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

[Fred Sturm]

On Oct 17, 2008, at 8:41 PM, Kent Swafford wrote:

> 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.


This is very interesting. The displays of ETDs have a great deal to do  
with the ease with which one can tune with them. Jumpy lights and  
displays are disconcerting and difficult to adapt to and interpret  
(difficult, not impossible). I remember listening to Al Sanderson  
talking on the subject, saying that people asked him to make his  
display less jumpy. He said it was quite possible, through some  
electronic means, but that in his opinion (and that of some of his  
customers), it would be less accurate and reflect reality less. IE,  
the reality is that strings produce the "jumpiness," not the machine  
(they together with bridge etc produce varying pitch over time). The  
machine is simply reading reality. OTOH, one does have to decide what  
is the "average" or "most important" pitch the string is producing and  
set that somewhere. It would be nice if the ETD display would "help a  
little more," assuming it did so reliably.
	Would you please describe the way in which the TOP display behaves? I  
have seen the screen shot and description http://www.piano-stopper.de/html/tunic_onlypure1.html 
  and assume that what one sees is a "sliding action" until the  
triangles line up/converge. I guess I sort of assume that this (the  
sliding) happens fairly smoothly. That in the course of tuning, the  
green/fine triangles move faster and "catch up with" the yellow/coarse  
ones. Is that a fair description? Is there any waver in the display (I  
would assume a "vibration back and forth")?
	I personally prefer RCT precisely because of its display interface  
and its multiple components (though other factors in the program are  
also important), but working with it is by no means without problem.  
It can jump around and be difficult to interpret in many cases, though  
I have learned to adapt in various ways. But I think that the ease of  
coordination between eye and hand/arm has a lot to do with the overall  
results in using an ETD. Stopper's claim regarding highly precise  
tunings applies to any tuning system. Indeed (broken record that I  
am), precision of unisons - within extraordinarily tight parameters -  
is the absolute foundation without which most other types of  
discussion of "tuning style" become nearly irrelevant.

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu