general poll-please participate

[Robin Hufford]

Owen,

      I think this is a very well expressed post as to the utility of an ETD
which I too own but use only intermittently, and, particularly, for testing.
What you say here is very much similar both to the comercial utility and use of
an ETD and seems very much like the  experience I have had.
Regards, Robin Hufford


"owen j. greyling" wrote:

> Hi Terry,
>
> Please do not be offended by my post...........
>
> I read your post this morning while I was enjoying my morning coffee. I sat
> here at my desk thinking why?.... Why does this person, hopefully a real
> live tuner, want to know what in the world professional tuners do with
> ETD's.
> There may be, and probably are, a whole host of reasons, but after thinking
> about this all day, I think now there is only one. Here it is... You are
> probably a "fairly new to this profession" tuner: a struggling aural tuner
> looking for support or affirmation from other tuners, as to why they tune
> either with or without a machine. If you don't own a ETD, I bet you would
> like to, but are still hearing the voices from the past and present that
> loudly tell you that you can't be a REAL tuner if you use one. Am I right?
>
> Please don't be offended by my post......
>
> The ongoing question as to which method is better, is really redundant to
> most of the clients who buy tunings from all of us.  I'm sure I don't need
> to tell you what a really good tuning is, but here's the kicker. Most of
> your clients and mine can't tell the difference because when properly done
> there is none, or very little difference. To a really good tuner it doesn't
> make any difference how you get to that "in-tune"point.
>  I have been tuning for twenty four years, sometimes only with a fork,
> sometimes 100% electronically, but mostly a combination, picking and
> choosing what works best, at each and every tuning.
> I carry a SAT III, which, on a good piano, I can tune rings around, and so
> can any other aural tuner who has taken the time to properly learn how to
> tune. But there are many times that a FAC tuning done right out of the box,
> is the best answer to the situation. When I use FAC, I like to leave a
> record of the tuning done so that next time I can recreate the exact tuning
> and see how well the tuning stood up. Many times grands are more fun to tune
> aurally, other times a spinet can be better handled with starting with FAC,
> cleaning up measuring intervals,and then tuning aurally after a decent
> temperament has been established. Much of the time, I use the tuner in the
> measure mode to simply measure the width of intervals already tuned aurally.
> An ETD is ONLY a tool, one that any real professional who knows his or her
> job, could live without if they had to. I have a number of customers that
> have never seen me use "that box" poking out of my kit, simply because I
> know what the reaction would be. I'm not there to change the world, I'm
> there to tune the piano and that's what I do. I don't tell them that I may
> be able to do a better job with that false beating treble if I used a canned
> tuning..What does it matter?, I have to be versatile enough to be able to
> fill my customers needs, so should all of us. I have other clients who would
> probably think I couldn't do the high quality tuning that they have become
> accustomed to, if I didn't check the piano using my spinning lights.
>
> If you've read this far, thankyou, and let me conclude with this. Good,
> solid aural tuners are not intimidated by ETD's. Some are just not
> interested, don't see the point in laying out cash for something they know
> they don't need, while others are interested in exploring the possibilities
> that an ETD opens up. I for one, look forward to the day when we all realise
> that properly tuned pianos occur everyday by many different means and
> methods, by people just like you and me who do a job that they either love,
> or do to put food on the table. The motivation is different, but the result
> is still a tuned piano, just like the ETD/Aural question. The journey can be
> different, but the destination is still the same.
>
> If I have completely misread your reason for asking, please forgive my
> rant....
>
> Owen.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "pianolover 88" <pianolover88@hotmail.com>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 12:43 PM
> Subject: general poll-please participate
>
> > hi piano-tekkers,
> >
> > I'd like to take a poll to determine what percentage of techs on this list
> > (i wonder how many ARE subscribed??) use ETDs, or are strickly aural; I
> will
> > assume that ETD users use aural skills in conjuntion with their ETDs,
> > perhaps for tuning unisons and doing various tests.
> > Also, those who DO use ETDs, I'd be curious to know what type is used,
> such
> > as SAT, RTC, etc. thanks!
> >
> > Terry
> >
> >
> >
> > <html>
> > <DIV><FONT face="Garamond, Times, Serif"><HTML></FONT>
> > <DIV><FONT face="Garamond, Times, Serif">Terry Peterson</FONT></DIV>
> > <DIV><FONT face="Garamond, Times, Serif">Peterson Piano
> Service</FONT></DIV>
> > <DIV><FONT face="Garamond, Times, Serif">Rolling Hills Estates,
> > CA</FONT></DIV>
> > <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV></DIV></html>
> >
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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