SANDERSON ACCU-TUNER
™
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
INTRODUCTION
The Sanderson Accu-Tuner
™
(SAT) and Sanderson Accu-Tuner II
™
continue to be the world's first and finest
programmable computer-controlled tuning instruments. They are designed to aid the professional tuner-technician to
achieve outstanding tuning results without spending an exorbitant amount of time doing so. Aural piano tuners can
"memorize" their finest tunings. The Sanderson Accu-Tuner stores the cents deviation as a tuning program in its memory
and recreates the settings on subsequent tunings automatically. This saves a substantial amount of time without
sacrificing accuracy.
The built-in FAC Stretch Calculator feature automatically programs the Accu-Tuner to give a complete 88-note custom-
stretch tuning. All operations of the SAT are controlled from the sealed membrane keyboard telling the computer which
functions to perform. Push the CENTS up button to raise the pitch; press the CENTS down button to lower the pitch.
Similarly, to go up a semitone, press NOTE up, or to go down an octave, press OCTAVE down. The present pitch
settings are always indicated on the pair of LCD (liquid-crystal display) windows as NOTE/OCTAVE and CENTS. Fig. 1
shows the SAT set for the note A in the fourth octave, 0.0 cents.
Fig. 1. Sanderson Accu-Tuner II
™
.
The pitch difference between the SAT and the note being tuned is displayed by the circle of LEDs (light emitting diodes)
on the upper panel. Notes that are in tune with the pitch setting create a stationary pattern. Two to five lights may be on,
but the important factor is that the pattern is stationary. Notes that are sharp create a light pattern that rotates clockwise,
flat notes create a pattern that rotates counter-clockwise. The center LED flashes when the note is sharp, and is not lit
when the note is flat--this is very helpful when the pattern is rotating too fast to determine the direction of rotation.
Tuning with the SAT can be thought of as a two step process:
1. Determining the correct settings for each note of a given instrument.
2. Tuning each note of the instrument to stop the lights of the LED display.
Once the SAT is mastered the investment will be well worth it in time and labor saved on each job along with increased
pleasure in the tuning profession. The SAT will help take the drudgery out of tuning yet leave the artistry intact. This is
the first and only tuning instrument designed and built by a professional tuner for professional tuners.
