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

[Kent Swafford]

On Oct 17, 2008, at 9:43 AM, Fred Sturm wrote:
> 	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.

The latter, except I know of nothing that would refute any of the  
claims.

> 	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?

Yes, I believe my PureTuner tunings are better than my previous tunings.

> Have you had any feedback from faculty/students/others, solicited or  
> not, to confirm this?

Last school year was the first time I had had to tune the D and  
B'dorf' together. I was told that the match was not great.

So far this year, no complaints.

I have told no one at the school about PureTuner. I don't solicit  
opinions about my tunings, ever. Myself, I think the honeymoon effect  
is real at schools and continues for a long time. That is, in order to  
maintain the status quo I have to find ways to improve my work  
indefinitely. Right now, PureTuner is what has helped me improve. See  
below.

>
> 	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?

I think so.

>
> 	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?

Hmm.

I believe the stability and precision of the PureTuner display,  
particularly in the treble and high treble forced me to work on my  
hammer technique. I believe my unisons are improved because of  
PureTuner. Stopper claims that the synchronous effect of his tuning  
depends upon highly precise tunings. In other words, there appears to  
be a clear return on the effort to tune more precisely with PureTuner.

Kent



>
> 	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
>
>