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The cheapest professional level tuning software I know is Tunelab Pro and it is about $300 +.

But this is not as much as the 2 to 3 years of training in tuning pianos with a good mentor or at least a $1,600 course of piano technology plus a good $1,000 to buy a decent tuning hammer and a minimum set of other tools to fix broken strings, sticking keys and other minor repairs.

So if you only have $100 to spend, you can call a professional tuner to tune your piano!

Even with an ETD, if you don't know the fundaments of piano tuning you can not get a correct tuning curve for a particular piano.

I would phrase it: Without a fundamental knowledge of aural tuning, you will not be able to tell whether the result of using an ETD is correct or not.

I would phrase it: Without a fundamental knowledge of aural tuning, you will not be able to tell whether the result of using an ETD is correct or not.

I would think that the increased tension would tend to stiffen the board. So, I don't think it's that. Edit: unless it turns out that the responsiveness of this particular board is really optimized at a higher tension.

Though I have never tuned the Young 1799, I have absolutely found that various temperaments will affect the resonance and character of the piano, beyond just affecting the harmony. This is the main reason I personally use them.

I try to stay with temperaments that are very close to ET. Even the 1/10th CM, which might technically still be considered ET, affects the resonance.

Also, the way octaves are tuned... whether one takes a "local" approach, or a "global" approach across the whole keyboard.

I was thinking of a simpler approach.

If you tune aurally, incorporate multi-octave checks into all your other checks as you expand the temperament outwards. That is, check that all the A's sound correct by checking all the A's with each other in every possible pair... even A0 with A7. And all the A#'s, the B's, the C's, etc. Edit: If compromising the octaves messes with your various beat speed progressions, then tweak accordingly, even if you have to redo the temperament several times. This will create a "custom" tuning for exactly this piano.

Edit: This is "simpler", not faster.

This is the "musical" approach used in hybrid tuning with any of the machines - no traditional aural skills required. The better the machine, the better the result. The concept is simply to help guide the machine to the appropriate stretch, then letting it divvy up the intervals between. The process is somewhat inside out from the traditional method of tuning, instead of focusing on the temperament and then spreading this octave to the rest, first treat the piano as if it only has 8 keys - all the A's, for example, then the machine can divide up the octaves to provide the tuning calculation.

Follow the directions on the software to provide the machine with the measurements it needs to calculate a tuning. Next pre-tune one string of the A's - as you go check all the combinations to see if the result is as an instrumentalist or singer would like.(Most machines treat the A's as special to place A4 at 440Hz, but any note can work) If there is any waver, the machine is your landmark, but go ahead and shift the note flat and sharp to see if you can find a better location. If so, instruct the software to adjust the tuning to match.

Again, the calculation at the break and across the range of the piano depends on the sophistication of the software - some electronic tuning devices may never be able to achieve this adjustment, except on the bigger instruments.



Ron Koval

We like to trust strongly in our dreams, it helps.

This is the "musical" approach used in hybrid tuning with any of the machines - no traditional aural skills required. The better the machine, the better the result. The concept is simply to help guide the machine to the appropriate stretch, then letting it divvy up the intervals between. The process is somewhat inside out from the traditional method of tuning, instead of focusing on the temperament and then spreading this octave to the rest, first treat the piano as if it only has 8 keys - all the A's, for example, then the machine can divide up the octaves to provide the tuning calculation.

Follow the directions on the software to provide the machine with the measurements it needs to calculate a tuning. Next pre-tune one string of the A's - as you go check all the combinations to see if the result is as an instrumentalist or singer would like.(Most machines treat the A's as special to place A4 at 440Hz, but any note can work) If there is any waver, the machine is your landmark, but go ahead and shift the note flat and sharp to see if you can find a better location. If so, instruct the software to adjust the tuning to match.

Again, the calculation at the break and across the range of the piano depends on the sophistication of the software - some electronic tuning devices may never be able to achieve this adjustment, except on the bigger instruments.

Ron Koval

Question to all you tuners out there. When I moved my piano from ET to Young 1799, I did not make an adjustment to maintain the overall tension. It is now slightly higher. I found that as I moved the pitch to the new temperament in the C6 to C8 range, the individual string would start to ring and have longer sustain than at the old tension. Is this normal? Is it a result of the increased tension? Am I just thinking it is different?