Re: Lee Oskars?

[rocket@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Rick Barker)]

>Strangely enough ... intonation is just about the only thing I prefer about
>Hohners to Lee Oskars.  Hohners (when they are in tune) have an intonation
>that (for my ears) plays better chords ("well tempered") whereas the Lee
>Oskar seems to have more "perfect" tuning.
>
>Another example of different strokes fer different folks.
>
>   -- hugh

This is not necessarily a "different strokes" thing. Rather, it has to do
with the way the human ear perceives pitch. The Hohner's are (supposed to
be) tuned according to the diagram on page 58 of The Harp Handbook. This is
a "just" tuning where the 2nd's and 5th's of the scale are tuned
sharp(relative to the 1) and the 3rd's, 4th's and 7th's are tuned flat.
Hohner also tunes their harps to A-444. According to the Filiskomeister,
Lee Oskars are tuned to A-443 and all reeds are tuned to this standard
pitch. In other words, there is no deviation from the standard as with the
Hohners. This deviation in pitch is what allows the chords to sound "right"
to the human ear. (Winslow help me!) After I finish tuning a harp to a
tuner, I check it with the ear. I check octaves, I play certain melodic
riffs in different positions and I check the sound of chords. If the chords
have a "beat" to them, or any of the other tests fail, I know that I need
to fine tune the harmonica. For me, this is an iterative process. Filisko
doesn't have this problem, he just whips 'em out. This used to drive me
nuts, but like anything, with practice it's gotten much easier. Real piano
tuners never use machines - just their ears.