Tuning styles with octaves

[Bec and John]

Hi David,

How much stretch are you talking about, can you describe it a bit more? 
I don't find my double, triple, etc. octaves to be flat, but I am not 
aware of any "intentional" stretching that I'm doing.

I too am incredibly picky about beatless unisons. Though not all pianos 
co-operate as much as others, so sometimes it takes a while :)

Thanks.

-- John


> Hey all----
>
> I have absolutely no experience with HT or WT, but I've been tuning 
> good
> grands in ET for 30 years, and have got to a place where, as has been 
> said
> before, the piano tells me where it wants to be vis a vis the 
> stretch---
> but ALWAYS within a very small parameter of difference, and every grand
> piano ALWAYS wants to be stretched.  Unless you like your double, 
> triple,
> and quadruple octaves to be flat, and your arpeggios to sound pinched 
> and
> unfriendly. <g>.
>
> Beautiful, musical tuning starts with the absolute, stable precision 
> of the
> temperament, which is then delivered to the rest of the piano via 
> octave
> tuning; finally, the instrument starts to sing when the unisons become 
> truly
> as one. It amazes me that as I grow in this craft, "setting a good
> temperament" becomes more and more precise, shimming unisons and making
> adjustments in incredibly small increments;   "beatless," instead of 
> being a
> tiny spot, sometimes can seem like the Grand Canyon; and unisons can be
> stood absolutely stock still, from the moment of impact until the last 
> dying
> whisper. After 30 years, I feel like I'm just beginning to understand 
> what a
> really good tuning is.
>
> One good thing among many the EDT has brought is a return to 
> open-string
> tuning---there is no more precise or fun way to tune a piano than with 
> all
> the strings open and full. It's vertiginous and scary at first when 
> you quit
> using the temperament strip---at least it was for me, 3 years ago---but
> doing it has reinvigorated my tuning pleasure and, after thousands and
> thousands of tunings, catapulted me into better and better work, which
> guarantees a successful business.
> Along with the Golden Rule.
> And coffee.
> And a buncha money.
> An' a purty gurl thankin' ah'm a big stud.....oops--- OT! OT! OT! OT! 
> OT!
> OT!
>
> Take care, all, and be happy.....
> David Andersen
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