diff --git a/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/beagle/BeagleOutputToVCFWalker.java b/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/beagle/BeagleOutputToVCFWalker.java
index 94d0438ac..909f9cd34 100755
--- a/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/beagle/BeagleOutputToVCFWalker.java
+++ b/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/beagle/BeagleOutputToVCFWalker.java
@@ -87,8 +87,6 @@ public class BeagleOutputToVCFWalker  extends RodWalker<Integer, Integer> {
         hInfo.add(new VCFInfoHeaderLine("R2", 1, VCFHeaderLineType.Float, "r2 Value reported by Beagle on each site"));
         hInfo.add(new VCFInfoHeaderLine("NumGenotypesChanged", 1, VCFHeaderLineType.Integer, "r2 Value reported by Beagle on each site"));
 
-        hInfo.add(new VCFHeaderLine("source", "BeagleImputation"));
-
         // Open output file specified by output VCF ROD
         final List<ReferenceOrderedDataSource> dataSources = this.getToolkit().getRodDataSources();
 
diff --git a/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantGaussianMixtureModel.java b/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantGaussianMixtureModel.java
index a4e60c3b4..a8f282bc9 100755
--- a/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantGaussianMixtureModel.java
+++ b/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantGaussianMixtureModel.java
@@ -462,19 +462,21 @@ public final class VariantGaussianMixtureModel extends VariantOptimizationModel
     }
 
     public final void outputOptimizationCurve( final VariantDatum[] data, final PrintStream outputReportDatFile, final PrintStream tranchesOutputFile,
-                                               final int desiredNumVariants, final Double[] FDRtranches, final double QUAL_STEP ) {
-
+                                               final int desiredNumVariants, final Double[] FDRtranches, final double MAX_QUAL ) {
         final int numVariants = data.length;
         final boolean[] markedVariant = new boolean[numVariants];
 
-        final double MAX_QUAL = 100.0;
-        final int NUM_BINS = (int) ((MAX_QUAL / QUAL_STEP) + 1);
+        int NUM_BINS = 400 * 2;
+        double QUAL_STEP1 = (MAX_QUAL * 9.0 / 10.0 ) / ((double) NUM_BINS / 2.0);
+        if( QUAL_STEP1 < 0.01 ) { QUAL_STEP1 = 0.01; } // QUAL field in VCF file is rounded to two decimal places
+        double QUAL_STEP2 = (MAX_QUAL * 1.0 / 10.0) / ((double) NUM_BINS / 2.0);
+        if( QUAL_STEP2 < 0.01 ) { QUAL_STEP2 = 0.01; } // QUAL field in VCF file is rounded to two decimal places
 
-        final int numKnownAtCut[] = new int[NUM_BINS];
-        final int numNovelAtCut[] = new int[NUM_BINS];
-        final double knownTiTvAtCut[] = new double[NUM_BINS];
-        final double novelTiTvAtCut[] = new double[NUM_BINS];
-        final double theCut[] = new double[NUM_BINS];
+        final int numKnownAtCut[] = new int[NUM_BINS+1];
+        final int numNovelAtCut[] = new int[NUM_BINS+1];
+        final double knownTiTvAtCut[] = new double[NUM_BINS+1];
+        final double novelTiTvAtCut[] = new double[NUM_BINS+1];
+        final double theCut[] = new double[NUM_BINS+1];
 
         final double fdrCutAsTiTv[] = new double[FDRtranches.length];
         for( int iii = 0; iii < FDRtranches.length; iii++ ) {
@@ -496,7 +498,11 @@ public final class VariantGaussianMixtureModel extends VariantOptimizationModel
         boolean foundDesiredNumVariants = false;
         int jjj = 0;
         outputReportDatFile.println("pCut,numKnown,numNovel,knownTITV,novelTITV");
-        for( double qCut = MAX_QUAL; qCut >= -0.001; qCut -= QUAL_STEP ) {
+        double qCut = MAX_QUAL;
+
+        while( qCut >= 0.0 - 1E-2 + 1E-8 ) {
+            if( qCut < 1E-2 ) { qCut = 0.0; }
+
             for( int iii = 0; iii < numVariants; iii++ ) {
                 if( !markedVariant[iii] ) {
                     if( data[iii].qual >= qCut ) {
@@ -520,14 +526,14 @@ public final class VariantGaussianMixtureModel extends VariantOptimizationModel
                 }
             }
             if( desiredNumVariants != 0 && !foundDesiredNumVariants && (numKnown + numNovel) >= desiredNumVariants ) {
-                logger.info( "Keeping variants with QUAL >= " + String.format("%.1f",qCut) + " results in a filtered set with: " );
+                logger.info( "Keeping variants with QUAL >= " + String.format("%.2f",qCut) + " results in a filtered set with: " );
                 logger.info("\t" + numKnown + " known variants");
                 logger.info("\t" + numNovel + " novel variants, (dbSNP rate = " + String.format("%.2f",((double) numKnown * 100.0) / ((double) numKnown + numNovel) ) + "%)");
                 logger.info("\t" + String.format("%.4f known Ti/Tv ratio", ((double)numKnownTi) / ((double)numKnownTv)));
                 logger.info("\t" + String.format("%.4f novel Ti/Tv ratio", ((double)numNovelTi) / ((double)numNovelTv)));
                 foundDesiredNumVariants = true;
             }
-            outputReportDatFile.println( String.format("%.6f,%d,%d,%.4f,%.4f", qCut, numKnown, numNovel,
+            outputReportDatFile.println( String.format("%.2f,%d,%d,%.4f,%.4f", qCut, numKnown, numNovel,
                     ( numKnownTv == 0 ? 0.0 : ( ((double)numKnownTi) / ((double)numKnownTv) ) ),
                     ( numNovelTv == 0 ? 0.0 : ( ((double)numNovelTi) / ((double)numNovelTv) ) )));
 
@@ -536,13 +542,19 @@ public final class VariantGaussianMixtureModel extends VariantOptimizationModel
             knownTiTvAtCut[jjj] = ( numKnownTi == 0 || numKnownTv == 0 ? 0.0 : ( ((double)numKnownTi) / ((double)numKnownTv) ) );
             novelTiTvAtCut[jjj] = ( numNovelTi == 0 || numNovelTv == 0 ? 0.0 : ( ((double)numNovelTi) / ((double)numNovelTv) ) );
             theCut[jjj] = qCut;
-            jjj++;
+            jjj++;            
+
+            if( qCut >= (MAX_QUAL / 10.0) ) {
+                qCut -= QUAL_STEP1;
+            } else {
+                qCut -= QUAL_STEP2;
+            }
         }
 
         // loop back through the data points looking for appropriate places to cut the data to get the target novel titv ratio
         int checkQuantile = 0;
         int tranche = FDRtranches.length - 1;
-        for( jjj = NUM_BINS-1; jjj >= 0; jjj-- ) {
+        for( ; jjj >= 0; jjj-- ) {
 
             if( tranche >= 0 && novelTiTvAtCut[jjj] >= fdrCutAsTiTv[tranche] ) {
                 tranchesOutputFile.println(String.format("%.2f,%.4f,%.4f,%d,FDRtranche%.2fto%.2f",
@@ -577,7 +589,7 @@ public final class VariantGaussianMixtureModel extends VariantOptimizationModel
             }
 
             if( foundCut ) {
-                logger.info( "Keeping variants with QUAL >= " + String.format("%.1f",theCut[jjj]) + " results in a filtered set with: " );
+                logger.info( "Keeping variants with QUAL >= " + String.format("%.2f",theCut[jjj]) + " results in a filtered set with: " );
                 logger.info("\t" + numKnownAtCut[jjj] + " known variants");
                 logger.info("\t" + numNovelAtCut[jjj] + " novel variants, (dbSNP rate = " +
                                     String.format("%.2f",((double) numKnownAtCut[jjj] * 100.0) / ((double) numKnownAtCut[jjj] + numNovelAtCut[jjj]) ) + "%)");
@@ -586,6 +598,9 @@ public final class VariantGaussianMixtureModel extends VariantOptimizationModel
                 logger.info("\t" + String.format("--> with an implied novel FDR of %.2f percent", Math.abs(100.0 * (1.0-((novelTiTvAtCut[jjj] - 0.5) / (targetTITV - 0.5))))));
             }
         }
+        if( tranche >= 0 ) { // Didn't find all the tranches
+            throw new UserException.BadInput("Couldn't find appropriate cuts for all the requested tranches. Please ask for fewer tranches with higher false discovery rates using the --FDRtranche argument");
+        }
     }
 
     private double evaluateGaussians( final VariantDatum[] data, final double[][] pVarInCluster, final int startCluster, final int stopCluster ) {
diff --git a/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrator.java b/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrator.java
index 41c5f2987..d9b6d9555 100755
--- a/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrator.java
+++ b/java/src/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrator.java
@@ -101,14 +101,10 @@ public class VariantRecalibrator extends RodWalker<ExpandingArrayList<VariantDat
     private String PATH_TO_RSCRIPT = "Rscript";
     @Argument(fullName = "path_to_resources", shortName = "resources", doc = "Path to resources folder holding the Sting R scripts.", required=false)
     private String PATH_TO_RESOURCES = "R/";
-    @Argument(fullName="quality_step", shortName="qStep", doc="Resolution in QUAL units for optimization and tranche calculations", required=false)
-    private double QUAL_STEP = 0.1;
     @Argument(fullName="singleton_fp_rate", shortName="fp_rate", doc="Prior expectation that a singleton call would be a FP", required=false)
     private double SINGLETON_FP_RATE = 0.5;
     @Argument(fullName="max_ac_prior", shortName="maxACPrior", doc="Maximum value for the prior expectation based on allele count. Needed because (1 - 0.5^x) approaches 1.0 very quickly.", required=false)
     private double MAX_AC_PRIOR = 0.99;
-    @Argument(fullName="quality_scale_factor", shortName="qScale", doc="Multiply all final quality scores by this value. Needed to normalize the quality scores.", required=false)
-    private double QUALITY_SCALE_FACTOR = 100.0;
     @Argument(fullName="dontTrustACField", shortName="dontTrustACField", doc="If specified the VR will not use the AC field and will instead always parse the genotypes to figure out how many variant chromosomes there are at a given site.", required=false)
     private boolean NEVER_TRUST_AC_FIELD = false;
 
@@ -119,8 +115,12 @@ public class VariantRecalibrator extends RodWalker<ExpandingArrayList<VariantDat
     @Argument(fullName = "NoByHapMapValidationStatus", shortName = "NoByHapMapValidationStatus", doc = "Don't consider sites in dbsnp rod tagged as by-hapmap validation status as real HapMap sites. FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES ONLY.", required=false)
     private Boolean NO_BY_HAPMAP_VALIDATION_STATUS = false;
     @Hidden
-    @Argument(fullName = "qual", shortName = "qual", doc = "Don't use sites below the qual threshold. FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES ONLY.", required=false)
+    @Argument(fullName = "qual", shortName = "qual", doc = "Don't use sites with original quality scores below the qual threshold. FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES ONLY.", required=false)
     private double QUAL_THRESHOLD = 0.0;
+    @Hidden
+    @Argument(fullName="quality_scale_factor", shortName="qScaleFactor", doc="Multiply all final quality scores by this value. FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES ONLY.", required=false)
+    private double QUALITY_SCALE_FACTOR = 1.0;
+
 
     /////////////////////////////
     // Private Member Variables
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ public class VariantRecalibrator extends RodWalker<ExpandingArrayList<VariantDat
     private Set<String> inputNames = new HashSet<String>();
     private NestedHashMap priorCache = new NestedHashMap();
     private boolean trustACField = false;
+    private double maxQualObserved = 0.0;
 
     //---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     //
@@ -194,15 +195,13 @@ public class VariantRecalibrator extends RodWalker<ExpandingArrayList<VariantDat
         final VCFHeader vcfHeader = new VCFHeader(hInfo, samples);
         vcfWriter.writeHeader(vcfHeader);
 
-
         // Set up default values for the FDR tranches if necessary
         if( FDR_TRANCHES == null ) {
-            FDR_TRANCHES = new Double[5];
+            FDR_TRANCHES = new Double[4];
             FDR_TRANCHES[0] = 0.1;
             FDR_TRANCHES[1] = 1.0;
             FDR_TRANCHES[2] = 5.0;
             FDR_TRANCHES[3] = 10.0;
-            FDR_TRANCHES[4] = 15.0;
         }
     }
 
@@ -274,7 +273,7 @@ public class VariantRecalibrator extends RodWalker<ExpandingArrayList<VariantDat
                             final double totalPrior = 1.0 - ((1.0 - acPrior) * (1.0 - knownPrior));
 
                             if( MathUtils.compareDoubles(totalPrior, 1.0, 1E-8) == 0 || MathUtils.compareDoubles(totalPrior, 0.0, 1E-8) == 0 ) {
-                                throw new UserException.CommandLineException("Something is wrong with the prior that was entered by the user:  Prior = " + totalPrior); // TODO - fix this up later
+                                throw new UserException.CommandLineException("Something is wrong with the priors that were entered by the user:  Prior = " + totalPrior); // TODO - fix this up later
                             }
 
                             priorLodFactor = Math.log10(totalPrior) - Math.log10(1.0 - totalPrior) - Math.log10(1.0);
@@ -285,6 +284,9 @@ public class VariantRecalibrator extends RodWalker<ExpandingArrayList<VariantDat
                         final double pVar = theModel.evaluateVariant( vc );
                         final double lod = priorLodFactor + Math.log10(pVar);
                         variantDatum.qual = Math.abs( QUALITY_SCALE_FACTOR * QualityUtils.lodToPhredScaleErrorRate(lod) );
+                        if( variantDatum.qual > maxQualObserved ) {
+                            maxQualObserved = variantDatum.qual;
+                        }
 
                         mapList.add( variantDatum );
                         final Map<String, Object> attrs = new HashMap<String, Object>(vc.getAttributes());
@@ -327,7 +329,7 @@ public class VariantRecalibrator extends RodWalker<ExpandingArrayList<VariantDat
 
         try {
             PrintStream reportDatFilePrintStream = new PrintStream(REPORT_DAT_FILE);
-            theModel.outputOptimizationCurve( dataManager.data, reportDatFilePrintStream, TRANCHES_FILE, DESIRED_NUM_VARIANTS, FDR_TRANCHES, QUAL_STEP );
+            theModel.outputOptimizationCurve( dataManager.data, reportDatFilePrintStream, TRANCHES_FILE, DESIRED_NUM_VARIANTS, FDR_TRANCHES, maxQualObserved );
         } catch ( FileNotFoundException e ) {
             throw new UserException.CouldNotCreateOutputFile(REPORT_DAT_FILE, e);
         }
diff --git a/java/test/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrationWalkersIntegrationTest.java b/java/test/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrationWalkersIntegrationTest.java
index e247ae2e8..f54c10e6d 100755
--- a/java/test/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrationWalkersIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/java/test/org/broadinstitute/sting/gatk/walkers/variantrecalibration/VariantRecalibrationWalkersIntegrationTest.java
@@ -46,9 +46,9 @@ public class VariantRecalibrationWalkersIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
     public void testVariantRecalibrator() {
         HashMap<String, List<String>> e = new HashMap<String, List<String>>();
         e.put( validationDataLocation + "yri.trio.gatk_glftrio.intersection.annotated.filtered.chr1.vcf",
-                Arrays.asList("ca80c95e47d22a79eb0700c039457aca", "ab6b91a3f97b682817d2cc068c34c317","a4802dbf883138ae1152109be990fb9d")); // Each test checks the md5 of three output files
+                Arrays.asList("4e893672230fca625f70b0491f3b36cb", "40b3fb6632304cebc56a9ed5853cc72e","0cfbeb9f2db7edc1d69b5b43ea17670c")); // Each test checks the md5 of three output files
         e.put( validationDataLocation + "lowpass.N3.chr1.raw.vcf",
-                Arrays.asList("a40d3b1dd7bfbb66a52145600f87d744", "e2c89c74debc1c202c56060b77575dff","8e8b55b521aaba1c44169a19e3ff2355")); // Each test checks the md5 of three output files
+                Arrays.asList("d52e4f511c9c00f8c21dffea81c47103", "780920fcfa3009c66ebcf18265edaa75","010023ddb95fac071e0f208e6bb40c61")); // Each test checks the md5 of three output files
 
         for ( Map.Entry<String, List<String>> entry : e.entrySet() ) {
             String vcf = entry.getKey();
@@ -68,7 +68,6 @@ public class VariantRecalibrationWalkersIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
                                 " --ignore_filter HARD_TO_VALIDATE" +
                                 " -clusterFile " + clusterFile +
                                 " -titv 2.07" +
-                                " -qScale 20.0" + 
                                 " -o %s" +
                                 " -tranchesFile %s" +
                                 " -reportDatFile %s",                                
@@ -84,8 +83,8 @@ public class VariantRecalibrationWalkersIntegrationTest extends WalkerTest {
     @Test
     public void testApplyVariantCuts() {
         HashMap<String, String> e = new HashMap<String, String>();
-        e.put( validationDataLocation + "yri.trio.gatk_glftrio.intersection.annotated.filtered.chr1.vcf", "ece0c15c34926fc585e12503f6ce6271" );
-        e.put( validationDataLocation + "lowpass.N3.chr1.raw.vcf", "994b329a35d01e9564f5581cf3d9feac" );
+        e.put( validationDataLocation + "yri.trio.gatk_glftrio.intersection.annotated.filtered.chr1.vcf", "8e6528fba350e466f5b6c2858bc20556" );
+        e.put( validationDataLocation + "lowpass.N3.chr1.raw.vcf", "df9e37af16610ccd44d375eae2c4479c" );
 
         for ( Map.Entry<String, String> entry : e.entrySet() ) {
             String vcf = entry.getKey();