Wolf tones

[labraid]

Hi all,
I'm curious if there is any benefit in tuning the air chamber to a perfect whole note? I can't understand how that would make any difference for the other notes in the A440 scale except to make one very wolfy note when you hit there. My thought was to tune my chamber to a quarter tone, D sharp -50c for example. That way the wolf is split in two, you get slightly higher volume on the D and the D#, but neither is a real wolf. Any thoughts?
Again, I'd like to know the benefit, if any, of having an air chamber to a whole note of the A440 scale. Can this increase overall volume or is this some sort of legend?
Finally, can we say that it is, in fact, virtually impossible to _eliminate_ a wolfy area on the mandolin?

[mandoman15]

if you read the lynn dudenbostel building of thiles mando, he explains that he dosen't tune any mando to a specific note because each piece of wood is different,and he only finishes the tuning process when the chamber sounds really good, then records the frequency in a book somewhere. this may not have answered your question, but if you are in the tuning process you might consider the dudenbostel method...it seems to work for him

[sunburst]

I started out trying to "tune" the air chamber to a specific note, and sometimes managed to do it. Mostly, I was unable to, and instead, just started recording what the note was. I don't see any correlation between what the note is and what the mandolin sounds like.

I think A440 is arbitrary to start with, and is made even more irrelevant by equal temperament.

[webers]

My mandolin is tuned close to a "B" by accident. I tried tuning the tone bars with an electronic tuner, aiming for a D note, but when all glued up, the air chamber wound up at "B", so tuning the tone bars before all is put together is no guarantee of anything. If I play a b note, I can hear a bit more resonance, but it doesn't sound bad. Unlike a violin, which has a sustain as long as one can draw the bow, the notes on a mandolin decay rather quickly, so a wolf tone on an otherwise nice sounding mando is not a big deal.
Given the effects of all parts of construction, plus the finish and aging process,
any attempt at a specific note or resonance will ultimately fail. The only reason for tuning is to create a benchmark for future reference. I also now weigh the tops and backs, since weight could also be a reference for instruments cut from the same block of wood.