[CAUT] P-12ths was: Tuning a Steinway D and aBosendorfer Imperial together

[Fred Sturm]

On Oct 16, 2008, at 9:45 AM, Kent Swafford wrote:

> I have been trying to understand Stopper for almost 2 years now.  
> There are some obstacles. First there are language and cultural  
> barriers. And second, there is the simple fact that Stopper is  
> trying to make money from his discoveries; his vagueness may not be  
> a matter of not "grasping the complexities" as much as they are  
> simply wishing to keep the knowledge proprietary.
>
> But make no mistake, Stopper's credentials are solid, and in 4  
> months of intensive use of PureTuner (my nickname for Tunic  
> OnlyPure) I have only been able to corroborate his claims, not  
> refute them.
>
>
> Kent
  	Well, having no personal experience beyond your posted sound files,  
I defer to your judgment. And I am certainly willing to make  
allowances for cultural and other differences leading to  
misunderstanding. OTOH . . .
	Stopper's claims are a pretty high threshold. He claims that his  
tuning system is superior to all others. He makes no bones about that.  
Are you saying that you corroborate that? Or are you saying that he  
has created a piece of software that produces good, even excellent  
tunings on a wide range of instruments. What I have read so far is the  
latter, not the former.
	You have said that TOP (I think that's a better nickname) tunings  
have held up to the scrutiny of your school of music/conservatory. The  
same can be said for tunings produced in a number of ways by each of  
the "big 4" ETDs as well as aurally. Are you saying that, in your  
opinion, your tunings produced using TOP are superior to your previous  
tuning? Have you had any feedback from faculty/students/others,  
solicited or not, to confirm this?
	You have said that TOP produces bass octaves sometimes wider and  
sometimes narrower than you would normally use, and essentially said  
that they were acceptable. Would you say that the result (overall, if  
you like, over the whole instrument) is superior?
	You noted the way in which the tunings of the D and the Bosey  
coincided nicely, and that each was a excellent tuning on its own  
instrument. Would you also say that the tuning for each instrument was  
superior to any tuning you had done previously on that instrument?
	I don't mean to be "aggressively badgering," I am interested to know  
your honest opinion. Stopper isn't at all shy about his claims. I'd  
also be very interested in your response to Ed Sutton's questions.  
I'll add one: pitch change function?
	
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu