Re: [Harp-L] different out of the box tunings

[Steve Shaw <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Ross

The chaps I play with all use cheapie tuners, which basically put them into A440 equal temperament. Unfortunately, this will make most Hohner harps sound out of kilter. My favourite harps, not just because they come in equal temperament, but also because they are nice and responsive, as well as long-lasting, are Suzuki Bluesmasters and Promasters, and (a little way behind) Lee Oskars.  I love SP20s but I routinely tune them to ET before taking them out to play. I would add, after listening to recordings of myself, that the out-of-tuneness of those Hohner harps is far more in the ear of the player than the listener. That doesn't actually help, because, if you're not happy with what you hear, it affects your playing (if you're anything like me).  Incidentally, I am convinced that harp players do need to be slightly "bright", that is, tuned to around A441 or A442. 



> On 13 Oct 2013, at 18:43, "Ross Macdonald" <pdxharpdog@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> Hello List - 
> 
> I am trying to get my ear a bit more sophisticated about harmonica tunings as they relate to gigging and playing with my bands original music. I seem to be getting more offended by some harps I use indiscriminately sounding out of tune during shows.  Assuming the guitar is tuned to 440 and is in tune (which it usually is) I find some harps sound out of tune with single notes more often than others. These are new out of the box harps, not ones that have gone out of tune with playing.  I current use a lot of Marine band Crossovers, Special 20s and Thunderbirds, as well as Seydel 1847s and Suzuki Manjis.  I play a mixture of horn line melody parts and dirty trance blues.  Mostly, my ear is bothered by the out of tune single note melody parts.  I have not gotten any dirty looks from other band members indicating they hear me out of tune, but it bothers my ear and that makes it important to me.
> 
> Is there a tuning that works better for this combo of playing, or should I just use an equal temperment tuning like a Golden Melody when playing melodies and some form of JI or Compromise tuning for all of the dirty trance blues tunes.  How do you all determine the harp tuning schema that sounds best for you.  I am liking the new harps from Hohner as they seem to be bright and loud and durable out of the box, but these are the ones that offend most during the horn line melody stuff. Are there tunings that are closer to ET that could work across the spectrum of dirty blues to clean horn lines? Id like to start this new year out with this issue solved and I am competent enough under the hood to tune harps to whatever tuning I settle on.  
> 
> When in the studio I usually use Seydel 1847s for some reason.  I think its because they seem the most reliable and pure in a studio setting, but in live and loud shows I tend to grab the Crossovers and T birds and Manjis for some unknown subconscious reason.  
> 
> Is there somewhere where I can see and hear what tunings each manufacturer and their respective models use? 
> 
> Thanks in advance for any insight.
> 
> Ross Macdonald
> 
> 
>