For now,from what I know, Ronaldo Reyburn is the only whistle maker who formally announces that he makes just intoned tubes.
Now he is on his way to creating just intoned tube for Sindt A headpiece!! 
I am really looking forward to the tube. 
I have a just intoned C/D combo on order from Reyburn and I CAN’T WAIT to get them and start playing around!
This is a viable market niche.
If Mr. Reyburn would make just intoned tubes for all the various keys, those tubes would be of interest to those of us who have whistleheads we like a lot, but would like to be able to play just intonation.
Mr. Reyburn’s just intonation tubes could go on:
- Sindt and any other high end whistleheads that fit Generation-type tubes,
Any Generation/Feadog/Waltons, etc. heads that are “good players” or have been tweaked up,
Hoover whitecaps,
Gary Humphrey (“Raindog”) -made Copperheads or the new line of whistleheads he’s developing
Very cool product.
I have one just intonation whistle, that Groovehead traded me for a Feadog I tweaked up, and I must say, I do very much like the way just intonation sounds.
Best wishes,
Jerry
Can someone explain what a “just intonation tube” is?
Thanks.
jmiller, I have limited(but intimate) experiences about just intonation. But I can’t explain it mathmatically because I am not good at math at all.
If you have the good just intoned tube, and if the head piece produces a loud piercing sound,the tube makes it sound softer ,mellow and quieter(without losing its volume). That’s among the effects by choosing just intonation. Plus, if you have good breathing technique and if you have the image of how you want to make it sound, you can make it sound dream-like.
Although I am not still sure what is the trade-off by choosing just intonation oriented tube on wind instrument.
For example, what happens when I play C tune on just intoned A whistle,etc.,
So this is educational even for me to have my opitional tube tuned to just intonation. 
I once had the opportunity to listen to the two identical acoustic music boxes one by one. The same quality and they both play an aria from Puccini operas. The only defference is on how they are tuned.One is tuned to Equal Temperament.Another is tuned to Meantone Temperament(very close to just temperament).I remember there was at least an audience of 50 in the acoustic room.
Definitely I heard most people there make voices with a sigh when Meantone music box was played.I can’t prove anything about what they really meant by their voices but I dare to say I know how the most people felt at that time.They were sighs in intimate admiration.And most people out there even had no idea what it meant by ‘Temperament’.
That was one of my very educational experiences.
I just (no pun intended 
) did a quick search and found this link-originally provided by Stevie J (thanks Stevie!)- which hopefully explains all.
http://www.rdrop.com/~tblackb/music/temperament/
To try to give a simpler explanation of just intonation …
The different intervals of the musical scale, once upon a time, were based on exact mathematical relationships between the frequencies of the various pitches, according to the natural harmonics between various notes.
The most obvious, the octave, is based on ratios of 2:1. For example, frequencies of 110, 220, 440, 880, etc. will all be A in various octaves.
If you continue to construct intervals based on exact harmonic relationships of the various frequencies, you get the just intonation scale, which is:
base note = 1:1
2nd note = 9:8
3rd = 5:4
4th = 4:3
5th = 3:2
6th = 5:3
7th = 15:8
Octave = 2:1
This scale is different from the modern “equal temperament” scales in two main ways.
-
The intervals between notes in just intonation aren’t exactly the same. There’s no exact “half step” and “whole step” that are always the same no matter where you are on the scale. Some adjacent notes are closer together, some are farther apart.
-
You can’t use some of the notes from one just intonation key in other just intonation keys. In one just intonation key, the A (so called) will not be the same frequency as the A in some other just intonation keys.
One of the reasons equal temperament was devised in the first place was so that one instrument could be used to play music in all keys. However, in making that adjustment, the harmonics of the music were compromised, so that except for octaves, most of the intervals became only harmonically approximate and not exact.
A musician who plays a violin or other fretless instrument (slide whistle?) naturally corrects this, as do singers, when they play/sing the note that sounds perfectly spot on in harmony with the rest of the notes of the chord or melody. They can play/sing a subtly different A in each different key, but a piano cannot.
To my ear, just intonation sounds more apt, more poignant, more, well … more MUSICAL.
It’s also worth mentioning that many mass produced whistles have a third note from the bottom (F# on a D whistle) that will measure distinctly flat on an electronic tuner. That’s not necessarily a mistake in pitch. A “true” third (which would be a just intonation third) is about 13 cents flat to an equal tempered third. It would appear that in some whistles, a little of the just intonation has survived.
Best wishes,
Jerry
I may have a (theoretical) answer which, in short is: no trade-off.
For the demonstration, I thought I could open a new thread for future search references:
I’m inclined to think you’re right, Zoob. No trade-off. You just pick up the just whistle and play, just the just whistle alone or the just whistle with other instruments (even even tempered, unjust ones), and the just music just sounds great!
Good opportunities to improve my English on musical terms LOL
Jerry,Zubivka and kevin(and Stevie J).Thanks!
As Zubivka point out,theoretically/practically,there may be no trade-off on first octave scales.But as most musicians around here in Japan who have gotten used to Boehm system flutes point out,whistles ‘overall’ pitch get lower on 2nd and 3rd octave scales. Even the whistles with conical bore which tends to improve their intonation sound like that to them.And I my ears sometimes agree with those musicians about this issue.
Now I am at the point again where I have very slight confidence in further explanations…
I want to thank everyone for the information on just intonation. I just visited the Reyburn site and noticed the Low D sound sample on on the home page was played on a whistle just intonation. It is beautiful.
Quite, quite… But what about the sound volume of a Boehm flute down the foot of 1st octave?
Now, talking of the third one… It seems a few celtic-trad flautists do tend towards the high whistle when they want to reach such stratosphere. And some less trad towards the piccolo…
Unfortunately, if there’s a Boehm bore fife (Skip Healy’s) I know of no Boehm bore whistle (this to get up there in 3rd gear…), except maybe a unique somewhere in Lake District.
Hey… while mentioning this: anyone got news from our bee-hiving “rbm” friend lately? I’m starting to get worried.
Now I think I make half-hole method sound vital on whistle mastering as long as Boehm system or alternative whistle won’t exist. :roll:
Boehm system tube as an optional choice of whistle body would be great. But I guess Boehm system whistle won’t pay to whistle makers. So the whistle head piece which fits the cheap edition of Boehm system flute’s body of something like Yamaha YFL-261 would be more reasonable.
Or much more different evolution than Boehm system flutes… inventions like what Theobald Boehm made.
I am looking forward to whistles in the future.