Tuned down to Orchestra pitch???

"Orchestra pitch" in this context is the standard double bass tuning of E-A-D-G.

For bass solo literature, the bass is tuned to F#-B-E-A, one step higher on each string. Since this would increase tension on a "regular" set of strings, string companies have "solo" sets of strings for this purpose.

Kind of like extra light guitar strings, a lot of folks like the feel of lesser tension on their basses, so they purchase a set of "solo" strings, and tune them down the step to standard tuning so that there is less tension under the hands.

 

You were the one who got it wrong in the first place...

 

To be pedantic, 'referred' has three 'r's in it and your sentence is missing two commas! But you're absolutely right - people ain't perfect!

Besides, 'orchestra pitch' in North America isn't the same as orchestra pitch' in England or 'orchestra pitch' in a baroque ensemble, so we need to be open-minded.

Some good reading here: Concert pitch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The reason for all this confusion is that our FRENCH ancestors in an effort to conserve precious fuel, measured "A" at a very cold room temperature in contrast to the Americans. Think I'm kidding. Go to Paris in the winter. Room temperature is 59.

19th and 20th century standards

In 1939, an international conference recommended that the A above middle C be tuned to 440 Hz, now known as concert pitch. As a technical standard this was taken up by the International Organization for Standardization in 1955 and reaffirmed by them in 1975 as ISO 16. The difference between this and the diapason normal is due to confusion over the temperature at which the French standard should be measured. The initial standard was A = 439 Hz (info), but this was superseded by A = 440 Hz after complaints that 439 Hz was difficult to reproduce in a laboratory because 439 is a prime number.[7]

Despite such confusion, A = 440 Hz is the only official standard and is widely used around the world. Many orchestras in the United Kingdom adhere to this standard as concert pitch.[8] In the United States some orchestras use A = 440 Hz, while others, such as New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, use A = 442 Hz.[9] Nearly all modern symphony orchestras in Germany and Austria and many in other countries in continental Europe (such as Russia, Sweden and Spain) tune to A = 443 Hz. A = 442 Hz is also often used as tuning frequency in Europe,[2] especially in Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Norway and Switzerland.[10]

 

I like this a lot! Very informative read