Using a tuner

[Luke_Mahoney]

The past few months I've been working on my Mark I from 74. It's sounding exponentially better than when I picked it up, but the intonation has been bugging me so I decided to take the weekend to use a tuner and get it sounding better. I began adjusting the octaves surrounding middle C and started to notice inconsistencies between what was read on the tuner and what my ear heard. What the tuner considered the correct pitch would not sound in tune when in the context of a triad. Should I avoid playing intervals when tuning the instrument? I know our temperament system is slightly imperfect, and I don't believe I know how to compensate for this. Should I just take the instrument to a professional and get it stretched?

[pianotuner steveo]

No, you can do it. If your tuner is meant for guitars or other instruments with less notes, you can use it to get started in the middle, then just use your ears to tune the octaves, etc. you may want to keep the tuner on as a rough guide, but remember, your ears are going to be better unless you use a really expensive tuner. BTW, Tune lab DOES NOT work well on a Rhodes.

General rule of thumb: stretch treble slightly, but also flatten the bass slightly.

[Ledbetter]

The Rhodes Service Manual has a stretch tuning chart at Figure 5-4:

http://www.fenderrhodes.com/org/manual/ch5.html#5-1

I hope it helps.

[pianotuner steveo]

Yes, and that is a good visual rough guide, but you still need to use your ears. Every piano is different.

[prtarrell]

Tune the Rhodes just as one tunes an acoustic piano.  Start in the middle with a good equal temperament.  Usually F3 to F4.  Every interval in this octave should sound good. The fourths, fifths, thirds, sixths.  Then expand this into the treble continuing to make every interval sound good.  When you get to A4 you have a 10th interval with F3. When you get to A5, you have a 17th with F3.  keep going into the treble, tuning and checking the intervals until you get to 88.  There should be a smooth progression of 10ths and 17ths through note 88.  All the single, double, and triple octaves should sound good (in tune).  Then tune E3 and tune down,  continually checking the intervals.  Forget about about the bogus concept of stretch tuning.     If you've tuned all of the intervals and interval progressions correctly, when you play an in tune Rhodes, no matter where you grab it, it will sound oh so sweet.