EBVT Offsets (compilation)

[Kent Swafford]

On Friday, October 4, 2002, at 07:45 PM, Ron Nossaman wrote:

> why wouldn't the offsets from the adjusted ET be pretty close to where 
> it belongs from piano to piano?

For much the same reason that the adjusted ET itself is only pretty 
close and not dead on -- inconsistent inharmonicity. The exact 
placement of partials cannot be precisely predicted, only assumed. The 
lower partials of notes in the tenor can be particularly inconsistent, 
thereby wreaking havoc with any assumptions.

As Ed alluded to, if a temperament calls for a beatless 5th, and both 
notes are tuned by the ETD from their 3rd partials, and the 2nd partial 
of the upper note of the 5th is off in left field somewhere, then the 
5th will not be beatless.

Extend the concept to every other interval. It can be ugly.

Kent S