Jon, My mentor Kimball Stout WSU, when asked why there were three strings to a unison use to refer to the theory of three. AS I remember it was like this. When two strings sound together that are slightly out of tune you can hear the beats. But when the three strings are close to being in tune, they sound as one. Yes I know that as a tuner I can hear the note is not quite right but it is not the beats that are telling me to check the note but the sound of the note. Sometimes it seems to me in listening it is like the noise reduction thingies that are on airoplanes. They hide the noise but it is still there. When the noise gets smooth that is where it is best in tune for my ear. And my ETD usually agrees. But not always. So I choose my ear as final between the two then three strings. Natural beats as Vergil describes I do not hear, but the absence of total beats yes I do. Give that 1,4,5,8 a try , very interesting sound. Joe Goss imatunr@primenet.com http://www.primenet.com/~imatunr/ -----
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