been written about. But if you are looking for a machine 
>that can do a good job without all the user input, check out the VT.
>
>So yes, size matters, and so does the display, as well as cost, and "cool" 
>factor, and record keeping.......  but if you just consider the quality of 
>the tunings produced,  well, you already know what I recommend :)
>
>
>Ron Koval
>Chicagoland
>
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Regards,
Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. Tuner for the Center of
the Arts

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