ETD's accurate?

Richard Brekne Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no
Wed, 18 Sep 2002 22:59:46 +0200


A440A@aol.com wrote:

> Richard writes:
> > If you are not concerned with such accuracy, then you certainly have
> >no use for a machine. You can slop in a tuning with 1 cent tolerences (from
> >Ed's post along similar lines)  in 20 minutes or so.
>
>         Um, does "slop in" used here refer to a 1 cent tolerance? The same 1
> cent accepted by the Guild testing procedures?

Ok....grin... so I am exagerating a bit... but not by a whole whale of a lot.
Point being that it doesnt do to use the argument of 0.01 cent accuracy in one
moment to defend the use of ETD's and then in the next breath argue that there is
no practical use for more then 1 cents accuracy.


> In other words, are you saying that a good tuning becomes a sloppy tuning if it
> varies by one cent?

No... and I cant possibly understand how anyone can make the stretch to that
conclusion from the statement above. Nowhere in that sentence is there anything
that by the even the most remote of gramatic liberties can be construed to say
anything about what defines a sloppy tuning.

>
>        Also Richard, are you saying you can tune the same piano, with say,
> tunings a week apart, aurally, and have all 88 notes the same on both
> tunings, within less than 1 cent?  I have never seen this happen.

Never measured, but doesnt seem to awfully undoable on the surface of it. I'll
check closer the next weeks what RCT says I am doing.... should be interesting.
In anycase if one allows for a few notes at the extremities to be the exception
to the rule and if the inharmonicity of the piano is not affected by some factor
like climate to render this moot.


> Especially
> when you consider the temperature change of a degree or two will render all
> this 1 cent precision an academic measurement.

This is a claim you make Ed, and I am sure you have experienced this yourself.
But for my part I do not say that I am able to concure. Just the other day I did
a tuning with Cyber Ear for a concert at Griegs home. Brand new Steinway D,
heavy duty Russian classical player. Lights, on full house, temperature up at
least a couple 3 degrees. I check the piano afterwards and find a couple unisons
that need very slight touchup... as in they developed what amounts to a beat
every 3 or 4 second drawl to them. No pitch adjustments per se were needed on any
note.

> Wondering,

Grin.. me too :)

> Ed Foote RPT

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
UiB, Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html



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