[Harp-L] What key harp for Country and for Minor?

["Paul F. Sehorne" <paul@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have collected major diatonic harps in all but a couple of keys 
(backordered).  I am just starting to play along with songs on harmonica 
blues albums I have purchased and for which I have Song Tabs (primarily 
courtesy of my membership at <http://www.harmonicalessons.com/>Harmonica 
Lessons).  I now plan on buying one harp in Natural Minor and one in 
Country tuning or Melody Maker.  I don't plan at this time to buy every key 
in these two tunings.  So I'm looking for suggestions.
   * What key in Natural Minor tuning would I get the most use from?  It 
is my understanding that 2nd position minor is the primary targeted usage 
of this tuning; so let's refer to the minor key that would be considered 
2nd position.
   * Should I invest in Country tuning or Melody Maker tuning?  I 
understand that these name of these tunings and how the key is specified 
may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. The County tuning I am 
referring to is different from a standard major diatonic only in that the 5 
and 9 draw are a semi-tone sharper, proving a Major 7 instead of Dominant 
7th in 2nd position.  The Melody Maker tuning I am referring to is the same 
as Country tuning in that it had blow 3 one full step higher.  On a C harp, 
for example, blow 3 would be A instead of G.  This has the disadvantage 
that you could only get the Ab by overblowing.  Overblowing is not 
something that I plan on getting into at this early stage - not so much 
because of the challenge of the technique, but because I understand it is 
likely that I would have little success with out-of-the box harps.
   * What key in Country tuning or Melody Maker (depending upon the 
concensus to the question above) would I get the most use from?  Again, it 
is my understanding that they primary usage of this tuning is 2nd position; 
so let's once again refer to the 2nd position tuning in referring to the 
key of the harp.
   * Actually, perhaps, my question should not be what key harps, but what 
key songs are most popular in Country and in Minor Blues.  I can figure out 
what key harp to purchase for the Country tuning or Minor tuning myself.

Thanks,
Paul