trichords unisons

[Z! Reinhardt]

Hi Benny!

You might want to talk to Yamaha's own LaRoy Edwards about this.  If I
remember correctly, he has found that if the unisons were not quite perfect
(off by some almost imperceptible amount), the note will "project" that much
more strongly.  It's like having the "sweet spot" ever-so-slightly
"off-center" if that makes any sense.

As for whether or not it is possible to have every last screaming partial
line up precisely across 3 strings ... I hardly think so.  There are so many
variables to contend with, starting with inherent imperfections of the piano
itself.  Furthermore, with the amount of flexing a piano is capable of
doing, trying to nail a unison tuning of one string against another is like
nailing a moving target, then expecting it to stay put in a perfect
relationship with whatever it was you nailed it with, when that too is
moving.

Keep trying to do your best, but keep in mind that you can do only as well
as the piano will let you.

Z! Reinhardt  RPT
Ann Arbor  MI
diskladame@provide.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Benny L. Tucker" <precisionpiano@alltel.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 10:52 PM
Subject: trichords unisons


Hi list,
    I've been going crazy lately, "most folks think I'm already there",
trying to get my unisons perfect! I've read a lot in the archives about
unison tuning, and I get plenty of practice everyday at the plant.
    I'm just trying to evaluate my own tuning standards. I don't think I'm
incompetent, but maybe.
    Problem: 3 years now tuning at the Yamaha factory, 2 years moonlighting
on my own after work, and yet I still can't set a "perfect unison" without
taking considerable time.
    I would think my unisons would pass the RPT unison test, but I've never
been satisfied with meeting minimum standards. To put it another way, I love
this profession dearly, and yes, I want to be better than average.
    I may be looking at this wrong, but to me a perfect unison should not
have ANY rolling of ANY partial for the duration of the sound. Is this to
much to ask for, or is this the way most of you folks normally tune?
    On home and Church tunings, I mostly just try to get the unisons as
clean as I can for as long as possible before the higher partials start to
slow roll.
I can do the perfect unisons, but for me that means striking the key, and
waiting, and waiting , and waiting for the slow roll then move the hammer
"more like add or release pressure", while pounding, then when I think I've
got it right let it ring and wait, and wait and wait etc. You get the
picture.
At my level of experience, it could take me several hours to get each and
every unison "completely beatless".
    What is the accepted standard, if there is one. How do you define the
perfect and/or the acceptable unison.
    FWIW, I have absolutely no trouble with the bass or the high treble,
it's that dang tenor section. It seems like the better I get, the more I can
hear, the worse I actually tune.
    Comments anyone?

Benny L. Tucker
Yamaha Factory Tuner
Precision Piano Tuning & Repair
Thomaston, Ga.