Historic Pitch Emergency - Help!

[Ron Nossaman]

>Bored  yet?

No! I quite agree, and I'm really glad you said that. It's hard for me to
see the rationale for reproducing the original if it means it has to be
tuned to a pitch too far outside the norm to be remotely compatible with
the pitch "standard" of any other instrument in the vicinity. If it was a
museum quality restoration (I still don't like that term), preserving
historical authenticity - sure. On the other hand, If it's being rebuilt to
be a functional instrument, I see no realistic reason not to rescale it to
standard pitch, including changing the bridge and soundboard design to
accommodate. I suppose it's the difference between enhancing functionality,
and establishing a shrine. It would depend on the situation and what the
desired end result is.

Ron N