A good tuner

[Glug]

'Better' is going to be a matter of opinion probably.

The free tuners commonly used are
Bill Farmer Tuner (Windows, Apple, Android) https://billthefarmer.github.io/ctuner/
PitchLab Pro (free version)
Da Tuner lite (v 3.81)

I've just spotted that Peterson also does iStroboSoft which is a strobe tuner for your phone ($10).

iStroboSoft | Peterson Strobe Tuners

www.petersontuners.com

The Bill Farmer tuner also does strobe but I haven't tried the strobe yet.

I can't see strobe is going to help much for tuning tremolo, unless you can set the offset.

 

[oldbayan]

I can't see strobe is going to help much for tuning tremolo, unless you can set the offset.

You can! You set the cents offset and do your tuning. For example, if your reed should be -5 cents from the exact pitch, you set it on the tuner, and the strobe will stop when you reach the note -5 cents. You work 1 reed block at a time, one at 0 cents, and the other(s) at whatever value you want. You can save those pre-set values in the recent tuners and recall them at will.

 

[Glug]

Yep, I guessed there might be an offset facility.
You still have to set it for each note - the offset will be different for each note when tuning tremolo.

 

[oldbayan]

Yep, I guessed there might be an offset facility.
You still have to set it for each note - the offset will be different for each note when tuning tremolo.

Not sure what you mean... If you have M- M and M+ reed blocks, you would use the same cents variation for all reeds of the same reed block. Of course, there is always some fine tuning when you hear the 3 reeds played together, but usually all reeds of a set will be set to the same cents variation.

 

[Glug]

That's not my understanding.
Have a look at https://www.accordionists.info/threads/learning-to-tune.6469/

 

[oldbayan]

That's not my understanding.
Have a look at https://www.accordionists.info/threads/learning-to-tune.6469/

The number of cents can indeed vary depending on the octaves, this is where the "how does it sound to the ear" comes into play. Higher notes and lower notes sound different. I am not a professional repair person, I work on my own boxes and I have fun

 

[debra]

The number of cents can indeed vary depending on the octaves, this is where the "how does it sound to the ear" comes into play. Higher notes and lower notes sound different. I am not a professional repair person, I work on my own boxes and I have fun

Low notes are an exception, but from the A=440 (or 442) onwards the tremolo in cents should gradually go down to about 2/3 for each octave you go up. So if the tremolo is say 15 cents at A4 then it should go down to 10 cents at A5 and about 6.5 cents by A6.
For lower notes, you go up a bit and then go down a bit again. So when A4 is 15 cents I would go up to about 18 cents by C4 and stay there for a bit. If the accordion goes lower than F3 I would go down again to what it was at A4. (Most accordions go down to E3 or F3, but a large button accordion will go down to E2. I would probably go down to about 10 cents at E3. Tremolo does not sound so good with very low notes.

 

[Glug]

I would probably go down to about 10 cents at E3.

Did you mean E2 there ?

 

[oldbayan]

Did you mean E2 there ?

The L reedblock on my big Saturn bayan goes to Bb1! But yes, E2 would be extreme on a treble M reed. The lowest I have is Bb2. Unless we use the A3=440 notation.

 

[debra]

The L reedblock on my big Saturn bayan goes to Bb1! But yes, E2 would be extreme on a treble M reed. The lowest I have is Bb2. Unless we use the A3=440 notation.

No, 440 is really A4. My bayan goes down to E2 on the M register and E1 on L. (A bass accordion goes down to C1.) I do not believe there is any reed maker who makes any lower/larger reeds than C1.