how high(low) do you go?

[Brian Trout]

Hi Clyde,

I'm certainly no expert in the area of tuning pipe organs, but I've been
around a few of them at times to know a little of how it's done.

You had a thread going a little while back on 'pitch floating', in reference
to pianos.  Well, that happens quite a bit on pipe organs, probably even
more than on pianos.  The thing of it is, we can tune  235 or so strings in
pretty short order.  It might take a lot longer to tune many thousands of
pipes.  So, something that organ tuners will sometimes do is find that
'spot' (pitch) where they can tune the least amount of pipes the smallest
distance and have a decent sounding organ.  (I didn't say that was the right
way to do it, only that it's a rather common practice.)  Another problem is
that there are sets of pipes which are made to speak at some pitch other
than A-440, maybe A-442 or A-445... which might limit where they can tune
the organ.   Aaarrrrggghhh!!!!!!   It does get complicated sometimes.

FWIW...

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net