Re: [Harp-L] XB Altered tunings--Melody Maker

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gary Lehmann wrote:
> How tough is it to create a custom tuning on an XB? I know 
Jazzmaan 
> is using XB Melody Makers, did he create them himself? Anybody?

David "Jazzmaan" Fairweather had Pat Missin create his XB Melodies.  

Tuning the primary reeds isn't any more difficult on an XB than on 
any other harp, aside from the general complexity of disassembling 
and reassembling the instrument.  The complex part comes in tuning 
the "enabler" reeds that are used to facilate and control the 
bends.  My understanding is that David also had specific requests 
about how deep the bends should go on his X Melodies, and the same 
might be true of your Paddies.  

For example, when you tune the 3 blow up a wholetone to the A on a C 
harp, you can no longer bend the 3 draw down three semitones to get 
the Ab.  On a standard harp this requires you to overblow the 2 for 
the Ab, but on an XB, you can simply blow bend the 3 down a semitone 
for that note.  

Rather than having a 3 blow that bends down a wholetone (the XB way) 
and requires you to be very careful to get only a semitone bend for 
the Ab, you can adjust the enabler reed to permit only a semitone 
bend there.  If you left the enabler unaltered from the standard 
tuning it would permit bends down four semitones, all the way from 
the A to the F, which -- while cool -- would be a lot of work to 
control, and producing mostly enharmonic notes. 

-tim