<html> <body> This is an interesting difference.  Having an ETD along while tuning is what set me apart (in the customer's mind) from the mediocre amateur tooners that  did "Picasso" tunings on their pianos in the past.  I used a Peterson 490 St which had customizable stretch profiles for some time.  Naturally I had to rely on my ear to select and customize stretch to fit the piano in front of me.  I switched to the Verituner VT100 with the idea that it would shorten the time I spent idealizing stretch profiles for a new piano.  I was dissapointed.  The analog tuner responds much faster than the digital one does.  I had to revise my tuning methodology to fit the new tuner.  I like to do tests and the like, check aurally, as I go and the VT100 discourages that.  It is an all or nothing device.   That said, I have become more precise rendering notes as the standard setting on the VT100 is very sensitive.  It is also much more sensitive, reliable, in marginal conditions than the Peterson.  I wish it came with a foot pedal like the Peterson because the auto-note system wanders too much on large (60 cents or more) pitch raises.  It comes with a great library of tuning temperaments and is customizable for stretch preferences etc.  Would I go back? No.  I'd like if it was faster but it does do a lot more.  I guess faster might be going strictly aural.  Something I like to do on nice pianos.  Andrew At 08:00 PM 2/13/2005 +0100, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Hello Hubert,   Maybe using machines instead of human aptitudes to make something is something people in France are not used to.   The customers can be very reluctant to this, but also a lot of techs, who really don't consider these devices as a second pair of ears, or as an aid to make their job.   I believe too that customers education is really important in this field, but I think that when they see the tuner using an ETD, they are a kind of disappointed, because in their minds, piano tuners are making something magic with their ears, and they truly believe that very few people are able to tune pianos.   So this exactly deals with customer education.   I consider the old ETD's I've shown in my post to be good enough to tune 3 or 4 times the pianos that have just been restrung. In France, I have learned to make "pickings"(with action removed) to raise the pitch of the restrung pianos very quickly with the help of the ETD, and then, when the piano holds the A440 pitch quite well, we tune it with the action.   For this purpose, I think the oldies can make their job.   But of course, it is a totally different thing when fine-tuning a piano with one of these oldies.   About the steps needed to operate an ETD, the Verituner seems to be the best ETD as it looks like a "ready to use" ETD (like a plug-n-play device on a computer), on the contrary to Tunelab which requires some Inharmonicity measurements when we encounter any new stringing scale. I don't know RCT at all, because there is no trial version available. I 've just seen how it looks visually, but it is a bad thing that we cannot test it for free before buying it.   Does anyone has a visual of the Sat III? I don't know how it looks like, which room is required in the toolbox for this device, etc...   For me, the advantage of the Tunelab program is in the compatibility with the pocket pc system ! The pocket pc becomes an ETD, calendar, appointment reminder, and a way to create a customer file, with the phone numbers, etc... that's what I like in this system.   And finally, the pocket pc is so small compared to the Verituner or the Yamaha PT100 for example. But according to Andre, the Verituner is (quote) "100% better than any other device". I answered him it is 100% more expensive than any other device, or not so far to it ! so for the moment, Tunelab will be great for me. I hope it will help me to improve my aural skills.   Quentin      </blockquote></body> </html>