Re: [Harp-L] just intonation

[David Payne <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm not at home, I am away for the holidays and hunting with dad, so I am not near my resources. However, to my unverified eye, that's not the original Marine Band tuning. That's what I call Marine Band compromise tuning. It's not as compromised as compromise. I think that's what the Marine Band uses today. The original (i.e. prewar) tuning would have 5 draw and 9 draw at -29. The original Marine Band tuning was supposedly at A=440, heck it even says it on the cover, still does. But I've never seen one that was. I've set them mostly around 442. Prewar Seydels are the only things I've seen that were actually A=440. 
In that first video Jason and I did, he's playing a prewar Marine Band DeLuxe, I'm playing a prewar Seydel Bandmaster. I think Joe Spiers tuned Jason's MB DeLuxe up to something more akin to a modern tuning, but the Bandmaster retains it's flat purity. When you put it with another harp, it sounds flat as heck.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDYmE7Q-6j8
Back in the day when I was playing acoustic blues, I tuned all my harps down to 440 and that was when I quit playing new Hohners and started playing prewars exclusively. I'm not sure where they were, but I had to tune them down. I think they were coming in around 442 or 443 even.
So, it's never been an exact science. Say 444 is the ideal. Might come out 443. When harps are tuned by ear, the harp being in tune with itself seems to take a higher priority than adherance to the absolute reference pitch. I like that, but it takes all kinds to make the world go around.

I congratulate y'all on your club endeavor, we need more clubs. Surely, New Orleans has enough harp players to make it soar. I find it uplifting that you guys are making a point to learn. That's how the harmonica gets preserved and advanced. 
_________________________________
Dave Payne Sr. 
Elk River Harmonicas
www.elkriverharmonicas.com 



----- Original Message ----
From: "cscharp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <cscharp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 10:41:15 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] just intonation

We are starting the Crescent City Harmonica Club, here in New Orleans, and one of the thing we want to do is teach members a little more about taking care of their instruments.  After the first meeting which was at my house, someone asked how many harps I had, so I counted them.  The total was 177, and I think they are tuned 177 different ways.  So, my question is What exactly, it terms that I can understand, is the best method of tuning to just intonation.  This is the chart that I think is the one I should use.  It comes from the Peterson Website and Harplog.com. This supposedly is the early Marine Bane just intonation. I set zero at 444 hz.

Hole___1____2____3____4____5____6____7____8____9____10

Blow___0__-14___+2____0__-14___+2___0___-14___+2____0
Note___C___E____G____C____E____G____C____E____G____C

Draw__+4__+2__-12___+4___-2___+6___-12__+4___-2____+6
Note___D___G____B____D____F____A____B____D____F____A


Am I going in the right direction?

Harvey Berman
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