Re: [Harp-L] Star/Kruezwender/Sextet/Carambola

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Niall - 

It's common for some keys in German Major tuning (i.e. standard diatonic tuning as found on a ten-hole) to start on Hole 2 instead of Hole 1. 

I have double-sided Hohner Echos in C/G, D/A, and Bb/F. Each of therse starts one key on Hole 1 and the other on Hole 2. This seems to be done in order to have them start in approximately the same place to allow for a smooth transition from one to the other, instead of jumping abruptly up or down pitch:

-- D starts on F# (Hole 2) while A starts on A (Hole 1)

-- G starts on G (Hole 1) while C starts on E (hole 2)

-- Bb starts on Bb (Hole 1) while F starts on A (Hole 2)

I don't know whether the single-sided Echo harps in these keys are tuned the same way. In some instances it depends on the size. A single key may come with two or three different ranges, and the versions with fewer holes may lack to bottom notes.

You could contact a Hohner representative to find out for sure.

Asian-tuned tremolos use a pseud-solo tuning but start either on Hole 1 or Hole -1 (with a low fifth, such as a G note below the C that would normally be Hole 1.

The difficulty with pseudo-solo tuning is that it doesn't give you the strong draw major chord in the first octave. However, you can re-tune an Asian tremolo to give you that chord.

Suzuki tremolos have excellent build - robust reed material and loud response. But you'd have to retune them to something resembling German Major and then build a wheel to accommodate them.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

Resident expert at bluesharmonica.com

Harmonica instructor, jazzschool.com

Columnist, harmonicasessions.com

--- On Fri, 5/21/10, Niall Tracey <internationiall@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Niall Tracey <internationiall@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Star/Kruezwender/Sextet/Carambola
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Friday, May 21, 2010, 8:47 AM


Hi all,

I was a regular here about the turn of the century and have been away a while (the guitar stole me away).

I was a ten-holer man for a long time, but I've now switched to tremolo in order to play folk and traditional dance music.

I've built a bit of a scatty set of harmonicas -- an ultracheap C (Big Valley), a vintage G (Echo 48), a Hohner Highlander (D + mixolydian A) and a Hohner Sextet spare in A -- and was hoping to neaten up, and I figured a star/sextet/kreuzwender would be the best way to go.

However...
I've noticed that the Big Valley and the D side of the Highlander (which is a modified Echo A/D) both miss out the bottom notes from the bottom hole -- starting at the equivalent of hole 2 on a 10-holer.

This doesn't work right for the sort of tunes I play, as I'm doing split blocking and rythmic chordal work, so I'm loathe to spend hundreds of pounds on a kreuzwender set without knowing that it's got the notes I need.

The 3 types of kreuz I'm aware of are the Hohner Sextet/Kreuzwender, the Hering Carambola and the Seydel Concerto.

According to the Seydel website, the Concerto has the right tuning... although they only show it in C.  But I have one octave harmonica in my collection at the moment and it doesn't really sound right for some of the self-accompanied stuff (I find the high octave of the accompaniment hides the low octave of the lead and muddies the sound a bit).

Neither the Hohner or the Hering websites give note layouts for their instruments (that I can find) and I'm concerned about the possibility that some of the lower keys might be missing the bottom notes.  Can anyone confirm one way or the other?

Also, has anyone tried the Carambola?  It's a lot cheaper than the Hohner Sextet, and I'm wondering whether that's down to a week Real and a strong Euro, or if there's a real difference in quality.


Is there any other star-types out there that I'm not aware of?  I'm half tempted to buy a set of Thomann tremolos and make my own brackets for them....

 

Thanks,

Níall.

                           
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