Re: [Harp-L] 12-hole Diatonics

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Third would be D on a C harp (which defaults to a minor-sounding scale
known as the Dorian mode).

As to the various Hohner models, let's make some distinctions.

The Regular 365 and 364 are different from the SBS.

The 364 is like a regular 10-hole, but extends to 12 holes on the high
end. The C and D are an octave lower than a standard 10-hole, while the
G is the same pitch.

The 365 is, again, like a regular 10-hole but extended to 14 holes on
the high end. The C is an octave lower than the 10-hole but the G is
the same pitch (I don't think it comes in any other keys).

The SBS is different from both the 364 and 365. Its first three holes
are tuned like Holes 1-3. Then the rest of the harp is tuned like Holes
1 through 11, continuing up in pitch, so that Holes 4-5-6 are the same
note arrangement as Holes 1-2-3 but pitched an octave higher. 

For instance, an SBS in C will have Holes 1-3 like holes 1-3 of a
regular C-harp, but an octave lower. Holes 4 on up will be like a
regular C-harp, with Hole 4 like Hole 1, Hole 5 like Hole 2, and so on.
SBS in C, D, and F start with the first 3 holes an octave below the
regular 10-holes, but continue the rest of the harp at regular pitch.
The G and A keys start at standard pitch and continue as high harps,
one octave abvoe the normal pitch.

For third position, the SBS is your least useful if what you want is
your home chord playable as a three- or four-note chord. On the other
hand, if you wnat to bend  draw notes over two octaves for the notes of
you main chord, it offers some cool possibilities.

However, if what you want is the big third-position minor chord that
normally starts in Hole 4 draw, then the 364 (and 365) in C and D will
give you that starting in Hole 4, but an octave lower than a regular C
or D, and you can extend that chord over more real estate - 12 or 14
holes.

Now, if what you want is that third-position home chord extended across
the entire range of the harp, then you might want a solo-tuned
instrument, which will use 12 holes to cover three octaves. You can get
this from a 12-hole chromatic, which comes in many keys. For a
diatonic, you can get solo-tuned C-harps at stadard pitch in a
commercially available special tuning of the Hohner 364, or the Hering
Master Solo or the Huang Cadet.

But now Seydel has weighed in with the Solist (note the German Spelling
with no second "o") that comes in both an SBS-like tuning:

http://www.seydel1847.de/epages/Seydel.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Seydel/Products/11401/SubProducts/11401LC

and in solo tuning:

http://www.seydel1847.de/epages/Seydel.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Seydel/Products/11402/SubProducts/11402LC


This is a 12-hole harp that is close to the size of a 10-hole. The
SBS-like tuning comes in low A, low C, low D, and standard C. The solo
tuning presently comes in low C and regular C (good for D in third
position). More keys may become available as the product finds an
audience:


Winslow

--- Bradford Trainham <btrainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> What options does one have for a 12-hole diatonic other than the
> Marine 364? 
> I seem to be in a mode of shrinkage...  That is, I've played the
> Steve
> Baker Specials for about two years, roughly since the time I found
> out
> they existed. 
> But lately, I like the little third (third position?  Like when you
> play in a minor on a diatonic g?  That's third, right?) 
> antics one might sometimes perform on a standard 10-hole, so I
> thought
> I might compromise with a 12-hole diatonic. 
> But the Marine 364's tuning, if it's like the 365... and please tell
> me if it isn't... has us bending predominately in notes lower than I
> care to be in, and sacrificing some of the higher bends/over-blows we
> might experience in the higher registers. 
> So again with feeling...  What other 12-hole options exist and are
> they tuned similarly to the Marine 364? 
> Brad (deserving of a hailstorm of tetanus-infested Jam Bones for his
> impudence) Trainham
> 
> P.S.
> "Predominately"???
> What the...???
> Ok Often!!  All too Often!! How about that instead?
> 
> 
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