ears vs. eyes..kinda long-winded

[Richard Moody]

"I  think I can tune a piano so that it sounds measurably better
than any
straight machine tuning---even Jim Coleman's"

I  too have never tuned a whole piano with an ETD for pay.   I do
out of curiosity  experiment with them when ever I get the chance
and put myself against them if asked.   However I prefer setting
A440 with a particular "pocket tuner", but also get kicks setting
A4  from the beats of C4 gotten from a standard C fork and
"freezing" the machine reading of A4.
     Lucky try I guess, but then who worries about A being closer
than half a beat per second at concert time?  I have had musicians
tell me that pianos can go off one cycle per second from a cold
house to intermission.  How do they know?.... they use pocket
tuners.  So, yes,  a $200 expense to acquire the musicians pitch
source is no biggie considering the business I was getting from
those situations.
   So if that eliminates me from the "pure aural tuner" category,
sorry but it was a "business first" consideration. If though I can
demonstrate nailing A440 from a fork to redeem myself then I would
gladly do so.

To reply to David Andersen below, I don't know that I could
demonstrate an aural tuning "measurably better" than Jim Coleman's
machine tuning.  Having spent 3 or 4 afternoons at Jim's home with
his SAT and SnS L, I would like to see someone "beat" one of Jim's
machine tunings on that L.
    Now the machine tuning might be a recording onto the SAT of
Jim's aural tuning assisted by that SAT.  But to Dave Andersen if
you want to visit Jim to prove your point, that you can
demonstrate a better tuning on his piano than Jim can with his
machine, I want to be there. Because if you do you will be the
star (with a fat contract) in a video called, "Aural tuner beats
SAT III"
---ric (the "i" stands for the "i" in 'let the excuses begin')


----- Original Message -----
From: David Andersen <bigda@gte.net>
To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>; <oleg-i@wanadoo.fr>
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2002 5:33 PM
Subject: RE: ears vs. eyes..kinda long-winded


> >Shouldn't there be somewhere a "living museum" tuner, who
> >never used the ETD, and therefore never was changed by
> >its particular biases and requirements?
> >
> >And I volunteer!
> >
> >Susan
>
> I volunteer as well, and I guess it's time to step up to the
plate:  I
> think I can tune a piano so that it sounds measurably better
than any
> straight machine tuning---even Jim Coleman's, or Rich
Davenport's, or
> anyone else.  I'd love to have a chance to prove that to some of
you
> lovely folks.
> {David}