[Harp-L] XB-40 retuning



I remember trying one of the first prototypes of the XB-40 at a SPAH. Rick Epping gave me about an hour alone with it and that was all it took for me to recognize how it could be improved. Making every hole bend a whole step (except the 3 draw to keep it close to Richter) is arbitrary and not musically optimal. To me it makes more sense to tune the responder reeds so that every note in the chromatic scale has a stable home, either fully bent to the max, or unbent. Those in-between bends are just too easy to overshoot. And the responder reed system actually makes it easier to play bends in tune than with a standard 20 reed harp because you can tune the responder reeds a little bit flat so that the fully bent note is perfectly in pitch. (Pat Missin tuned my XB-Melody harps.)

I chose Melody Maker tuning for other reasons, but my idea should work with other tuning schemes too. But I'm not sure if its possible to give all 12 notes each a stable home with Richter tuning. Maybe Winslow or someone else can confirm that. Once again, here are my XB-Melody demos for anyone who hasn't seen them already.

http://youtu.be/Hbvh8-coLqw "Moody's Mood for Love"

http://youtu.be/H6ksUBFk9So "I Say a Little Prayer (medley)"



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