Trying out Entropy Piano Tuner

[quantum]

Decided to try out Entropy Piano Tuner, to see what it is all about. 

TL;DR
It did not save time.  From my perspective, it resulted in an acceptable tuning, though not as pleasant as an aural tuning.  Though, it would probably take less time in subsequent tunings as the recording process does not have to be repeated and one gains more familiarity with the software. 


The initial phase of recording every note of the piano is time consuming.  Every note has to be recorded in order that EPT can do its tuning.  I used small diaphragm condensers with a 20 Hz to 20 kHz range.  Even so, there were still problems getting the recording quality indicator to improve at the lowest and highest octaves of the piano.  It is recommended to only record a single string, that means muting in the bichord and trichord sections.

I needed to re-record some notes which seemed to not fit reasonably with adjacent notes. 

For calculation accuracy parameter, I would suggest setting to "infinite" as per the manual.  Initially I used the default option, which is not "infinite". 

For the tuning, there are a number of references: stroboscope, spectral pitch deviation, keybound pitch.  The synthesized reference is notable as it gives you auditory feedback.  Using the synthesized reference is sort of like tuning a unison, there is no need to look at the screen.  According to the manual the string should be in tune "if the
interference between the artificial sound and the actual sound of the string vanishes entirely."  Not as simple in practice, in my experience.  I found I was constantly taking off headphones to clarify what the tuning was.  Headphones are required for this feature, as speakers would create feedback.  Tuning with headphones was a new experience, and I found it partially reduced the detail at which I could hear the strings.  Depending on the key, certain references can be more useful than others, so I ended up using different ones in various ranges of the piano.

I only used EPT to tune one string.  For bichords and trichords I tuned the remaining strings aurally.

First tuning had some erroneous results on a few notes, so I went back to record a few that seemed off, and rerun the calculation.  Went through this cycle a few times actually, but did not end up getting a suitable result for all 88 keys.  Five or so keys needed to be tuned aurally. 

Initial tuning impressions (from a musical point of view) are that the tuning sounded a bit too perfectly literal, similar to what one would hear on some digital pianos.  It sounded right, but did not jump out with that immersive sensation that one gets from a good aural tuning. 

The few days following the tuning, touch up was required on some more notes as hearing the tuning playing some real music some things still did not feel right to my ears.  The top octave probably needed the most work. 

Thoughts:  The software has potential, and I would like to see it developed further.  Particularly, I like that it is open source.  I felt it did not really save any time in the tuning process, in fact I had to go back and rerun several steps to deal with a few notes that were off.  That said, I am glad that it is available as an option to those looking for tuning software.


Have any of you used EPT?  What was your experience?

[lelle]

What is entropy piano tuner?

[quantum]

What is entropy piano tuner?

Open source piano tuning software.  Research of the tuning concept was published in a scientific journal in 2012.

An introduction to the method, as well as the paper can be found here.
https://piano-tuner.org/entropy

[timothy42b]

There are now a number of software packages to tune pianos.  Some are free, some quite expensive.  Tunelab is free and pretty goodd. 

The first step is to test a number of notes, and the software measures the inharmonicity of that particular piano, and constructs a mathematical solution to how much each note should be adjusted (stretched) to get the best results from the harmonics. 

An aural tuner does the same thing based on ears and years of experience.  Every piano is different so you can't simply tune each note to a given frequency. 

Tuning still takes a high degree of skill in setting each string so it is stable.  An amateur may tune the string to the desired pitch and have it go out of tune on the first loud note. 

[quantum]

There are now a number of software packages to tune pianos.  Some are free, some quite expensive.  Tunelab is free and pretty goodd. 

Indeed there are.  I'm quite familiar with Tunelab and have been using it for a number of years.  Initially, I learned tuning aurally without any electronic aids, setting the temperament octave and stretch by ear, and this remains my preferred method to this day.  The way I use tuning software, is as an aid in a hybrid approach, rather than complete reliance for the software to do all the work.  The last step I take is always an aural check of the tuning. 

EPT seemed interesting because it is open source (and I am a big supporter of that philosophy).  Considering the cost of some of the other professional software tuning packages, I was wondering how EPT would fit in.  The free version of Tunelab is great, and I have no complaints about it.  I was curious about EPT, and how it worked. 

I think EPT would seem to be more practical for a person needing to tune one or perhaps a small collection of instruments on a repeated basis: i.e. a person tuning their own piano(s).  The requirement to sample all 88 keys, plus the strong recommendation of setting up quality microphones might not always be practical for someone that tunes for a living.  Other tuning software packages can work fine with a devices built in mic, and sampling only a few notes on the piano. 

Tuning still takes a high degree of skill in setting each string so it is stable.  An amateur may tune the string to the desired pitch and have it go out of tune on the first loud note. 

Well said!

I think it is important to note that EPT, nor any other tuning software, will not magically allow an inexperienced amateur to achieve immediate results.  Tuning is a skill that needs to be developed, just like learning to play the piano.