Hello List and other anonymous lurkers, Jon Page submitted; "The ragtime composers and performers I've tuned for greatly prefer a full bore Well Temperament. That is, until they play in Modified Meantone." Wow! that's a new one to me. I have myself found that fast thirds are very well suited to playing jazz; makes the music feel very tight as it were. Anyhow the method of ragtime tuning we were taught at college which I mentioned earlier is actually tantamount to tuning 3 seperate pianos, all at different pitches, but each in tune with itself. So the effect when playing is of 3 pianos being played simultaneously which somewhat drives the soundboard bezerk. Jon, you also wrote in a previous post; > This should be fairly easy with an ETD. Tune all > middle strings at pitch. Then set the ETD to +6 Hz > and tune all right strings, set to -6 Hz and tune all > left strings, or vise versa. Or so it seems to me. No, it's not as straight forward as that. You must remember that you have to keep the frame (plate) stable. Where you have an increase in tension you must have a corresponding decrease to compensate. Raising all the right strings at once will throw out the temperament and then you will really get your knickers in a twist. You have to tune and complete each note ( "unison" ) as you go along. Might be easier to use 3 seperate ETD's or you will be forever twiddling knobs, causing great confusion until you're eventually knackered. Good Knight! AF
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