My stroboscopic experience

[MStaples]

Tuning my first marimba bars and using a (vintage) Peterson 420 strobe tuner on them, was very frustrating at first.  Then I learned how to properly read the tuner.  The 420 is not an autosense strobe tuner, it doesn't just display the note it hears. You first dial up the note that you expect that your instrument will create, then you play the note to test it. 

So, for instance: to test a bar for being 4C, you would set the tuner dial to "C", whack the bar and look at the display.  The tuner is able to measure in a range covering eight octaves: 1C - 8C.  The tuner display uses 8 octave rows to indicate the perceived octave, but they are marked 0-7. 

So, if your bar successfully produces a 4C, the indicating pattern will not appear in the "4" range on the display, but in the "3"  range. 

Sigh.

If this helps anyone using a 420 or the like to tune their bars, I'll be glad of it.

MS

[Jim McCarthy]

I know what you mean about the frustration and using one of the older stroboscopes - you Do need to use your ears and possible some reference tones in the earlier stages of tuning. On the plus side though, having one of those tuners puts you way ahead of the game in other ways. When it comes to accuracy and especially when it comes to tuning the higher pitch notes and harmonics where there is just not enough sustain for a digital tuner to recognize the pitch. This is especially true for idiophones - In fact the mechanical strobe tuners are really the very best tool for the job. With experience the ears tell you what you need to quickly enough for the rough tuning. Without the experience and practise though - I can see how you would prefer the digital version.

For those interested - peterson tuners have recently released version 2 of their software stoboscopic tuner - the premium version has a feature especially designed for short sounds with contact sound components. Costs about 100 bucks for the premium version I think. If anyone has any experience with it, it would be nice to hear about it!

Jim McCarthy

[Jim McCarthy]

Jim here again - an update on the Peterson software - Stobosoft II.
I ended up purchasing it - the deluxe version with the tap tuning feature. I can tell you all right away that the software is fantastic, and easily the best tuning tool I've ever used. The tap tuning feature is DEFINITELY reccomended for marimba makers. Now that I've experienced how it works, I can tell you it is a must. SO that means you do need to fork out the extra for the deluxe version - but Oh so worth it. It essentially "freezes" the split second of important reading tone - you don't need much in the way of practise and skill to read this stroboscope - it has the skill for you.

I've been using it for the new 5 octave marimba project - http://makeamarimba.com/5octavemarimba/
Check out the link for more on this topic.