Re: [Harp-L] Dorian tuned alternative

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wrote:
"Tommy Morgan told me once that he took 75 pounds of harmonicas to every
recording session.  That included bass and 48 chord, of course, but
still."

It occurred to me that some folks might be wondering how you could
possibly find 75 pounds' worth of harps to take to a session.  As I
recall, Morgan told me that he carried complete sets of harps, including
chromatics in different keys, tuned to different pitch reference
standards: A440, A447, etc.  I seem to recall him telling me that the
A447 harps were what he used for the big Leo Diamond sound, where he
played the chromatic hard with a heavy vibrato, and the harps had to be
set up a little sharp to keep them in tune.   

My memory is suspect, but if the above is true, it's a partial answer to
the question.  It also shows the level of prep Tommy Morgan took into
his sessions.  It was no accident that he was voted "session player of
the year" more than once by the members of the LA musicians' local. 

Now, if Tommy had been carrying 6 different tunings on the diatonics, in
12 keys, with 2-3 sets of each tuned to different reference pitches
(A440, A447, etc.), he would have had to carry a lot more than 75
pounds.  And he would have needed a file cabinet to keep them sorted.
 
Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com