Modern guesses at old pitch are usually based on surviving organs and woodwind instruments. I think there is a table of historical organ pitches in the Dover edition of _On the Sensations of Tone_, but my copy is packed away at the moment.
Most woodwinds cannot really be tuned - things like pulling out joints or crooks or using bigger reeds affect the upper range more than the lower range and the net effect is that, while the pitch of the lowest note is lower, the basic scale is thrown out of whack. Up to a point a skillful player can compensate for this but the instrument is really happy only at its design pitch. Most 16thC woodwinds were made in one piece (really untunable for flutes and recorders). They were also frequently made as sets by one maker and (one hopes) tuned to each other. The variability of pitch standard in the 18thC is shown not only by organs but by woodwinds (most of the ones I've seen are flutes, but also oboes and recorders) with alternative center joints for playing at different pitch standards. I think there is a picture of a flute with 5 or 6 different centers in _The Look Of Music_ , the catalog from the exhibition at the Vancouver museum in the 1980's (packed away again). .....Bob To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
