question for aural tuners

[John Formsma]

On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 9:07 PM, Jonathan Golding <jgmdpiano at gmail.com>
wrote:

> When tuning the last octave of the piano's bass section I would like to
> know people's opinions on how they get the best results. For me, I find this
> a tricky area to get consistently good results. Some bass strings sound dead
> whereas others are harsh sounding and some have lots of overtones. As well,
> each piano seems to have a different amount of stretch to take into
> consideration.  When tuning the last octave I usually check using the Maj
> 17th against the Maj 10th for approximate equal beating. When I play the
> octaves together harmonically I find that this leaves the last octave
> sounding too high to my ear. Any comments or suggestions? Any single partial
> for this area which could be helpful?
>
>
It should go without saying that the better your tuning in the midrange is,
the better it will be in the bass.

Generally, I'd say (at first) listen to bass octaves at the 6:3 partials.
 That at least gets you in the ball park.  Rough it in, then refine,
right? (I tune the bass a tad wider than this on many pianos.)   The more
you tune, the quicker you hear the right spot for that piano.  And the fewer
tests that have to be done.
I'm finding 4ths and 5ths useful all the way down to the lowest octave.
 They're helpful for roughing it in.  You can also use the double octave and
octave-fifth to refine.  E.g. C2-C4 and C2-G3.  Get them to beat equally,
and you'll be fine.  These are harder to hear in the low bass, but there are
other tests that can take over when this one is no longer useful.

There is a point in the scale at which the 12:6 partials become prominent.
 This can be tricky because it is the same pitch as the 6:3 partial except
an octave higher.  As you're listening for the 6:3, the 12:6 call for your
attention. But tuning the 12:6 partials beatless is mainly only for the
concert grands.  Just be careful of getting off track by tuning the 12:6
beatless.

To help against doing that, always be comparing double, triple, and
quadruple octaves.  And listen quickly to the octave-fifth and double
octave-fifths.

After the octaves sound good, like Wim said ... do the descending
double-octave and seventh.  Or, the octave-seventh.  I start at C2-A#3, and
go down, listening for even progression.  Your mistakes will show up clearly
with this test.

-- 
JF
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