Chromatic Harps

[Steve Jennings <100010.1152@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Brian - I agree with George, the Chrometta is cheap in all significant
respects - including quality! The reason the 260 is more airtight than
the 270 is the fact that they use the same four part mouthpiece
assembly, and the inadequacies of the engineering tolerances are less
obvious the shorter the assembly is. Don't forget that Hering make
excellent chromatics in Brazil, that match Hohner for quality, and
undercut them considerably on price (in the UK anyway) - I can't see
them in Kevin's current catalogue. Also Tombo make chromatics and
Yamaha *used* to make *really* good ones - again much cheaper than
Hohner.
	Obviously, I can't advise on local suppliers, but I know that
Norman Ives, 1 Links Close, Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk, NR30 5DD, U.K.
stocks both Hering and Tombo stuff, as well as Hohner.
	Charlie Musselwhite has used Hering chromatics for years, and
swears by them. They come in all the "white note" keys - A, B, C, D,
E, F, G, as far as I'm aware, which covers just about all
eventualities, although many professional chromatic players seem to
want to claim some sort of moral high ground by playing everything on a
C instrument - as far as I'm concerned "if it makes life easier....",
but that's a different argument.
	Hope this helps.

Steve Jennings.