Re: [Harp-L] Hohner 280/64 Chromonica 64 advice?

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Playability out of the box should be good. That said, you can always do tweaks (sealing leaks, profiling reeds, etc.).

However, the first thing to get used to is the much larger size of the 16-hole chromatic versus the 10-hole. Find a way to hold it so that you can both cup it in the left hand and operate the slide button with your right forefinger. (I let the body of the harp rest on *top* of the webbing between my left forefinger and thumb.) 

The slide travel is a bit longer on this harp because the slide holes are bigger (not because of the additional holes in the harp), so you'll have to press it in farther.

The mouthpiece is fatter, which can actually help with wide tongue-blocked intervals, as it helps avoid hitting the "bump" at the point where your mouth encounters the front of the covers.

The low notes play perfectly well PROVIDING that you allow them to. In other words, open up your throat, make you mouth a cavernous space with no resistance to air motion (especially from the tongue), and breathe gently and deeply. Some players complain they can't get these notes to sound, but I've never had any problem with them, probably because I do everything I just said.

Winslow 
Winslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Producer, the Harmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool Community Music School


________________________________
From: Harping On <harping.onandon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Tuesday, April 7, 2015 12:53 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Hohner 280/64 Chromonica 64 advice?


I am eagerly awaiting delivery of a new Hohner 280/64 Chromonica 64 in C. My experience of Chromatics is fairly limited, though I have owned a Hohner Chromonica 260 in the past with a wooden comb.

I understand the new 280/64 has a plastic comb.

My question is what should I expect in terms of playability OOTB and are there any tweaks that would improve the harp. I like the fact that I will have access to a lower octave.