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I always have to turn off "auto level" on the microphone settings - for whatever reason, it just causes a big lag or just leaves the display blank.

Ih measuring went very well today, just a few outliers to remeasure on a very old Chickering grand with lots of false beats.

The display couldn't stabilize enough for fine tuning above C6 or so with this challenging piano - even with smoothing on (though that helped)

Ron Koval

Beta Build 24 is uploaded and ready for testing.

If you are already testing you can update through TestFlight App.

If you are interested in testing this new beta please let me know and I will share the TestFlight link with you through PM.

In this version:

Treble Note and Treble Taper Note selections are added to Settings>Over Pull.
Default over pull parameters are set when creating new files or loading files from previous builds.

Ron, thank you for the update.

Glad to hear that IH measurement went well with Build 23.

You might try tapping microphone symbol to disable and tapping again to enable microphone, if you encounter a problem when auto level is on.

Did you try +/- 1 Cent Indicator? It will display the needle only if the measurement is within one cent. Might help if you are distracted with needle movements.

I often get needle sweeps + or - a little over 1 cent. The +/- cents indicator just made the needle never show on those notes!

Ron Koval

Ron, thank you for the clarification.

Does setting Spinner/Arcs Speed to Slow help? Or setting Indicator Response to Slow maybe?

Beta Build 25 is uploaded and ready for testing.

If you are already testing you can update through TestFlight App.

If you are interested in testing this new beta please let me know and I will share the TestFlight link with you through PM.

In this version:

Spinner/Indicator is smoother.
Bug fixed: Auto note check was not initiated when 8:2/6:3 stretch was selected.
Auto End Level behaves differently on upper treble notes when not measuring inharmonicity.

I have uploaded Beta Build 26.

This beta build comes with 500 free notes, in case you have run out of free notes in previous beta builds.

Also it fixes a bug about Treble Note over pull parameter to give correct note range.

If you are already testing you can update through TestFlight App.

If you are interested in testing this new beta please let me know and I will share the TestFlight link with you through PM.

Ron, did you have a chance to try Build 25 or 26?

Sorry, not yet!

Ron Koval

Everything working well today except for one glitch that I couldn't repeat.

When I first turned on display smoothing while in overpull mode and went back to the tuning screen, neither the spinner or needle would appear. Clicked it back off and it worked fine. Clicked it back on in the treble and it seemed to work without a hitch.

Display much more stable today. Solid iH measuring, I just had to remeasure 3 notes to check/verify from the graph on a recently rebuilt Steinway B.

In overpull mode, I would be willing to give up precision to gain speed while the app is calculating how much to overpull on each note. It takes a solid 3 count - during that time, the overpull amount displaying really isn't changing that much. I don't really need it down to the hundreths or even tenths of cents!

Ron Koval

Ron, thank you for the update.

Random glitches are hard to diagnose, but I will look into it.

Glad that Build 26 is working fine except that one glitch.

I will try to make the over pull measurement time shorter.

Ron, I have uploaded Build 27, which shortens the over pull measurement time and displays one decimal point.

Wow! So much faster on the overpull measurement. Thanks!

I'll go back on what I wrote before and would like to try an auto semitone option for overpulling. I've been doing mostly in the 10-30 cent range and think an auto step could work for those and keep me from having to swipe the screen all the time. Manual is still best for bigger adjustments.

A couple of times right around A4 and a little above, the spinner had a hard time hearing the note as I adjusted pitch. I think it has something to do with how I was muting the other two strings because moving the rubber mute lower seemed to help.

Can you share what the "spn" bass setting translates to? i was working on a Chickering console today and tried between that and 6:3. It seems like the spn set the bass just a bit lower?

Ron Koval

Ron, thank you for the update.

Glad to hear that new over pull measurement speed is okay.

I will enable auto semitone in over pull mode. But as you have pointed out, it might not work for pianos that are very flat. 10-30 cents might be okay though.
Will try to upload a new build tomorrow.

I will look into the problem you had with notes around A4 and a little above.

The sentence related to Spn setting in the manual is, "Spn setting is for spinet or similar pianos where all bass octaves tuned to 6:3 might be beneficial.". You are right, it is not clear from that sentence what the range is. Thank you for the reminder.

Maybe I should rephrase that sentence as "...where tuning all octaves from A0 to E3 as 6:3 octaves might be beneficial." for clarity.

Ron, I have uploaded Build 28. Where Auto Semitone can be activated during over pull. Over pull is disabled in Temp. Mode by default.

As a measure of precaution, when over pull is activated, it automatically switches to Manual mode, but you can set it to Auto Semitone after activating over pull.

I have yet to reproduce the glitch you sometimes had with notes around A4 when spinner mode was turned on.

Tuned in a location with a loud HVAC system running. I had to turn off the auto level in the mic setting and it worked fine after that.

Auto A0-C7 wanted to keep jumping down to the first octave - I don't remember if you made a note of using auto semitone or manual in noisy situations in the help files, but it's something that I'm familiar with for other apps.

I'm really pleased with the tuning results, especially on smaller pianos.

Anything you can do to stabilize the spinner/needle in the top octave or so would be appreciated - I know it is a really difficult zone with false beats and very little sustain in so many pianos! I'll keep trying different settings to see if something works better. What we like to see is the display react to pitch change from the lever in small increments. I'll try turning up the start level in the mic and see if multiple striking can give me something that works better.

For those following an app, there needs to be a level of confidence to really be able to set the high treble with precision. Also, for those 'getting on in years', having an app to help with the high treble is welcome.

And I really miss being able to see the clock and battery level that was possible with the older ios!

I'll be able to try the new build tomorrow.

Ron Koval

Ron, thank you for the update. Your feedbacks and suggestions are really appreciated.

Normally, in auto level when the app is started the app listens for the environment noise profile and adjusts the levels accordingly, so that it won't trigger because of the environmental noise.

If the noise begins during the tuning (that is, it gets louder after you initially turned on the app) , in such a situtation, you can tap on mic symbol to turn off the mic and then tap again to turn it on again. Now the mic will listen to noise level again and set auto levels accordingly. Still one of the reasons manual levels are there, is to help with such situations.

Glad to hear that PiaTune works well on smaller pianos.

I will try to stabilize the spinner and needle more for the top octave. Meanwhile, I could suggest using Indicator > Legacy for the last octave, but it is a bit slow, and you might need to use a nudge and wait style.

For the clock, you might swipe from top to see the notifications screen, but there is no battery information there. Unfortunately they have been disabled in landscape mode.

I forgot to mention yesterday that it would be nice to have the treble note in overpull settings go up higher for some consoles and spinets - maybe up to C or D6?

I'm wondering if a taper between midrange and treble would help with the results across the strut?

The overpull auto note stepper worked well today for a small adjustment, but it sometimes got lost so I had to keep a careful eye on the overpull cents and remeasure when it missed. Maybe 4-5 times? So I would still use it, but it could cause unintended results if techs weren't careful.

The spinner worked a little better up high, I set the start level around 40 and put the end level up to 28 (max). If you could make the max a little higher, then the reading would clear as the note decays and each strike would show the pitch again? Legacy spinner did help a bit up there.

Ron Koval

Ron, thank you for the feedback and suggestions.

I will extend Treble Note range to D6.

As per your suggestions, I am thinking of adding a new over pull setting named Midrange Note.

So that, midrange percentage will be effective from Last Wound Note up to Midrange Note. Then, there will be a taper from midrange percentage to treble percentage between Midrange Note and Treble Note.

In this case I think the Treble Note range should also be revised.

Would you please advise on note ranges for the new Midrange Note and Treble Note. Or whether such a solution is okay for you.

I will look into the over pull measurement in Auto Semitone mode. You are right that it is not full proof yet and care is needed. Was there a particular region that those 4-5 misses occured?

The End Level and Start Level ranges will be revised as 8-32 and 34-70 respectively.

Will try to load a new build with these changes tomorrow.

I am still working on last octave.

Trying to remember where the misses occurred... Seems to me it was near A4-A5, but after that I was being more careful about just playing the next note.

Earlier, I had tried striking the next note while I moved the mute so the app would have the higher note data while I returned to the lower note to finish the unison. That may have caused some confusion trying to do too much at once?

My treble note usually starts about 5 notes above the treble strut. Of course there are different designs that confuse this whole issue! Seems to me it is mostly around A5-C6?

In the past, I've used 18-20% above the last wound note, then 2 notes before the strut switch to 24% until 4-8 notes above the strut and then 34% on up. Percentages are all personal based on lever technique while overpulling...



Ron Koval