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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Hohner slide
Hohner slide
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greeno
11 posts
Dec 03, 2011
12:32 AM
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I've just been looking at this on the internet. A diatonic harp with a slide! I was wondering whether its worth getting one. I have never played a chromatic, and probbaly couldn't afford a decent one anyway. I wondered whether something more familiar (eg a blues harp) might be worth trying
Does anyone play one of these? I don't know of any pieces of music that uses one.
Any thoughts?
Greeno
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timeistight
236 posts
Dec 03, 2011
3:30 AM
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I have one. It's really leaky, particularly on the draw notes, which aren't valved.
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Gnarly
126 posts
Dec 03, 2011
4:26 AM
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I recently worked on one to make it more airtight, and was surprised by the results.
I have another one here to do, but am having trouble removing the nails--I need a better knife!
Embossing the slots helped the first one a lot--I'd still rather have a good valved chrom in bebop tuning than a Richter slide--but if you are up to customizing it, you might go far on a Koch.
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MP
1898 posts
Dec 03, 2011
2:48 PM
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a while back there was a thread on the Hohner Koch harp which is a richter/diatonic tuning. i wrote that "my Koch is leaky" and this amused Isaaculla to no end :).
Hohner also has a Slide harp that is similar.
the marketing idea is to rope in people who are used to playing diatonic to buy these harps as an introduction to playing chromatics.
i fell for it 30 years ago. i think it is best just to buy a normal chromatic and go from there.
it is far easy to play blues on a normal diatonic or a normal chromatic.
i beleive LW recorded a song on a Koch but can't remember the title. actually, there is a debate whether he used a Koch at all. (search MBH archives).
see yah, mark
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MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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MrVerylongusername
2093 posts
Dec 03, 2011
3:50 PM
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I agree that the Koch and slide harps are probably a ploy to encourage diatonic players to make the transition.
However it's worth saying that I have one of Hohner's very first model of Chromatic harmonicas - a pre-war, 10 hole Chromonica with an external spring mechanism and the six pointed star on the covers.
Whatever the reasons for Hohner continuing to produce the Koch and slideharp, the slide harp is about as close to the original chromatics as you can get. Solo tuning was a step further down the chrom's evolutionary path.
*Edit*
According to this very helpful post on slidemeister the first "Chromonica" was introduced 100 years ago in 1911, the spring mechanism was internalised around 1928 and solo tuning a few years later around 1930.
Last Edited by on Dec 03, 2011 4:07 PM
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chromaticblues
1082 posts
Dec 03, 2011
5:16 PM
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When I first saw this I wasn't going to reply. Why? Because for the most part these harps suck badly!
I bought a Ebay prewar chrom and it was the original version chromatic. The first chromatics had the same note setup as diatonics (just like the slide harp and Koch). I didn't know this untill after I customized it and started to tune it I soon realized it was one of those crappy harps.
Well after working on this harp on and off for a month it is a great harmonica!
OK my advice is for everyone to just do what MP said!
It takes alot of work to make these worth playing.
Anyone buying an old 260 chrom that is listed as a prewar harp is one of these diatonic type harps unless it says "Solo Tuned" on the outside of the box! Where you place both your thumbs to open a harp box it says "Solo Tuned" just left of center on the top half!
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Reverend Jimmie Jive
20 posts
Dec 03, 2011
11:54 PM
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Never had a Hohner Slide harp, but I have ,and loved Koch's, until I found Hering Vintage 40s,, same tuning, but available in many more keys, and with rounded mouthpiece holes & sealed combs.. all together simply a better made harp than the Old School technology Koch,,
but you can pick up good Koches for $25 on Ebay (C and G only) and a Hering , IF you can find one, sells for $150ish..
at any rate,, you can do things on a slide richter that can be done on no other harp..
for example.. paying chords,, the common I blow and V7 draw 1st position .. just like a diatonic , without bending,, these notes of the blues scale 1 -3, 3, 4 -5, 5 , -7 all in the low octave.. plus a fully chromatic 2 octave scale , and /or a fully hexatonic 2 octave blues scale from 4 draw on up to hole 10,, INCLUDING the flat (minor) blues 7th at draw 10 with slide in.... all without bending...
You also can do the half step slide DOWN to your chords like a guitar player might do such as in Stormy Monday...
and more...
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Reverend Jimmie Jive
21 posts
Dec 03, 2011
11:59 PM
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in fact , in 1st position, You can play the I chord and V& chord as usual , just like a diatonic,, and believe it or not,, with the slide held IN when soloing the Draw notes are ALL blue notes for the 1st position Key,, no mistakes are technicaly possible if you only play blow notes with slide out and only play draw notes with slide pushed in..but DO NOT PLAY DRAW 2 with slide in.. (unless you are into augmented 5ths as a passing tone from the I chord to IV chord)
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