What about my point, 'is the muted > temperament exactly the same when you return to complete the unisons'? > Ric No, it never is, due to the "Virgil Smith Phenomenon," the fact that there are micro-incremental pitch shifts when you move one string of a unison, then move others later. Unless and until you perceive these distortions, and can compensate for them, you will never accomplish a truly master tuning, suitable for performance or recording. I threw away the temperament strip 4 years ago, and I've literally thanked God for the gift ever since. After the first 2 weeks of fear and worry. <g> Every tuning, now, stays where I put it, and is rock-solid stable, because with just a couple of mutes, you end up doing a little mini-pitch raise on each note, and it's SOCKED IN HARD, brothers and sisters. My advice? Propel yourself toward the High End by discarding the strip and going old school; it will double your ability to hear precise changes in pitch and tone in a very short time, and your tunings will become more and more beautiful and musical. and LET'S BE HONEST: if your tuning sounds better than other peoples' work, YOU WIN---because, regardless of some technicians' belief or excuse that "people can't really tell the difference anyway"---which is completely and totally FALSE in my experience over 30 years---if the piano sounds better than it has before, your reputation grows, and you become like a wizard to your client. End of sermon....go in peace. David Andersen
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