<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: not what I signed up for</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQUOTE>Andre wrote: “OK bud, but then, after having tuned aurally for the greater part of my life, and, having been mauled and aurally sharpened by the Yamaha Acadamy, just l= ike you, I have come to the humiliating but also enlightening conclusion tha= t my ETD gives me that very same result not in two hours time, like at the A= cademy, but in 45 minutes (or less) every time, every day, and especially on= every instrument.You know me personally, you surely would not suggest that = I don't know what I am talking about? (Although, I have already learned that= in this life, anything is possible). I will keep thinking, and saying, that nowadays we finally have extremely efficient ETD's.To me, an efficient ETD tells me personally about pitch, nothing else. It helps me tuning the strings at the most compromised pitch. The making of tone, is a different matter and far more important, because most people can not tell the difference whether a 5th is almost perfect, or not. Over and out. friendly greetings....” My friend----this of course is what makes the world go ‘round; I have= never used a machine, never felt any urge to. Loved to tune from the first = piano.  Never had any of the angst you describe around achieving an &#8= 220;ideal” tuning.  So---I can have big fun, and accomplish a tun= ing I’ll put up against anybody’s, in between 1 and 1.5 hours; t= he temperament is ideal for that piano; the stretch is ideal for that piano.= “The making of tone, is a different matter and far more important,<BR= > because most people can not tell the difference whether a 5th is almost per= fect, or not.” True.  BUT---most artists, most serious players who actually LISTEN wh= en they play, can tell the difference when a piano is tuned really, really w= ell, and sounds musical and singing in all keys.  I have no doubt whats= oever that your tunings sound this way, that they are the product of your im= peccable craft and love. You will never get any argument or pushback from me= about using a machine when you are an experienced, ear-based, voicing tuner= & tech. Whatever makes you happy and productive. Here’s what I kn= ow: doing single-mute, aural, whole-tone, open-string tuning has exponential= ly expanded my ear’s ability to remember piano tone, and made me a bet= ter voicer; it’s made me a MUCH better unison tuner, much more precise= .  The precision I’m able to achieve with this method has overflo= wed into my other skill sets---voicing and regulation. I’m so much mor= e precise with both, and trust my intuition, my “first thought” = much more than I did when I still used a strip mute. Love this thread, love this work; getting’ excited about Sacramento..= .have a great weekend..... David Andersen </BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY> </HTML>