<HTML>Hi Julia, Matching coincident partials is what we try to do.  The smaller the= piano, the less chance you have of finding a good match in the lower end. You can only do the best you can do.  Some pianos will just never s= ound as though they are in tune--particularly in the basses of many "petite"= grands and spinets.  There have been some instances where my ETD has s= aid a particular octave should have sounded good, and frankly, it sounded li= ke hell.  So I used my ATD(Aural tuning devices--ears!). I usually attempt to get the bass octaves as harmonious as possible when= used as the lowest notes of a major triad.   Having to tune these pianos as a beginner is cruel and unusual punishmen= t, and not really fair, in my book, because it's hard to get a clear idea of= what "in tune" is really supposed to sound like.   Good luck, Dave Stahl In a message dated 10/11/04 3:06:33 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Alpha88x@a= ol.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Greetings,            &nbsp= ; I find that tuning lower notes on some pianos (the wire wound ones) I= dont always get clean octaves. There seems to be, and this is only on some = pianos, these extra fast beats.  I try to block out the faster beating = frequency(ies) and tune using the (the octave's) fundemental, and even when = I get that low fundemental "in" there's this annoying faster beating. I am t= uning the bass mostly by ear!  Am I doing something wrong, or is it jus= t cheap wire wound strings? What is causing this? It seems to only happen on the cheaper spinets and consoles, occasionall= y an upright or grand will have this problem too, but not as often. Julia, Reading, PA </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>