Re: [Harp-L] Suzuki tremolo chromatic

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fernando Bresslau  wrote:
>
>At the time, I found that the tremolo tuing of the higher octave was
>very inconsistent, with very different tremolo frequencies in the last
>4 or 5 holes. The Suzuki technician of the Harmonica Clinic (a booth
>where you could bring your harmonica for free small repairs) said that
>it was really tricky to get it to sound right there. Have you observed
>that also?

Yes - I have touched on this topic in a recent post to Slidemeister.
The presence of a pair of reeds in a very long chamber does introduce
factors that make tuning somewhat more complicated than a regular
chromatic. Taking this into account, the quality of the tuning on the
sample I tried was remarkably good. I think I may have preferred a
little less tremolo in the upper octave, but that is just personal
taste.

>The second question I have is if you feel like you have been given a
>prototype, or first production run instrument, which has received more
>attention than a normal production run instrument would.

As far as I know it was a normal instrument, rather than having any
special treatment.

>It is a pitty that the price has to be so high,but I guess, that, if
>we want very specialized instruments with very good quality, we cannot
>expect them to be cheap.

This is very true, but even though it may be quite expensive compared
with most harmonicas, it is still quite cheap compared with saxophones
or flutes.

>During the last concert in the convention, Claude Garden has played
>one of those instruments, a gift from the manufacturer. It was a
>French piece, and it sounded just right for it.

I hope Claude decides to feature the tremolo chromatic on one of his
recordings - I'd love to hear what he can do with one.

 -- Pat.