Hi Folks,

Please bear in mind that I remain a USER of midi and I am a Physicist by education but my knowledge of computer inner workings is limited. I will certainly say things that would be expressed much better by a computer maven. (humor me).

Midi files are out of tune (2-4 cents) because the instruments can be out of tune. Better put, the fundamental frequency of an instrument may not be perfectly symmetrical with its harmonics. The net result is that the complex waveform becomes musically skewed. Different instruments act differently in this regard.

All of this isn't very important until midi is used as an accompaniment but then it's a beast.

For diagnostics I'm using G-Tune which includes a nice spectrum analyzer. I simply slow the midi to a crawl for data collection.

For violin purposes I'm sporting an incredible concert quality model that I obtained by sheer luck and it would have me banish the computer entirely if I didn't find a fix !!!

I make my adjustments via BIAB with the GM sound card tuning function which provides a precise readout in cents. I have found some cases where the instrument registered as low as 5 cents out but 2-3 is more typical.

P.S. I had mentioned earlier that I could readily hear 3 cents in tuning and I come to find out that this is not so unusual. The hearing for a typical piano tuner is 5 cents or BETTER. (How come I can never hear my wife when she's talking to me?)

And Mark, the "Share Your Music" section is a FABULOUS innovation!

That's All Folks !