[Harp-L] Creating a special tuning (Circular Tuning) using Lee Oskar harps

[Robert Coble <robertpcoble@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I also am a firmly entrenched Circular Tuning player. There are many advantages to this
tuning over the "standard" Richter Tuning. I like being able to play tunes melodically in
any mode (major and natural minor included) on one set of harmonicas. I like having
chords on every scale degree. I like the fact that there are NO "missing" notes. There
are drawbacks: no octave playing, breath direction changes with each octave, bends
(for expression or to get "missing" chromatic notes) are only half tone draw bends. Uh,
wait a minute, I consider that a benefit! I can still wail the blues by bending to get the
b3, b5, b7 notes (or quarter tone variations thereon). You also lose connection with the
vast body of existing literature which provides tabs. I don't use tabs, so it doesn't really
matter to ME. YMMV. But that's not my primary subject for this post.

I've tried different ways to create special tunings (such as MY preferred Circular Tuning).
Soldering works fine; so does using Blue Tack. BTW, there are several sources for the
same stuff. Michael's Crafts stores, Lowe's Hardware, etc. Not all of it will be blue in color,
but it's the same stuff. It's an adhesive used to stick things to a wall, etc. which is easily
removable. A small pack will do a heck of a lot of harps. If you want to have reversibility,
that's the best way to go.

But, there is a reason I got tagged with the "Crazy" moniker by a Navy Captain. I do things
in a different way than "normal" people. What is that old joke: "Normal" is a setting on the
washer/dryer? (Rhetorical question: What the heck does THAT mean on a washer/dryer???)
I'm also one of those "professionally lazy" people (thank you, Richard Sleigh!).

I make Lee Oskar Circular Tuned harps by using two sets of reed plates. I pick the Circular
key that I want (using the same labeling system as Seydel of labeling the harp by hole 1 blow).
For example, if I want an E Circular Tuned harp, I pick an E Richter harp as the "base" harp.
I then pick a set of reedplates (or another Lee Oskar harp) that is one whole tone in pitch 
below. For the example, that would be a D set of reed plates. For my first attempt, I bought
a Lee Oskar and a set of reed plates off Amazon. Amazon's price for Lee Oskar reed plates
was about $16.00, which is the cheapest I could find. I did have to search around on the
site; they don't put everything together in one place.

I have a map of which reeds need to be substituted from blow to draw (or vice versa) on the
base harp. The map also shows which reeds have to be replaced using the additional set of 
reed plates. The bottom line is that there are several reed changes that have to be made. 
There is only one reed that has to be retuned up one half tone (draw 9).

Why do all this work of substituting reeds? Because I want to use the UNMODIFIED reeds rather
than retuned reeds. I fasten the reeds on using the same screws that Seydel provides in their
repair kit. The result is that I only have one retuned reed when I finish. Actually, that's not true
either. I actually remove that reed from a set of reed plates that are a half tone down (Eb)
from the base harp, if I have a spare in my junk pile. I was a diehard Lee Oskar harp fan prior
to switching to Seydel and their standard Circular Tuned harps, so I've got some bad reed plates. 

It normally takes me about 2 hours to do the process and readjust all the reeds to my playing
style.

Why go to this trouble when I can purchase Seydel Blues Sessions or Blues Favorites with
Circular Tuning? Because the Lee Oskars hold up longest FOR ME of all harps with brass reeds.
Now that Seydel has the new offering of the Blues Session Steel, I will definitely be trying them
to see if the stainless steel reeds hold up sufficiently longer to be worth the additional cost. If
they do (relative to the Lee Oskars), then I will purchase them instead of making my own
customized Lee Oskars. I like Seydel's harps a lot. I like the idea of stainless steel reeds even
more.

(I haven't figured out why a "Blues" Session Steel" would have an ORANGE comb!?! Why not 
a BLUE comb? I just got back from SPAH, and I did ask Rupert Oysler that question. He didn't 
know, which is a rare thing for Rupert; he's one of the great experts on all things harmonica. 
Maybe former East Germans don't get the "blues" but instead get the "oranges". I'm of German 
extraction [my last name was Anglicized at Ellis Island], so, please no flames regarding my 
ethnic insensitivity. That was a "crazy" attempt at humor.) Rupert was super nice to talk to at 
SPAH.

As an aside, when I was researching the Lee Oskar harps to see which reeds were the same
across the Major Harp series, I got to speak to Lee Oskar to get confirmation of what I had 
learned. When he found out why I was asking, he sent me a set of reed plates to experiment 
with. He's a fantastic player and super nice to talk to. 

Thank you, Lee Oskar! You certainly give outstanding customer service!

Just another way to bend the twig,
Crazy Bob