I've been curious for quite some time: when I get together my picking buddy we tune up using an electronic tuner but then the futzen' begins, both of us tuning it up to what our ears feel it should sound like. We swap banjos every now and then and his banjo is always out of tune when I fondle it and my banjo is out of tune according to him.
Happens to a lot of people and tempered tuning I'm told is the answer. I wonder though, when they're not quite accurately tuned according to the tuner why do they actually sound better this way? When each musician has their own idea about perfect sound and perfect tuning could some of these "imperfections" explain why some player gets one tone out of one instrument and another player gets an entirely different tone. Could this be an explanation maybe as that what makes Earl sound like Earl, or Ralph sound like Ralph or whomever? Could these "imperfections" maybe define anyone player?
I've posted this question here because I'm not talking hardware problems and I really hope to stay away from compensated bridges and/or nuts or "have a pro set up your banjo" discussions. I'm assuming instruments that do NOT have intonation issues and I'm looking forward to hearing answers along the "perception and evaluation" line of thinking or is there something else...?
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Tempered tuning question
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