I, too, learned to tune strictly by ear and continued to do so for my first ten years. Then, out of practical necessity, I added ETDs to the picture and became a "hybrid tuner" (a term you will hear when you attend Richard Davenport and Mitch Kiel's excellent tuning class in Kansas City). I guess that puts me in the "Foote/Love" school. David Andersen is, of course and as usual, right on target with all of his comments. At the end of the day, I believe that you have to know what a really beautifully tuned piano sounds like and how to make it that way by yourself. If you don't, tuning purely by eye with any of the machines won't get you there . Alan Eder -----Original Message----- From: David Love <davidlovepianos@comcast.net> To: 'Pianotech List' <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Fri, 8 Jun 2007 8:25 pm Subject: RE: Sanderson Accu-tuner <div id=AOLMsgPart_0_8d455204-a98c-4b1e-bbfb-7edec2c1ef88 style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; MARGIN: 0px; COLOR: #000; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff"><PRE style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><TT> I happen to agree with David A. that aural skills are still very necessary as machines calculate theoretical curves and you need to make practical decisions based on each piano's idiosyncrasies. I tuned for 20 years or more strictly aurally before I bought a ETD. While you don't necessarily need to follow that lead, don't forgo developing aural skills just because you have a machine. Often, they make mistakes which you need to override. David Love <A href="mailto:davidlovepianos@comcast.net">davidlovepianos@comcast.net</A> <A href="http://www.davidlovepianos.com/" target=_blank>www.davidlovepianos.com</A> </TT></PRE></div> <div class="AOLPromoFooter"> <hr style="margin-top:10px;" /> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at <a href="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000437" target="_blank">AOL.com</a>. </div>