<HTML> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Thank you Stan for your input on playing brass and other instruments to a non-standard pitch.  I have no doubt that it gets dicey.  I am still a bit curious, though, what range you WOULD be comfortable with.  Is 5 cents low comfortable?  10 cents low?  I ask so that when I am requested to tune a piano to a pipe organ and other instruments may be involved I can adequately inform the client of the inherent problems with tuning low beyond a certain point.  Of course A-440 is ideal, but not always realistic, I'm afraid, for the pipe organ tech.  A bit like taking an elephant for a walk, eh?  You follow more than you lead... </BLOCKQUOTE> Mark, The question is like most that are dealt with here--there isn't just one right answer, but my gut feeling is that MOST players, even double reeds which have very limited tuning range, can deal fairly easily with a range from, say, A438 to A442.  The latter is pretty common to orchestras today across the country, probably across the world.  Going lower is somewhat problematical, but within a relatively narrow range, possible.  Trouble is, the situation is getting to be such that A440 IS already the low point!!! Best advice I've seen is tune the piano at A440 and let them deal with the organ as they must.  I've also crawled around in organ lofts a little, back in my younger, more agile, somewhat lighter days......and I didn't like it then, either! Stan Ryberg Barrington IL </HTML>