[linux-audio-user] in tune - stupid thread [WAS: Tuning Program or wav files?]

[Michal Seta]

mchristoph.eckert at t-online.de (Christoph Eckert) writes:

> B flat is not exactly the same note as A sharp, BTW...

depends in what key you are in :)

I have been playing a guitar for over 20 years and I never heard of
Feiten tuning system, although all the names that poped out in the
linked article sound very familiar.  But I'm probaly way behind
because I jumped from blues stright to classical guitar and then
stright to computer music...  I guess I've got some gaps to fill.

In any case, there is a touch of misinformation and/or
misinterpretation of history in that article that someone provided
earlier
(http://www.buzzfeiten.com/Articles/Guitar_Shop/guitar_shop.html).
First of all pythagoras did not get his math wrong.  He was right on.
And he could not have miscalculated the fret distances because fretted
instruments were invented a couple centuries after his death, if not
later.  In the occident at least.  There are perhaps older instruments
in the oriental cultures but have nothing to do with Pythagoras.
Also, I fail to see how a 12TET system can sound perfectly in tune.  I
mean, the whole idea of equal temperament is to make concessions in
intonation as a tradeoff for having all, or most, intervals sound the
same in all keys.

As it's been pointed out, the 12TET tuning system is incompatible with
overtone series of a vibrating string so even the Feiten tuning must
be out of tune.  Probably differently and perhaps the differences are
actually appealing to some players but still out of tune.

I hope that some day the digital technology will bring us a just
intonation guitar that will retune itself depending on which key
you're playing in :)  But by then, I will probably go back to acoustic
instruments (providing I'm still alive).  For now, I have modified one
of my instruments to do just intonation and it's alot of fun.  And I
don't play tonal music so modulations to different keys are of no
consequence to me :)

cheers,

./MiS