jpwinstruments wrote:
...get the second octave in tune and not worry too much about the first octave pitches... lower notes can be flat without the ear noticing as much...
Sorry but that's just not acceptable to me. I need every note to be in tune, for professional work.
jpwinstruments wrote:
...a cylindrical instrument is inherently flat in the second octave...cylindrical instruments are known for being flat in the second octave forcing the player to push extra hard to bring the second octave notes up into tune.
I have a whole roll of Irish whistles which are not flat in the 2nd octave, but produce every note from the low bellnote up to the 6th in the 2nd octave in tune, using a relatively even breath. Yes of course you have to change your breath to switch octaves but there's no "pushing extra hard" to get an inherently flat 2nd octave in tune. (I don't buy whistles like that.)
I've addressed it before (talking Low D's now by the top makers) how different makers have slightly different approaches to the octave tuning, all of which can be blown into tune by the player, but having different pros and cons.
Some makers have the 2nd octave a bit flat, and it has advantages, giving you room underneath the 2nd octave notes. I had a particular Low D (old Overton?) which had loads of room there, you could underblow the 2nd octave so much that the notes were whisper-soft and still didn't fall to the low octave. Yes those notes were very flat! But you could do cool effects, swelling the notes up to full pitch and volume.
The disadvantage to having the 2nd octave flat is that it exacerbates the already-present volume differential between the octaves, because you're "blowing out" the 2nd octave and underblowing the low octave to keep them in tune to each other.
Then you have the MK with the slightly sharp 2nd octave, which also has pros and cons.
I prefer the octaves right in the middle, where most good Low D makers have them, where you can play on an even breath and everything is in tune. All the Reyburn, Burke, Lofgren, Susato, etc Low D's which I've played have been right there, and my current Goldie Low D is quite perfect in the tuning all up and down the gamut.