P12's discussion

[Joseph Garrett]

I've been following all of the discussion on the use of Perfect 12ths. I'm a
bit confused and hope some of you high-end tuner types can enlighten me. The
way I perceive it, is that we set the thirds, in the temperament to certain
"beat rates". This gives us a "Tempered Octave" that is the foundation for
the rest of the piano. The example that I tried, for a perfect 12th, was E5.
The test note, I used, was C4. The C4 and E4 beat at a certain rate. If I
tune E5 to yield no beats when testing it against the C4, then the octave of
E4 and E5 will be off, (ie E5 will be flat of where I think it should be.)
Am I going about this wrong? My impression of P12ths is that the octaves
will be narrowed, thus making the "stretch" flat and beating on the narrow
side. Please elucidate.
Best Regards,
Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
Captain, Tool Police
Squares Are I