[Harp-L] re: Paddy Richters from Lee Oskars, 2003 Richard Hunter Paddy Richter posr

[Joe Mahan <joe.mahan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry Glenn for not responding sooner.
I always like to give the primary sources of valuable information time 
to respond first.
Here's the scoop. LO makes Melody Makers in just five keys. So, you have 
this pallete:

C paddy: blow reeds from G MM/draw reeds from C Richter
D paddy: blow reeds from A MM/draw reeds from D Richter
F paddy: blow reeds from C MM/draw reeds from Low F Richter
G Paddy: blow reeds from D MM/draw reeds from G Richter
A Paddy: blow reeds from E MM/draw reeds from A Richter

beginner info:
blow reeds ---top plate, drilled-through holes
draw reeds ---bottom plate, threaded holes

I have actually built two complete sets(Paddies and "almost countries")  
using the above chart.
The Melody Makers are labeled in Cross Harp key, which leads to some 
confusion.
And the octave "wrap"  at Low F  might throw  you.
To make the complimentary set of "almost country" tuned harps, just 
switch blow and draw in the list above.


This was extremely valuable information in 2003, now that Seydel is 
selling Paddys and Countries I guess it is more valuable to those of us 
who might have a drawer full of LO's to play with. (or diehard LO fans 
who will play nothing else)
I would like to thank Richard Hunter for his original post, and also Mox 
Gowland who reminded us in 2006 what we could do with the left over 
plates. (I had  glossed over that in Richard's 2003 post, had a drawer 
full of reedplates,  now have a set of  five "almost country's" in 
addition to the Paddies)

And, for the benefit of Rupert or any other Seydel folks listening, I 
have ordered my first Seydel, but I went for circular tuning, so I can 
try something that I can't cobble together on my own.

Joe



FYI here is the original 2003 post:

Larry Pratt requested information on the Paddy Richter tuning, to which
Scorcher replied:
"Actually, Larry, you can just buy 2 Lee Oskars;
1 standard diatonic & 1 Melody Maker (or just the
reedplates for the 2nd one).  Use the Blow plate from the MM & the draw
plate from the Richter."

Scorcher is correct, but he should have added that the Lee Oskar Melody
Makers are named for the key in 2nd position, not 1st position as per
standard tunings.  So, for example, one would use the blow reedplate
from a G Melody Maker with the draw reedplate from a standard C harp to
make a Paddy Richter C harp.  (This harp is GREAT for "Christo Redentor"
in 3rd position.)

I'll add that if you then take the leftover draw reedplate from the
Melody Maker and combine it with the leftover blow reedplate from the
standard C harp, you get what is essentially a 99% C country-tuned harp.
(The draw 9 reed will be an F#, not an F as on a regular Country tuned
harp; tune it down if you like.)  So you can actually get two very
useful non-standard harps out of this swap.     

Did I mention that if you put a Melody Maker blow plate and a Natural
Minor draw plate together, in this case both in the same key (because
Lee Oskar labels both NMs and MMs for the 2nd position key), you get a
Dorian Minor Paddy Richter harp (flatted draw 3 and draw 7, and blow 3
raised one whole step)?  Try "Moondance" on that harp in 2nd position. 
It's the harp I use for all the second position work on my latest
electronic free subscription piece, "The EBCG Song."  (See the URL below
for information on my free subscription list.) 

This is all lots of fun, relatively inexpensive, and easily done with no
tools besides a #1 Phillips screwdriver.  It can dramatically affect the
range of sounds and emotions you can make on the harp, and because the
scale tones remain in the same place on the harp (the 3rd and 7th
degrees of the scale change, but they don't move to a different
location), it doesn't take a lot of time to get comfortable with it.

Thanks, Richard Hunter
http://www.hunterharp.com/freemus.html