Choosing a Temperament - clarification/question

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 8/11/99 9:57:15 AM Pacific Daylight Time, you write:

<< ..the following has to deal with guitars and tuning..those not interested 
can
 delete now.
 
 
 Bill Bremmer, in your last post about tuning a guitar with the SAT and the
 results from doing that, you fail to mention one thing..
 
 I was waiting...and waiting...and didn't see it..so I need to ask:
 
 Is it NOT true that no matter what tuning you put on a guitar, the result is 
only
 as good as the condition of the bridge, nut and frets?
 
 no matter what you tune the open strings to, the result is only as good as 
the
 'set-up' on a guitar.
 
 Worn frets, a worn nut, and an improperly set bridge can have have a sever 
affect
 on the instrument..no matter what the intention is.
 
 Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
 Rook
  >>
Of course you are right.  The figures I came up with were rounded off from 
the results I had tuning strictly by ear, except that I started with the A2 
tuned electronically at 0.0 (read on Octave 4).  When finished, I saw that 
the figures were close to the rounded off ones I published so I decided to 
see if the whole numbers would make any aural difference and they didn't.

The reasoning was that in the future, someone might be able to use these 
figures with a less sensitive tuner such as a typical Korg type or Stobe 
Tuner.  I also surmised that they, being rounded off figures, would work on 
virtually any guitar, even if it meant that you might need to tweak them a 
little, just as you do with the usual ET tuning.

The figures represent a generic program.  It is entirely possible that they 
may not produce the desired effect on a poorly made instrument or one which 
is in poor condition.  A generic program for a piano might also have 
similarly poor results.  

Now, I have heard from a few people who have said that these figures are 
"wrong" or "wouldn't work" but they work on my guitar, one that my Dad gave 
me before he died 14 years ago, and they have worked on every guitar I have 
ever tried them on.  I also use the Direct Interval program figures for the 
Equal Beating Victorian Temperament on many of the pianos I tune too with 
results that are satisfying to me and my customers.  I have received similar 
comments about that too:  "wrong", "won't work", "nobody can figure it out", 
"unethical", "not really 'historic' ", and on and on.  So go figure.

I'd say that you can take it or leave it, as you like.  If it works for you 
and you like it, that's fine with me, if you don't, that's ok too.

Bill Bremmer RPT