nt

I believe the code was changed at some point so now looking at any instrument will tell you what it is best suited for, and using the compare command can help you gauge the relative strengths of two instruments for any given rep.

If you're asking about instruments in general, there is really no definitive rule.
As a general matter
epic- percussion, horns
romantic - harps lyres
tragic- harps lyres
comedic - flutes piccolos harmonicas

There are exceptions, and so no way to really know what an instrument is really best for unless you actually have the instrument. Some NPCs may give a hint as to what instrument they are holding is good for by the rep they sing in during combat, but this is not universally true I have found.

I said NT and you looked anyway? For shame.

For shame.

It was in the original topic post, so reply pulled it!

Darn it, I guess...

I read the question as asking about which specific instrument items in game are good for tragic repertoire, not instrument types. Like "death reed harp". Etc.

nt

Not a big bard player, but the two non-area-explore ones that come to mind are the death reed harp and ghostly lute. Can ask around in-game for where those are from. They're pretty well-known. It's fairly likely there some better non-area-explore one that I just don't know about.