Sherwin
48 posts
Mar 19, 2013
7:31 AM
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I just bought a Peterson model 420 on ebay today, on a whim. I hope it arrives in one piece, and works properly.
I'm just starting to enjoy tuning. I may enjoy it a whole lot more after the contrivance arrives at my door.
Just had to share the news, this forum is the only place on earth/cyberspace where there is a chance I can tell someone who can dig it.
Ever hopeful....Sherwin
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STME58
390 posts
Mar 19, 2013
8:23 AM
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Every time I think of a strobe tuner I remember my high school band director bringing one in and all of the band members lining up to play a concert Bb into it and see how far off we were.
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yonderwall
51 posts
Mar 19, 2013
8:36 AM
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Sherwin, I'm very excited for you! The 420 does sound like fun. I've been thinking of grabbing something similar for some time now, and I'm glad to see one go to someone who will clearly appreciate it!
@STME58... I share those memories well... (I wonder if that very experience is part of the reason I like the idea of owning an analog strobe over a digital?)
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arzajac
1005 posts
Mar 19, 2013
9:35 AM
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It's a great device, I have one. I use it along with a chromatic tuner. The cheap chromatic tuner tells me which note is being played and I can tune in the 420 to where I want it. It's like shooting fish in a barrel!
Some great advice from Joe Spiers - check the calibration before you use it. The 420 is going on 40 years old and parts will break and tuning will drift. Peterson will still service them.
On a side note, I bought a Conn Strobe Tuner ST-11 for $130 that is a fixer-upper. It works the same as the 420 (Conn was bought out by Peterson, I believe).
I am swamped and will not have time to spend on it for the next while. I will sell it to someone who wants to fix it up. It's a shame to let it sit and go to waste.
$100 - Money back if the thing is unrepairable (shipping extra). But I wouldn't have bought it if I thought it was in bad shape. Contact me.
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Last Edited by arzajac on Mar 19, 2013 9:58 AM
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Sherwin
49 posts
Mar 20, 2013
5:06 AM
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Thanks yonderwall
Yes Arzajac I noticed a 420 on your website, and remember reading the thread where Spiers suggested using another tuner to keep an eye on the calibration of the 420.
I mentioned at the beginning of this page that I am beginning to enjoy tuning, that is thanks to the different approach you offered on the thread 'tuning w. cheap chromatic tuner and your ears'. I have had great success with this offset reference pitch approach. The timing was perfect for me. Arzajac, at the end of your tuning method article you direct the reader to verify his/her work, now that for me is where it gets sticky. What do you do when you hear beating playing the 12345 chord.......get an analogue strobe tuner, was the answer I came up with. I want the tuning to be bang on....the thirds and fifths to line up perfectly, etc. Richard Sleigh said in a video on tuning he put on the web, that the mechanical strobe tuners were much better than the virtual kind, for that.
Sherwin
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arzajac
1006 posts
Mar 20, 2013
5:44 AM
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What do you hear when you play four or five note chords? That's the key, isn't it?
The thing I aim for - the thing that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up - is when the chord is played and the tonic note is emphasised. All the way up the harp...
If your tuning is off by a little, you may still be able to get beat-free octaves but the chord will sound dissonant. That dissonance will make the chord sound like it's being pulled in different directions. You may also hear beating because of this.
I try to offset the tuning to whatever breath force I am setting the harp up for. For example, if I am tuning the harp for someone who uses a lot of breath force, I will hear beating if I play it softly. I try not to worry about that and just remember what breath force I am supposed to be using when I tune.
Often I will have trouble getting the top end to sound sweet and so I will tweak it to eliminate the problems once I am done the whole harp. That means that I will have to tweak the bottom end again, but there may be a little more leeway on the bottom end, hence the reason why I start tweaking the top end first. That's what seems to work for me.
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catochan
2 posts
Mar 21, 2013
11:31 PM
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That's exciting, Sherwin! Have fun with it!!
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1847
602 posts
Mar 22, 2013
4:28 PM
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i have a 520 peterson strobe... i don't use it since i switched to
stainless steel seydel reeds
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tipjar
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