Talk:Diapason

Thank you whoever you are for including this artickle in the Wikipedia. Until today this word had no meaning for me other than the name of one of the mysterious thingies on my grandparents' organ. Now to look up vox humana.

Is there any reason not to merge the "in harmony" section of this article with octave? The Greeks may have called the interval "diapason", but "octave" is much more familiar today, I think. --Camembert

1 <= f2^n <= 2 has to be 1 <= f/2^n <= 2

that is the same as 1 <= 2^(lg(f)-[lg(f)]) <= 2

First use of the word "Principal" is potentially misleading, it is a synonym of the stop name. The necessity for and fundamentality of the stop are matters for debate -certainly there are organs which do not possess diapasons A Stopped Diapason is not generally regarded to be a Diapason but a flute pipe. The stopt pipework produces little of the even numbered harmonics - this is what gives the "hollow" sound.

Although it is generally considered acceptable to group Montre, Præstant and Prinzipal under the generic heading of Diapason Type stops, there are important timbral differences between these. As a generalization, in comparison to the "typical" English/American Open Diapason the Præstant (whether mounted or otherwise) tends to possess a degree of flutiness whereas the Germanic Prinzipal is harder in tone.

Of course, any attempt to categorise organ stops has to take into account variations within each regional group in terms of period, predominant musical genre and builder/client preference and, as in most things musical, there is a degree of subjectivity in any description of timbre. NSA66 22:38, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Tibia Clausa
The Tibia Clausa is not a diapason. Although, arguably, the most frequently used rank on a theater organ (and, as such, somewhat analogous to the diapason ranks of a classical organ in terms of function), it is actually a large-scaled flute rank operating on high wind pressure. Most extension/unit organs, if designed with any versatility in mind, tend to have a diapason rank as well as the usual imitative flutes, tibia, strings and reeds. NSA66 22:38, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Very true, the tibia clausa is NOT an actual diapason, but in theatre organs it is often used in place of a diapason, especially in smaller instruments that do not have a diapason rank. Hence the addition of the "tibia clausa" statement in the article. In these smaller organs, the diapason can be imitated (to some degree) by removing the tremulant from the tibias and adding a soft string stop behind it. Erzahler 18:59, 14 March 2006 (UTC)