Bill, When strip muting the entire piano, I also follow the basic procedure you describe below. That is what I was taught to do, and this is my practice on cheaper verticals and when pitch raising. It is easier for me to hear the individual partials when the piano is strip muted. I can tune faster with strip muting than with open strings. It is not yet clear to me whether it is better. I assume that as one develops his particular technique, he consciously or unconsciously becomes better the more he does it. What is appealing about tuning unisons immediately is that they must be referred to constantly throughout the entire tuning, and you check them many times rather than just a few. As octaves are tuned, the reference note must be perfect or the octave will be bad. Tuning octaves by open unisons forces you to have good unisons. Otherwise, the octaves will not be as good. It seems, then, that stability is improved using this method, although stability is also (maybe more) attained by lever technique and experience. Another thought about tuning unisons as you go is that you will hear how the piano will sound as you are going, and not as you are finishing. What I like about strip muting is that it is fast, leaves a good job, and is a very good alternative to open unisons, especially when servicing pianos with lots of falseness. Open unison tuning is not a good option when tuning an Aeolian or Kimball, due to the falseness that they have. I tuned a Wurlitzer G-452 grand today with enough falseness that it would have been better tuned with strip muting. I wanted to comment on two things you said: <<<When creating either an aural tuning or a program, I naturally tune the tenor and middle sections first, then progress to the treble and high treble *without* pulling in the unisons. If the unisons are tuned in the middle immediately, a single string in the treble will be tuned against a whole unison in the middle. This will cause an automatic CMSE error. The simple way to avoid this is to always establish the pitch of a single string *only* against another single string.>>> This is true if you tune the upper note too "pure." It cannot be a 2:1 octave with just the middle string. When I tune the upper middle string, especially in the treble, there is very slight waver in the octave. It is but a slight roll. Then the left string of the upper unison is immediately tuned, and the octave is then "pure." Knowing how much waver comes with experience, but it is usually not much at all. What I find myself doing is listening at the 2:1 pitch on all octaves, rather than at 8:4, 6:3, or 4:2. The octave is the natural place at which to listen, because it is one of the most important intervals in music. Listening for the right octave sound is also a natural thing to do with open unison tuning, and you get to check yourself immediately rather than after the strip mutes are out, and the unisons are tuned. <<<The shift that occurs will be with all unisons by the more or less same amount.>>> Since you are very experienced, I accept this as true. I also worry about Murphy's Law--that the more *could* be where the less should be, and vice versa. Maybe I should not concern myself about this. These things are not said to be argumentative; rather, it is only relating my experience up to this point. In 10 years, I will probably read this and think to myself that it really does not matter. I also realize that a lot of this is subjective rather than scientific. Maybe it falls into the category of arguing how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.... <g> Best regards, John Formsma Blue Mountain, MS -----Original Message----- From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Billbrpt@AOL.COM Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2000 8:39 AM To: pianotech@ptg.org Cc: DaeDremir@AOL.COM Subject: Strip Muting/unisons Dear List, I have loosely followed the unison coupling thread and I am aware of both the controversy over strip muting and the .5 cent net drop in pitch when the whole unison is played. There are a few new technicians on the List. This is intended mostly to explain how using a strip mute can be just as accurate as the single mute method and also take into account what I have always known as the Coupled Motion of Strings Effect (CMSE). I learned to use a strip mute over 20 years ago from the late George Defebaugh RPT and Jim Coleman RPT. I have used one ever since and prefer to tune that way except when doing an occasional touch up. I always expect to make two passes at a minimum, even if it is not a pitch change tuning. On the first pass, I am trying to place the pitch of each string at a point from where I expect it to drift to where I eventually want it. On the second pass, I expect to find most strings exactly where I want them, with just a few slightly off and at random. If I find a more than a few in a row either sharp or flat by any measurable amount, I will have reason to doubt that my fine tuning will really be fine. In my view, the SAT pattern must stand perfectly still and hold up to at least two very firm test blows or it is not stable. When creating either an aural tuning or a program, I naturally tune the tenor and middle sections first, then progress to the treble and high treble *without* pulling in the unisons. If the unisons are tuned in the middle immediately, a single string in the treble will be tuned against a whole unison in the middle. This will cause an automatic CMSE error. The simple way to avoid this is to always establish the pitch of a single string *only* against another single string. After advancing to the high treble, those unisons are tuned and their stability checked. Then the treble unisons are tuned. Now, the most difficult and tedious part of tuning is done, the rest is easier and more relaxed. The bass is tuned, single string to single with the middle. The bass unisons are tuned and checked. The last part is to tune the middle unisons. The shift that occurs will be with all unisons by the more or less same amount. While it is possible to program in an extra .5 cents flat in the low bass, I don't really find that necessary. I tend to tune the low bass a little flatter than most people do and the high treble a little sharper. If I am concerned that my A4 end up absolutely at 440, all I have to do is program a slight offset that will make it end up there if my program itself doesn't do that. In other words, I don't worry at all about chasing this elusive little demon by tuning "a little sharp" (but not knowing exactly how much to do so). I hope this helps. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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