Can you hear the intervals beat?

[Morne]

Without writing too much initially, can you tell me if you hear the intervals beating in this recording? Please mention whether you tune or not.
Or if you dont know what Im asking, do any of the notes sound out of tune?


These are simple machine reeds. I rewaxed, revalved (synthetic) and retuned (±1ct) them. The recording is with a single M reed on the treble side and a tenor register (3 of 5 reeds active) on the bass.

I know that isnt typical accordion music, but with both my previous retunings I didnt have a single M reed register available, so this specific question wouldnt arise.

Im trying to determine whether Ive developed an unrealistic expectation since I started tuning.

 

[debra]

I think C# is out of tune. A combined with C# sounds bad.

 

[Morne]

I've been a bit busy, so haven't spent too much time on this since that post. I've made some adjustments and all the reeds are definitely within ±1 cent of the equal temperament values. However, I seem to not be making much progress in resolving these interval beats.

I understand that in equal temperament (ET) you have this inherent issue with thirds (and some others). In that recording the bass register plays 3 octaves. For example, in the case of A-C# that would be (bass) A2+A4+A5 and (treble) C#5. That basically gives you 3 intervals to account for.

How much closer can this get when sticking to pure ET? How much of a deviation/temper would be necessary to actually start producing a noticeable "sweetening" of these intervals? If the interval's already inherently off by say 14ct, would ±1ct make any difference?

How much of a role do other factors play in the harshness of these intervals? For example, the lack of cassotto, valve type, reed quality, etc. It's one thing to have two pure sine waves, but here we have other harmonics that are harder to control. Would the dampening/amplification of higher harmonics due to these factors make any difference in how harsh these intervals are?

On the other hand, do most people even notice this? Or care?

What happens when tuning a free bass where single reed settings are often used on both sides? Do they tend to get tempered slightly, or are they fully ET?