Re: [Harp-L] Is it my ears or does the chromatic sound different? Not as rich & soulful or what?



Generally speaking the chromatics are tuned to equal temperament like a piano so that all keys are playable. It's a compromise so that no key sounds worse than another. They all sound equally bad: thus the equal temperament. Harmonicas have traditionally been tuned to just intonation, although now many use a compromise ljust intonation. At any rate, diatonic harmonicas generally sound
 great playing chords and octaves while solo tuned chromatics (not Koch or Slide Harp) and Golden Melody and Lee Osar sound harsh.


The short answer is yes the standard chromatic sounds different.


I once had a guitar teacher who replaced a Lee Oskar with a brand new Special 20 and couldn't understand why the SP20 sounded so "bad." The tuning is different, that's why. 




The long answer gets more complicated. Most harmonica players are totally unaware of the just vs equal temperament tuning difference. And since the Koch and Hohner SlideHarp (now out of production?) both with the Richter layout are rare, even fewer players will know about this difference in the future.  Both 10-hole button harps have the same layout as the Marine Band and can bend notes just like the MB. The SlideHarp is half-valved, so it blow bends on the first 6 holes. The Koch has no valves, so it is really leaky and doesn't play all that much better. I have both.


I seem to recall that Sonny Terry played Golden Melody harps for a while.


Hope this helps.


Phil





-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: SÃbastien FrÃmal <sebastien.fremal@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Fri, May 31, 2013 10:35 am
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Is it my ears or does the chromatic sound different? Not as rich & soulful or what?


I play, or attempt to play (in addition to harps diatonic and chromatic)
steel guitar. No, I don't play pedal-steel. A lot of the older guys (most
of whom are now dead)
used to say that you could pick the player more easily on non-pedal steel
than with pedals. That's because the PSG is a machine, and
the non-pedal is all about hands, and the person playing.
The chrom, similarly, is more of a machine than the diatonic, and as it is
strictly a 'single reed' instrument (ie there aren't two reeds interacting)
the bends are more limited.
However, I don't know any diatonic players, personally, who don't dig
Stevie Wonder, who really makes every note sound like a voice.
The chrom, as played by the likes of Little Walter and a lot of other
players since, can sound very funky, played in 3rd position.
The instrument is, by it's nature, a more musically complex thing, and if
it's rock or funky blues you like, then its 'pure' tone might not naturally
appeal to you.
Keep listening!
RD

On 31 May 2013 17:02, SÃbastien FrÃmal <sebastien.fremal@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I think It can be interesting to get every notes, but I'm really not
> attracted by the song of the chromatic harmonica. I really love the
> diatonic harmonica though.
>
> I'm not saying that one is better than the other, I respect all harmonica
> players and their instruments. I just love one much more than the other,
> it's personal tastes. I'm sure it's the opposite for some people.
>



-- 
Rick Dempster
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