There seems to be free (as in beer) piano tuning software available at sourceforge.

I have not used it on a piano yet, so I do not know the quality.

If anyone else is interested in experimenting, here is the link:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ultratune/?source=dlp

Note: I installed this on my netbook. After installation, I had error messages about Microsoft.DirectX.directsound

I updated my system and updated DirectX. It seems to be working.

Edit: To start the program in v0.2.0 this is the path:

UltraTune.v0.2.0 > UltraTune > bin > Release > UltraTune.v0.2.0 > UltraTune.v0.2

You may get a prompt asking for permission to unzip other files.

Also, I do get some error messages. Of course, this is only v0.2

Edit: It had to happen. Sooner or later someone would come up with a freeware version of piano tuning software including stretch.

Thanks for posting this link. I've been looking for something like this to try out my crazy theories for a while.

Too bad it's written in M$C# which I don't know very well.

Kees

Hi Kees,

I only had some Java and some C++.Net courses. I need lots and lots of comments The project seems to be GPL'ed, which is awesome!

Now if I could just find GNU/Linux piano tuning software, I'd be walking on air

Of course if this works out, I may have to just use software for pitch raises, and then go back to aural only for fine tuning in order to justify my existence LOL!

-Joe

Edit: In fact, I think I'll be editing my web-site in the next few days...

Since this has been and is inevitable, soon anyone will be able to download advanced piano tuning software for no cost.

I'm going to get out ahead of this, since it's obvious what's coming. I am changing my approach to using software just for pitch raises and setting UTs. All final passes will be made by ear... old school.

Besides, as I noticed in my "Experiment" thread, there are times when I need to use my ear anyhow. I'll start representing the lineage of the particular training I received years ago, rather than a more generic tuning style that an ETD gives. Maybe this is a good thing ultimately.

Then, I'll record the variations from the machine-generated placements for the A's. That way, I can still monitor for any undue changes that will act as a warning that the piano could be developing problems.

Took a look....that spinner looks like an exact copy of the Veritner Ipad spinner?!

Yes, it does. And the lower display looks a lot like TuneLab.

It will be interesting to see if this gets used by pianist in the future to tune their own piano. Could mean a lot of extra repair work in the future(especially replacing broken strings). I wonder if Verituner/Cybertuner/Tunelab will end up doing something different to stay competitive.

I also wonder if developments like this will create the demand that will lead piano manufacturers to begin designing pianos that are simpler for the layperson to tune.

There doesn't seem to be any controls... I see it displaying an iH number when I sing, I'll have to go play with a real piano sometime.

Off to find a link for a user guide.

Hope the developer of this UltraTune software doesn't get sued by Verituner and/or TuneLab for what could appear to be copyright infringement - that is, copying the software interface design.

There have been many big lawsuits about copying Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) in the past, such as this famous one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer,_Inc._v._Microsoft_Corporation

If the developer is reading this:

I would recommend changing the interface to make it more distinct from those other products. Verituner/Tunelab/et al. will already have a strong desire to sue and remove this free substitute product from the market. If they think the GUI is a copy of their products, then they will have a basis for a lawsuit as well.

It's only version 0.2.0. Improvements are probably on their way.

I don't think so. From my experience with pianists (and I have been a pianist much longer than I've been a piano technician), 90% do not care much at all about the mechanics of their instruments, and do not want to be bothered with fixing or tuning it themselves. Much like vehicle owners - probably 90% of whom don't know/care enough about the mechanics of their car to fix it or do routine maintenance themselves. That's not an insult to anyone's intelligence - it's just a matter of time and priorities.

Tuning an acoustic piano will always be a difficult and time-consuming task - especially for the inexperienced. New tools and software may make the job possible for more people, but it will not make it that much easier or faster. The piano owners that will play around with this software will probably be mostly the same people that tinker around with their piano anyway - because it interests them.

I have tried 5 times to download this and run it on both my netbook and desktop. Netbook is windows 7 64 bit, desktop win 7 32 bit. BOTH ran into 'unexpected error' and would not unpack. What am I doing wrong?

That's odd. It's just a zip file. I had no problems.

Edit: Maybe the file got messed up when it was downloaded. You could try deleting the zip file you have, and the downloading it again.

I have the same problem. tried several times to run file. Got the same error. I have latest windows updates.

Good old XP!

Ther is a new version available:

v0.2.1

Another new version, v0.2.3 is available, with better bass note detection.

It appears to me to be Beta so I'll keep playing with it.

Ultratune Version v0.2.4 just got posted:



It looks like the author changed the interface a bit so it looks less like Verituner now. Probably a good thing from a legal standpoint.



One feature request I would have (if the developer is reading this) is support for non-standard ("offset") tunings. In TuneLab, you can set the base offset to, say, -100 cents, so that you can tune a piano a semi-tone low. Or -50 cents, for a quarter-tone low, or -19.78 cents so A5=435hz instead of 440hz if you are tuning a victorian piano. Setting a base offset changes the entire tuning so that all notes are now targeting the new frequencies. TuneLab also has a single-note offset setting if you want to just change the tuning target of one note.

Since this software is being discussed here I figured that I'd make an account here as well. I am the developer of this software.

While I do not have a lot of experience in piano tuning, I do have considerable knowledge about signal processing and programming, as well as the physics of strings that cause their inharmonicity. I try to read as much as possible about how experienced tuners create the stretch in a piano -- but I might have some questions in the future, so it is nice that I found this forum.

The features you are requesting will eventually come (especially needed are pitch calibration/offset tunings and manual adjustment of the stretch). However, I want to make the pitch detection more accurate first, before I do anything else -- I want to get this down to sub-cent accuracy. Currently the accuracy is ~1 ct at A440, which is about 0.2 Hz. Tuning with this accuracy would be very close, but would prevent you from attaining a perfect tuning.

I have found a possible solution to it but the mathematics are really complex -- I'll have to figure those out first. (For those who are interested and learned in the subject, I want to try windowing the frequency domain information around specific peaks/partials, then find the center of gravity of the peak to determine the actual frequency. Right now I just choose the frequency with the highest magnitude. I'm still figuring out how I should process the phase information.)

The interface has indeed been changed due to possible copyright claims, and the old interface has been made unavailable. As for patents: this is a difficult matter. There are several US patents claiming different inventions relating to note detection and tuning systems, but there is some doubt about the value of these patents since many of their claims are trivial or non-original. VeriTuner, Inc. is already claiming infringement, but I am myself not concerned with the effects of US Patents since I do not live in the US -- any users or distributors (including SourceForge) located in the US may be -- we'll see how that turns out.

Small update: VeriTune has filed a DMCA takedown notice with Sourceforge, leading to the current unavailability of the project -- I will try to resolve this with SourceForge, but if unsuccessful, I will host it myself in another country, which will make it impervious to any future DMCA requests.

It is really bothersome that the DMCA gives rightsholders so much power in the US...

I think Pisarenko's method (or some variant) is what you want.

There is probably a US patent on scratching your head. Shame on Verituner.

Kees

Filiptb - sorry to hear about your troubles with VeriTune.

I'm sure they weren't happy to see a substitute product that is free. And free is certainly a lot cheaper than the $900 that they charge (robbery if you ask me) so they are probably just afraid of a little competition.

I wonder if Veritune has any patents at all, or they just filed the DMCA complaint to try and stop a competitor. As the Apple vs. Microsoft case shows, you can't patent a software interface, you can only patent the code behind it. Unless you somehow got your hands on their actual source code and copied it, I don't really think Veritune has any kind legitimate complaint.

If Veritune can't compete with one guy writing his own open-source software project, what hope do they have in competing against Tunelab (which has a better product for 1/3 the cost, in my opinion) and Reyburn Cyber Tuner? I think their DMCA complaint speaks volumes about their insecurity regarding how good they think their software actually is, and what they think about their ability to compete in the marketplace.

Thanks for standing up to them and continuing the development of UltraTune. It has a lot of potential to be a great piece of software (actually it already is!).

I think I found the solution:
http://www.ingelec.uns.edu.ar/pds2803/Materiales/Articulos/AnalisisFrecuencial/04205098.pdf

Noteworthy that not one tuning program like Verituner (or any of the others for that matter) has made it to "market," free or otherwise. I wonder whether it is that easy to smash the copyright?

Anyhow, Verituner is highly regarded--probably the most highly regarded piano-tuning software for a number of reasons, not least of which is the "spinner," which can be speed-adjusted in a manner that makes tuning a string after the initial attack (hammer blow) both flexible and at the same time very, very accurate.

Also, of course, VT permits complex, user-defined tuning styles.

Is it vulnerable? Susceptible of improvement? Absolutely! It is cumbersome, to say the least, by current software standards.

This paper describes a method in section 3.1. Resolution is something like 0.0001 cent in the absense of noise. It also extracts decay rates and amplitudes.

Kees

Hello filiptb,

I have 2 questions:

Ultimately, do you plan to make your UltraTune multi-partial?

Since you are going FOSS, any plans for a GNU/Linux version?

Thanks,
-Joe

I think that the EU has implemented the DMCA so it is the same within the EU as in the US.
I don't understand the problem though. If someone create something like a software or whatever, why should they upload it or parts of it for free? They might have spent a lot of time on their projects, and want to get paid for that, just like we all want to get paid for our work.

What does Verituner's DMCA takedown notice claim? Is the document publically available?

Patent search comes up with this:

Carpenter tuning patents

A couple of these are not related. They just happen to have the word "tuning" in the abstract.

Haven't waded through it all yet. Patent language is a bit convoluted (well, more than a bit).

-Mark

I find that pianos prevent me from attaining a perfect tning.....

Why would you want to tune your windows?

Internet economic model (I mean Google, to simplify) is not adapted to traditional artisanal work as piano tuning, repair, etc.

I cannot see how I could tune your piano at distance, and being paid by Google ads.

Then I could do 5 "virtual" tunings a day, but the physical expense would remain. ( I heard that the Hollandese tuners syndicate had negotiated with piano shop owners so not to do more than 6 tunings a day !)

xx wrong thread

From now on, UltraTune can be found at http://www.ultratune.nl.

Will the program run on Mac, or Windows only?

Thanks,
jw

The program is currently Windows-only. I am not currently planning on creating a version for Mac. My goal is to make it on par with the commercial programs. When I accomplish that goal, I will try to go cross-platform (but probably starting with Android first).

Unfortunately I do not own a Mac which makes developing for that platform currently impossible.

Of course, since the program is open source, you are free to try and port the code to make a Mac version yourself.

Thanks! I have a PC to put it on, but since my work laptop is a mac and much newer I thought I'd ask. Thanks for the suggestion on modifying the software- I'm doing well to just run the computer without hurting myself, so I better pass on any code work!

Cool thing you're doing here!
John

OhZZZZ.
Microsoft.DiretX.DirectSound not found.

Hi Weiyan,

If you look at my first post, you will see that I updated Windows and then updated DirectX. After that, it started working.

-Joe

Today there is a product named EasyTune being given away from

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/

The strange thing is that the screen shots of EasyTune look exactly like UltraTune and the PDF manuals of the two appear to be word for word the same. And EasyTune is also being sold from

http://www.slysoft.biz/easytune/

Edit: Another commenter at giveawayoftheday.com was able to prove that EasyTune was a recompile of the UltraTune source code with the program name and copyright changed. I'm surprised that giveawayoftheday.com did not withdraw EasyTune once that was shown.

Larry

Thank you for the reply. I am using Windows 8. Checked for update. It reported no newer update. Win 8 come with DirectX 11.1. It may incompatible with win 8.

There are still some missing dlls etc. You need to install the
DirectX End-User Runtime. It works with Windows 8 too.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

Edit: And .NET Framework 3.5

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh506443.aspx

Thank you Hakki for the information re DirectX. This will install optional DirectX that is not included in most windows installations. I am running win7-32 and after web install UltraTune started working without any problems. Maybe filiptb can post this information on his website UltraTune.nl along with the binary and code. Seems as if there are a lot of people having this problem with ultratune. Thanks again.

Hakki,

Thank you. It works after installing DirectX runtime.

My windows machine is a quad core desktop. I only test it with guitar and recorder. I like the minimal screen layout. If using the stripping bar of tunelab is more intuitive.

Thank you for the heads-up. It is of course ridiculous that slysoft seems to be selling a derivative version of this free software -- which is seemingly a GPL violation. If the copyright has been changed, it is also a copyright violation.

I guess free software developers can't do much about this problem, though.

As for continued development: I have very little time in the next two weeks, so the next version will take some time to be released.

Well you probably can do something about it.

1) Veritune would be pleased to hear about it, it really is worse than yours being free.

2) Someone must support obvious GPL / trademark infringements

3) Why did you open source the project, are there some parts that require it?

Do a 'whois' on the slysoft website, that ought to provide enough information for you to pass on.

I am loving it!! Ultra Tune rules!

Thank you so very much!!

-H.W.

www.ultratune.nl

webpage down?

I'm also interested in this software. Does anyone have a copy of the install file or the zipped folder they can upload to mediafire.com?

It responds to pings, but doesn't seem to be otherwise "up".
I have been trying from time to time for 6 hours or so.

So, perhaps the owner can give it a wake-up call ?

Google drive link:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7RZlWNN3tUjZ0N3Y01ubEstUjg/edit?usp=sharing

/Per

It looks really simplistic, which of course doesn't mean much, but has anyone here tried it out?

I'll give it a shot recording some notes and see what it reports about inharmonicity.

Thanks for sharing that Per!

Does anybody have the source code? Would be interested to see if I can maintain/improve the software, but I can't find the code anywhere.

Here's another mirror for UltraTune.v0.2.4.zip in case Per's link breaks:
https://mega.co.nz/#!9sAlQAoZ!OyFM3UVB9smPqNgv_i7JhmsXwRcNuhzO3v28UMIAF_E

Had a look at Pers link but got a warning not to download exe file from security program. Is it safe to download??

I'm resurrecting this topic because I have a question about Ultra Tune, or perhaps generally about ETDs.

Thanks also to Hakki, for the additional links.

I downloaded Ultra Tune 0.2.4 from Per's Google Drive link, and Direct X End-user Runtime updates from MS, in order to test my own aurally tuned temperaments in future. While testing the basic function of the program, I noticed that the data collected for a note (partials detected, their respective offsets, offset of the fundamental, inharmonicity bar indicating completeness of iH data recorded) disappear as soon as the note is no longer detected. Mind you, I tested on full unisons that were not freshly tuned, so I'm not surprised that note detection was somewhat iffy, and didn't last very long.

Still, once a note had been recognized, I would have liked to look at the recorded data at my leisure, but as soon as the note is no longer detected, all data disappear. Is this behaviour typical for ETDs?

The software only has two commands: background noise recording, and selection between stretched (piano) and non-stretched tuning. I can find no "hold" command that "locks" recorded data into the display.

The other interesting thing I tested, was the influence of temperature on my tuning fork. At room temperature, being about 18.5°C (65°F), it was almost a cent sharp. Gently warmed in my hand, it came very close. And warmed against my body, probably somewhere close to 32°C (90°F), it was a cent flat. So it seems to be calibrated for about 25°C (77°F).

Verituner keep all ih data of notes in tuning file which can be viewed later. Tuning fork and the piano frequency usually have negative temperature coefficient This may due to expansion of material in higher temperature.

Mark,

If you remember, I had my piano tuned with Ultratune and posted the sound files for 3rds, 6ths, etc. awhile back. The link to that thread is below.

As you can see, the tuning was found unsatisfactory, because the interval beat rates was not progressive. Plus, while tuning we had a lot of trouble at the extreme bass and treble with having the notes detected by the software.

So it is as of this state seems a software in development stage with very limited and somewhat erroneous results.

But, then again, you can listen to the samples and decide yourself.


Ultratune tuning thread

The version of UltraTune that I have is v0.2.3. This is still a development version, not the finished product. In fact, it seems to be an early development version.

There is no way to correct for soundcard variations like in the other ETD software. You would want to be very careful before relying on U-T at this time, even for setting A4.

Thanks to both of you.

Hakki, I remember that thread and have gone back to the samples. I'd forgotten that you'd used Ultra Tune. I agree that the temperament on those recordings is not satisfactory. The flat F3 sticks out like a sore thumb in most all of the tests. By the way, seeing that so many of the octaves and octave-fifths sound so narrow, do you remember whether your tuner switched the program to stretched (piano) mode? I'll probably use Ultra Tune to tune a temperament and then check the results aurally, just for kicks, before doing things the other way round.

Joe, thanks for the heads-up. I wasn't aware of this. At this stage, I'm more interested in how consistently (repeatable and precise) I can do things, not so much in absolute accuracy. [Edit: but, yes, if I really want to test my pitch and temperament, e.g. for scoring purposes, I should probably get reliable software, or ask a professional to evaluate one of my tunings.)

Mark, we were definitely sure that stretch mode was active. And we exactly followed the tuning procedure given in the readme file.

Cool, then that's what I'll do too, probably.

By the way, I have a mismatched bichord on F3. I'm very interested to see how the program would handle each of the strings.

May I suggest tunelab97. It is a fully functional shareware version pre-tunlab pro. I use it for teaching aural tuning. Google search tunelab97.

Thanks, Mark, I shall do so.

I just did a quick search for U T. I cannot find any new links.

I tried http://www.ultratune.nl/ as well. The web page does not load. A message appears:


Either the U T project is abandoned, or access to the web-site is blocked here in the US.

0.2.4 is still available at the below link

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7RZlWNN3tUjZ0N3Y01ubEstUjg/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you Hakki,

Just glancing over the manual, it appears thbat there is still no way to enter an offset for A4 to compensate for soundcard variations.