Hi Jim, I agree with others who have commented before me. A quality tuning fork should be within about 1 cent of A440. So return the fork to Schaff. As for your options, I have to say, as someone who recently took (and passed) the tuning exam, that the only truly accurate, dead-on every time, aural pitch source is the Sanderson Accu Fork. When practicing for the exam I found that my fork could be as much as 1.5 cents off, depending on the room temperature. Sometimes I could nail it with the fork; other times, not. I found this extremely frustrating. Metronome pitch sources, though cheap, are not calibrated with the kind of precision that you need for the exam. With the Accu Fork, with a little bit of practice, I was able to nail it every time (within 0.2 cents), with no points off for pitch in the exam. Like you, I found the price of the Accu Fork to be a bit steep, so I contacted the Randy Potter School and found that they had a rental unit available for $25 a month. (I am a graduate.) You might check with them to see if this is an option for you. If you do decide to get an Accu Fork, be sure to allow enough time to get used to it. Practice, practice, practice, until you're confident you can nail it every time. Of course, this is true for whatever pitch source you use. Roger Domeny Domeny's Piano Service
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