Organ pipe resonator shape follows construction convenience more than acoustics

Evidence

The sound modifier in an organ flue pipe is the main body of the pipe itself, or its “resonator” (see Figure 4.12). Organ pipe resonators are made in a variety of shapes developed over a number of years to achieve subtleties of tone color, but the most straightforward to consider are resonators whose dimensions do not vary along their length, or resonators of “uniform crosssection.” Pipes made of metal are usually round in cross-section and those made of wood are generally square (some builders make triangular wooden pipes, partly to save on raw material). These shapes arise mainly from ease of construction with the material involved. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1180

The sound modifier in an organ flue pipe is the main body of the pipe itself, or its “resonator” (see Figure 4.12). Organ pipe resonators are made in a variety of shapes developed over a number of years to achieve subtleties of tone color, but the most straightforward to consider are resonators whose dimensions do not vary along their length, or resonators of uniform cross-section. Pipes made of metal are usually round in cross-section, and those made of wood are generally square (some builders make triangular wooden pipes, partly to save on raw material). These shapes arise mainly from ease of construction with the material involved. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1151

Categorization

• CANDY: Tiny nerdy tidbit: wood organ pipes are square and metal ones round simply because that’s easiest to build — sometimes triangular to save wood.
• SHARE: A woodworker or organ builder friend would enjoy that triangular pipes exist purely to save material.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1180; David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1151
• XREF: connects to: Resonator geometry shapes which harmonics appear in an instrument’s sound — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 1228