Tips For SAT Users

[Kevin E. Ramsey RPT]

HHHHmmmmm.....I'll have to try this on the SAT 11 and see how it fits in,
however, the goal should be not to fiddle with the thing all day. It's
supposed to be quicker (and more accurate) than aural tuning, not longer and
more tedious.
    Thanks for the imput. You know, sometimes we hit a patch in the road
where we're just cruising, and not growing. I think I've been going through
one of those lately.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Raskob" <raskobrg@spinn.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2000 6:48 PM
Subject: Re: Tips For SAT Users


> Hi Jim!
>
>     I have a method similar to Kevin's to adjust the width of the octaves
> with the SAT III.  After taking the FAC readings I tune F#4 very
carefully.
> I then set the SAT III on B2.  I play F#4 and use the double octave
> adjustment to stop the LED's .  I found that setting the A3 - A4 octave to
> my liking sometimes did not make a B2 -B3 octave that worked!  Using this
> method I find that the whole C3-C5 section sounds very nice!
>
> Richard Raskob RPT
>
> PS  I have also figured out a way to have the SAT II perform a similar
> result but it is much more complicated.  I am willing to post the steps if
> there is interest.  The D.O. adjustment that the SAT III has makes the
> upgrade worthwhile all by itself!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Coleman, Sr." <pianotoo@imap2.asu.edu>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2000 8:21 PM
> Subject: Tips For SAT Users
>
>
> > Special help for SAT users
> >
> > The newer Sanderson AccuTuners (SAT for short) have the (FAC)
> > capability for predicting or calculating a tuning for a piano.
> > Although the measurements of F3, A4 and C6 will provide
> > a very good tuning for most all pianos, one may alter this
> > tuning to suit one's personal preferences. For example some
> > Technicians prefer to have their octaves very tight while others
> > prefer to have a little stretch in the octaves. Measuring the
> > 3 notes gives the instrument a pretty good idea of the slope of
> > the inharmonicity of the piano, but it does not tell everything
> > about the bridge shape or where the string sizes or type change.
> > Originally there was a program for measuring 6 C's of a piano
> > to predict the tuning, but here again, wire size changes and
> > bridge configurations were not known to the program. One could
> > measure the inharmonicity of every note on the piano, but this
> > would be tedious and impractical to do for each tuning job. As
> > a result Dr Sanderson came up with the scheme to measure only
> > 3 notes to still get a pretty good representation of the tuning
> > requirements for a particular piano.
> >
> > If a treble bridge has a hockey-stick like bend at the bottom
> > It is likely that some additional stretching could be advantageous
> > for the tuning of this piano. I am indebted to Kevin Ramsey
> > for this simple way of determining if additional stretch should
> > be welcomed. Here is his procedure:
> >
> > After measuring and computing a tuning for a piano using the
> > FAC capability, carefully tune the A4 to the SAT. Then press
> > Dn/OCT to A3, play the A4 again and notice the direction of the
> > LED's. If they are stationary, you would have a tight 4-2 type
> > octave when the A3 would be tuned to this setting. This means
> > that the second partial of A4 is exactly in tune with where the
> > 4th partial of A3 will be when it is tuned later. This is quite
> > understandable when you realize that the SAT (FAC) tunings tune
> > by the 4th partials of each note from C3 through B4. When the A4
> > is played while the SAT is on A3, it is the 2nd partial of A4
> > which is being viewed on the display. When the display is set
> > this way for the tuning of A3 later, its 4th partial will be
> > tuned to this setting. In essence you will have a perfect unison
> > between the 2nd partial of A4 and the 4th partial of A3. This
> > would give you an aural test where the M3rd F3-A3 would beat at
> > the exact same speed as the F3-A4 M10th.
> >
> > If on the other hand the LED's are rotating counterclockwise in
> > the above example, the octave would be narrow when the A3 is
> > later tuned to the A3 setting. This would result in an aural
> > test where the M3rd would be faster than the M10th. This would
> > indicate that we would need to stretch the tuning more.
> >
> > Additional stretching can be done in two ways. For those who
> > have the SAT III, the blue SHIFT button is depressed while the
> > Up/CENTS button is pressed 2 or 3 times to stretch the tuning
> > by .3 beats per second (bps). This will give the A3 a lower
> > cents setting while the A4 setting will remain the same. In
> > most cases this will at least make the 3rd-10th tests equal
> > or better. On some pianos one might wish to add a little more
> > stretch by increasing the Double Octave Beat control (DOb) to
> > .5 bps.
> >
> > For those who have the older SAT II or SAT I with the FAC
> > capability, they can increase the value of the A4 Stretch
> > number by perhaps .5 to .7 cents to accomplish the same thing.
> > However it is important to remember when you get up to C5 in
> > the tuning process that it is necessary to add the same amount
> > to a reset of the instrument's pitch by using the SHIFT and
> > RESet buttons. Two articles in the PT Journal of Apr and May
> > in 1997 explain this in greater detail.
> >
> > It has been noted for several years that the better tuners
> > prefer to stretch their octaves at least to show a half bps
> > difference between the M3rd F3-A3 and the M10th F3-A4 with
> > the 10th being the faster. This can be easily duplicated
> > using the SATs.
> >
> > For those still using the older single F4 Stretch number
> > system Rick Baldassin wrote an excellent piece on doing a
> > similar thing for the SOTs and the early SAT's. In this case
> > the reset additions need to be made between F4 and F#4.
> > If there is enough interest, it might be possible to get him
> > to repeat that for us here on pianotech.
> >
> > Jim Coleman, Sr.
>