octave widths

[A440A@aol.com]

<< I'm not really looking for the partials of the notes, I am trying to 
determine the best octave for an individual piano.  If there is a lot of 
inharmonicity, sometimes a 4:2 is too wide for the 2:1.  If you know all of the partial 
values in cents, how would you determine octave widths that fit the best.  >>

Greetings, 
   This is the one shortcoming with machines, numbers, partial, etc.  While 
the state of the art ETD's really perform beautifully on large, well-scaled 
pianos, the spinets and many consoles are another matter.  What may work well in 
the break of a one spinet may not be quite so acceptable on another.  This, I 
think, is due to the combination of various hammers, where they hit, bridges 
and scales that are not exactly identical,(the spinet pianos represent little 
margin and tolerances in them seem to be looser than their more profitable 
brethren or sistern).  
   The best octave for an individual piano of this size(or any size, for that 
matter) is determined by your ear.  It is often the case that you will suffer 
a break in the progression of the thirds, or maybe have a noisy fifth in 
order to make the best sounding octave.  It becomes a subjective decision and 
machines are NOT subjective.  Let us not forget taste and the tuner's perogative.  
    You may also notice that a note near the break may fit acceptably with 
the octave, fifth, thirds and sixths, but sound like hell warmed over with its 
double octave!   You will then need to decide who gets hurt, or if perhaps the 
pain can be passed around equitably enough to escape notice.  But in any case, 
you will usually find the best octave aurally, using the machine simply as a 
guide to your investigation. 
Good luck,  
Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html