Times WHAT??

Just for the curious who live in the NYC environs, or who can get the New
York Times... there is an interesting article in TODAY's Times, "Circuits"
section, on piano tuning with frequency counters and computers, just what I
was interested in (!!) It features a NYC concert pianist, Mordecai
Shehori, who also tunes his own piano using the "CyberTuner" software, and
the inventor, tuner Dean Reyburn in Michigan, who is also a computer
programmer...

The two tuning devices featured are the new software "CyberTuner" and an
older frequency counting device -- which looks rather 12-tETcentric to me
from the small photo, the "Sanderson Accu-Tuner."

I could not find an easy Web search on the later, but, naturally could find
"CyberTuner" right away...

It is at <www.reyburn.com>

It looks quite interesting, but is a pricey little software at $795 a pop.
Also, I don't own a laptop, but, of course, I will be happy to carry my
desktop computer to my tuning appointments....

_____________
Joseph Pehrson

Joseph,

The third contender in the Electronic Tuning Devices used by piano tuners is
called Tunelab 97, fairly customizeable Windows shareware which can be
downloaded from http://www.wwnet.net/~rscott/

BTW, the Sanderson unit is not just a frequency counting device, nor is it
older (SAT III is quite recent).

At $35, Tunelab 97 seems much more attractive than the $795 Reyburn CyberTuner
or $1200(+?) Sanderson Accutuner. Especially for your purposes, as it does read
Hz from a microphone input.

Clark

>BTW, the Sanderson unit is not just a frequency counting device, nor is
>it
>older (SAT III is quite recent).

Greetings,
I sure hated to miss out on that interview! I had a long discussion with
Katie Hafner, concerning the temperament revival, but saw no mention in the
article. Ah well, maybe later.
The Accu-Tuner is a very advanced piece of gear, I have been using one
professionally for years, and have never been in a situation where its curves
or tempering didn't do the job. Yo Yo Ma played a piano/cello duet with this
piano, tuned exactly to the machine's decisions, and was happy with the
result, so I relax a little bit about the abilities.
One of the most important features of these machines is that they allow
the application of various temperaments to pianos, with no extra work. This
is having a growing effect, 60 % of my customers are now using well tempered
tunings and have no thought of going back to ET. This includes a growing
number of professional musicians.
The other important aspect is that an aural tuning can be recorded, and
used over and over again, being tweaked and improved each time. This
cumulative refinement allows a very polished tuning to evolve on a particular
model and brand of piano.
Regards,
Ed Foote
Precision Piano Works
Nashville, Tn.

In-Reply-To: <200002172038_MC2-99AA-8B0A@compuserve.com>
> Just for the curious who live in the NYC environs, or who can get the
> New
> York Times... there is an interesting article in TODAY's Times,
> "Circuits"
> section, on piano tuning with frequency counters and computers ...

Well, you certainly don't need to live anywhere near New York to read the
Times. Here's the URL:

http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/02/circuits/articles/17tune.html

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