Professional Custom Flutes

New Cooper Scale (NCS)

So what's the big deal? You have a flute with a Cooper Scale, so what is the "New Cooper Scale"? It's a long story. In 1972, Landell Flutes introduced the Bennett - Cooper Scale to the United States. Major Boston factories caught on to the value of this wonderful scale over the course of the following decade, and in the years since then the Cooper Scale has become the sole standard for flute tuning all over the world.

Many flutists do not realize, however that Albert Cooper continued his research work for years after 1972. Indeed, the so-called "Cooper Scale" of today should in fact be called the "Bennett Scale", as W. Bennett made changes to the calculations and promoted his edited version to the public after obtaining Cooper's initial calculations. Cooper's continued research, continued independent of Bennett, brought new possibilities to light; over time he came to rest upon a final, more highly developed scale which he privately recommended as his finest. Until this point the scale has never been put to serious use.

Beginning this spring we are proud to present this New Cooper Scale as a feature offering on all of our current models. It is a delight and a privelege to work with this scale, which has produced dramatically improved tuning results and was the subject of much critical acclaim at this year's DGFF flute show in Hamburg, Germany. Juergen Franz of the Sinfonieorchester des NDR-Hamburg and a great friend of ours, became the world's first owner of a Landell NCS flute in April.

Computer analysis of the NCS as compared to our former scale (a revised Cooper-Bennett model, stellar by any modern standard) shows a significant improvement in tuning accuracy. Analysis of a popular, expensive model from a well known competitor is included as a reference. See below:

1) Landell Bennett-Scale model
2) Well-known competitor model
3) Landell NCS mode

Click each graph for a larger view...

The central, vertical line represents perfect pitch, neither sharp nor flat. The horizontal lines represent the chromatic pitches, starting with a low B on the top line. The last, bottom line is a high C7. The three A pitches (A4, A5, A6) have been identified with a black "X" and a dotted line has been plotted between them to judge the overall trend of the tuning as the scale progresses. Each flute was tested by the same player under standardized test conditions. The player was presented with a random series of notes flashed on a computer screen and encouraged to play each note with no lip-correction. Final results, displayed here, are composed from the averages of three trials each.

Pay attention to the volume each line encloses when studying these graphs. Deviations of individual notes are less important than the overall trends; notice how the Landell Bennett model, while enjoying excellent tuning in the low- and mid-registers, has a trend heading sharp in the high register. This is a common phenomenon.

The competitor's model shares this tendency, but also has a more generally erratic scale. A pronounced bump between A4 and B5 is noticeable.

Compared with each other, the difference between both of these and the NCS model is shocking. The middle- and mid-high registers are remarkably even, and the extreme high register has been tamed considerably to within an average of 9 cents from ideal. This is a significant improvement.

Beginning this spring, NCS will become standard issue on all new Landell Flutes, and while we will continue to offer our beloved Bennett replica scale as an option to our customers, we are urging our customers to consider this new scale as their first choice.

Feel free to email us with any questions.

--Jonathon Landell, Jr.
May 26, 2004