List, For sometime now Jim Coleman Sr. has been advocating tuning all steel strings with the SAT. I tried it this week. Some background--when I bought my SAT years ago, I took Al Sanderson's advise and learned to tune with only two mutes. (I still have my stringing mute, I just don't know where it is now--in the shop probably.) Periodically, especially when I would run into a quarrelsome unison, I would tune all three strings of a note with the SAT but carefully checked it aurally before moving on to the next note. My tuning standard is every single string is to be as solid as possible. I don't want singing unisions during the performance--it would interfere with my enjoyment of the music! Note for the non ETD technicians, the memory mode of the SAT enables the user to store specific tunings. I have in memory the specific tuning that I created for this instrument years ago and have been using it since. This week I had a great opportunity to try Jim's method. Andre Michel Schub is here playing the Beethoven 4th. While I usually keep the piano well tuned, we did not use it for the past four weeks. (Ok, I was too burned out from the holiday tunings to go by and check it out much less add one more tuning, even an easy one). With the extreme temperature and humidity changes that have plagued us during this time, of course it was way off. I got to the piano Thursday about two hours before Andre was due to practice. I decided to try Jim's method, tuning every string using only the SAT including the wound strings--although Jim recommends caution about the wound strings. I did no checking, since it is the same tuning I've been putting on this piano for years. After finishing all 88 notes, only then did I check it aurally. Only a very few strings had to be retuned. I worked about 45 minutes total on the tuning leaving me the rest of time to tweak the action before Andre arrived. He then practiced four hours not only for the concerto but for his upcoming solo recitals as well. I came back before the rehearsal with orchestra Thursday night to touch up the piano. I spent less than 30 minutes, again using Jim's method using the SAT to tune all three strings of the notes that were out. Before yesterday's morning rehearsal with orchestra, I again spent no more than 30 minutes touching up. Andre played the rehearsal, then practiced four hours Friday afternoon. Before last night's performance once more the piano only needed slight touching up--less than 30 minutes. After his four hour practice session today, I will do the same for tonight's performance. Although my tunings had always been stable, it had always taken me longer to do the same work than it did using Jim's method this week. This time saved is $$$ in the bank, and certainly it is less wear and tear on the arms, shoulders and back! Thank you, Jim, for once again sharing with us another way to be a little better and/or smarter in our profession. It works! Gina Carter, RPT Grateful that she has Jim Coleman Sr to learn from and such a wonderful tool as the SAT!
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