KVR Audio

dandmkirkwood · Post by **dandmkirkwood** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:30 am

Hi all. I'm thinking of doing some piano tuning for work so I'm looking for a good piano tuning application. Either a standalone app or a vst, would be awesome, and I don't want to pay too much, any suggestions? Any help would be awesome. Thanks.

forkol · Post by **forkol** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:42 am

Piano turning is a learned skill, and there's much more to it than just tuning the piano. So, if you're serious, you should seek out the proper training.

Having said that, when I'v seen piano tuners work, I haven't seen one carry a PC running a standalone or VST tuner. I suppose you could, but they make small portable tuners that would be much easier use and must less cumbersome to deal with.

MarioBruneau · Post by **MarioBruneau** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 2:12 pm

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Hi dandmkirkwood

First of all, a plugin is an app within a host application. That is, a main application such as a multitrack recorder like Nuendo uses plugins to enhance the functionalities of the main application (Nuendo)

So what you are looking for is a piano tuning application, not a plugin.

Like forkol mentioned in this tread, piano tuning is not an activity you will start in few weeks, il takes dedication and time to become a piano tuner.

I started as an apprentice 35 years ago and it took me 4 full years before I could charge any money for doing a piano tuning for a client.

You can learn to do touch-ups between your professional piano tuner's visits and it will keep your piano in top shape for longer but don't expect learning the trade in few weeks.

You can get a very cheap tuning device like the Korg CA-40 Large Display Auto Chromatic Tuner for under $20 to start (and it WILL work)

The electronic piano tuning device Korg CA-40

[img]http://howtotunepianos.com/wp-content/u ... -ca-40.jpg][/img] (http://howtotunepianos.com/)

But as soon as you get more "serious" about piano tuning, you will want to move to the next quality level with the Korg OT-120 Wide 8 Octave Chromatic Orchestral Tuner for around $75.

[img]http://howtotunepianos.com/wp-content/u ... ot-120.jpg][/img] (http://howtotunepianos.com/)

If you plan on producing videos for your website or recording live music of your band's rehersals, you might as well go for the fantastic ZOOM H2 audio recorder with built in chromatic tuner and metronome. I consider this tool a better fit than the next one, the more expensive Peterson Virtual Strobe Tuner. If you are into music like a lot of piano tuners are, you will like the added features that the Zoom H2 will give you.

[img]http://howtotunepianos.com/wp-content/u ... om-h21.jpg][/img] (http://howtotunepianos.com/)

This is a very versatile tool. The Zoom H2 has 4 internal microphones and can capture audio in stereo and 4 channels surround. It can be used as a USB mic for recording your voice in your computer with pristine clarity. It can be used as an MP3 player with the included stereo headphones. Most importantly, it has a built in chromatic tuner you can use to tune pianos. Double this with an internal metronome, it is the perfect tool to evaluate the beat-rates of intervals when establishing the temperament. For under $200, you can't go wrong.

I've been using the Peterson Virtual Strobo-tuner VS-1 for many years. It is now replaced by the Peterson V-SAM (Virtual Strobe Audio Metronome) at a more expensive price ($250) and suitable for the more serious piano tuners.

[img]http://howtotunepianos.com/wp-content/u ... on-vs1.jpg][/img] (http://howtotunepianos.com/)

The top level electronic piano tuner is the Peterson AutoStrobe 490 Strobe Tuner at $600 for advance piano tuners.

[img]http://howtotunepianos.com/wp-content/u ... obe490.jpg][/img] (http://howtotunepianos.com/)

For advance users, the Peterson Auto Strobe 490 is the State Of The Art piano tuning device. Often used in Laboratories and piano manufacturers around the world.

There you go!

Good luck

Mario Bruneau

Jorns Bergenson · Post by **Jorns Bergenson** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:42 pm

The last time I had my piano tuned, the technician came with a bag of tools. The only tools he used on that particular visit were a tuning lever and his ears. I was amazed.

Panphobia · Post by **Panphobia** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 12:01 am

Most tuners that use software run it on a small device such as a palm pilot. I actually borrowed my mom's and got a demo version of professional tuning software, but it is much harder than it seems. After one tuning I decided to go back to hiring a good tuner instead

Winstontaneous · Post by **Winstontaneous** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:03 pm

I've had a couple pianos over the years. To be 100% honest I wouldn't consider using someone who hadn't mastered tuning by ear with forks and counting beats. That's not to say I'm against electronic/computer assistance but you're not doing yourself or future clients any favors by taking shortcuts.

That said, a good portable strobe tuner would help. One tuner who came by had a database on a laptop in which he recorded the temperament/offsets/specs of each piano he did, which could then be shared with other tuners.

johnlewisgrant · Post by **johnlewisgrant** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:55 pm

The thread may be dead... but here goes.

Yes, there IS one excellent piano tuning software package on the market... a program that calculates the stretch of the individual piano you're tuning and produces individual tuning "targets" for every note of your piano. It's called Verituner. It's expensive, but in my opinion produces a result which is as good as if not substantially superior to most aural tunings. You will need to know, however, something about positioning the tuning hammer over the tuning pegs and how best to torque the peg (or tuning pin) so as not to wreck the pinblock of your piano and, as well, to produce as stable a tuning as possible. Every piano's different; and some are obviously easier to tuner than others and, as well, stay in tune longer (assuming constant humidity).

JG

bluedad · Post by **bluedad** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:36 pm

I've been looking at verituner. Right now I'm using tune lab on a Ipaq..cyber tuner is also fantastic. A tuner for forty yrs, it's only the last ten that I've used an electronic aid. My ears are also the judge, not the machine. That being said, really the most difficult part of doing a tuning is setting the tuning pin.

robogone · Post by **robogone** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:46 pm

bluedad wrote:My ears are also the judge, not the machine. That being said, really the most difficult part of doing a tuning is setting the tuning pin.

Definitely. I used to work at a theater where the in-house pianos were tuned weekly (we would have to move them a lot). The majority of weeks people were satisfied, but every once in a while someone would complain.

I remember one occasion where a guy came in and asked where the piano was. When he saw it he opened the lid and played 3 or 4 notes then said "That's not tuned to concert A" and walked off again. We got the tuner back and he checked it and it was out by a few cents so he retuned it by fixing the concert A using electronics then did the rest using his ears. When the guy came back he played it for about 2 or 3 minutes and said it was good with the exception of one note. The tuner was called back again and found that one note was out by a tiny amount and the biggest problem he had was that he couldn't turn the peg to the exact position to tune it. I know he got the note in tune eventually but not sure what he did.

DJNexus · Post by **DJNexus** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 7:26 pm

There's a pretty good open source program for piano tuning at https://sourceforge.net/projects/ultrat ... =directory. It is not yet quite as sophisticated as some of the commercial programs, but it should get you started, and it's free.

I just put it on a laptop with an external microphone. Seems to work fine, even if it is a little jittery with the bass notes. But it's better to do those by ear anyways.

Winstontaneous · Post by **Winstontaneous** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 8:30 pm

As long as we're discussing Well-Tuned Pianos

Mark Cerisano, RPT · Post by **Mark Cerisano, RPT** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 4:09 am

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Piano tuning software can give you a good approximation on where to tune each note.

Some popular programs/devices: Sanderson Accutuner, Peterson Strobe Tuner, Tunelab97 (Shareware for PC), Verituner, CyberTuner, Dirk's piano tuner, PureSound.

Unisons are often done by ear. Stability is the hardest skill to master, IMHO.

Read more at http://howtotunepianos.com (http://howtotunepianos.com)

dturner · Post by **dturner** » Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:00 pm

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There's a relatively new tuning app on the market called Easy Piano Tuner. The app is geared toward professional tuners, but they have a limited-functionality "hobbyist" version of the app for about $20 that is able to tune pianos just fine. Compared to other professional tuning software (tunelab, veritune, cybertune, etc.) this one probably has the easiest learning curve. Their website is http://www.easypianotuner.com (http://www.easypianotuner.com)

traz · Post by **traz** » Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:20 pm

Entropy Piano Tuner (free)..... try it ....it works on my wifes $35000 piano... I have a music degree but never tuned pianos before....have been doing this for two years works great...still need an ear though for some of it....cheers