Re: [Harp-L] gold cover plates on Hohner Golden Melody

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Eliza Doolittle wrote:
When I read Ron's post a couple of days ago I looked up in the archives, but I didn't find any post related to equal temperament (it seems hardly possible, so maybe the search engine wasn't working all right (?)). Anyway, if Hohner uses (with the exception of the Golden Melody) just tuning, and so does Lee Oskar (I don't know about other brands), is it considered a better way of tuning the harps? 
***

"Better" begs the question "better for what?"  Lee Oskar harps use an equal temperament, as does the Hohner Golden Melody.  If you're playing music that changes keys frequently, as Howard Levy does, or if you play in several different positions, then equal temperament is "better", because the notes sound more in tune as you change keys. That's why Levy preferred Golden Melodies for years.  If you're playing music that sticks to one key--for example, traditional blues--then just tuning is arguably "better."

I tend to think about the responsiveness of the instrument more than I think about the temperament; whether the temperament is just or equal, it seems to work for me.  However, those just-tuned instruments do sound sweet when you lay into the chords.

Regards, Richard Hunter
 

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