ALTERED TUNING DIATONICS

[BassHarper@xxxxxxx]

Something I've been curious about for many years - maybe someone out there
can shed some light on this for me.

Who was the first to raise the 5th draw hole 1/2 step to make the popular
"Country" tuning, such as Charlie McCoy and many others use?  I remember
hearing Charlie state at one of the SPAH conventions that someone else had
introduced this innovation to him years ago.  Hohner now offers this tuning
in the Special 20 series.  What other special tunings have been experimented
with for special effects prior to today's well-known Steve Baker SBS, Lee
Oskar Melody Makers, etc.?  It would be interesting to know if there were
such alterations made back in the '50s or '60s (or even before), either by
individuals or manufacturers.  I believe Hohner has offered a minor tuning
for many years, but I do not have documentation on that tuning.  I am sure
there have been cases of special tuning alterations done by individuals over
the years,  seeking to make a harmonica to fill a desired need.  I know that
Bernie Bray of Canada, as well as Stagg McMann (Hugh McCaskey), were both
craftsmen who made such alterations for their personal use.  (I am fortunate
to own a special harmonica made by each of these artists.)  Of course, Andy
Paskas (former Hohner craftsman), made many harmonicas of various
configurations, but I have no documentation on those either.  If anyone is
aware of specific altered tunings from that time period, or even older, I
would be very interested in adding that info to my historical collection.
 And any documentation of such modifications would be even more valuable, as
I would like to assemble a cross-section of such modifications for
publication in the harmonica periodicals.

Thanks for your help.

----Danny Wilson (BassHarp)