Philosofy
693 posts
May 11, 2015
4:43 PM
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I had seen, but can't find now, a chart on each tuning, which harps use which scheme, etc. Does anyone have a link with details on how to tune a harmonica to each tuning scheme?
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arzajac
1641 posts
May 11, 2015
5:40 PM
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I have a chart on the bottom of this page:
http://harp.andrewzajac.ca/Tune
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica Combs and Tools.
Last Edited by arzajac on May 11, 2015 5:41 PM
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Philosofy
694 posts
May 11, 2015
5:44 PM
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That's the page! Thanks Andrew!
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barbequebob
2911 posts
May 12, 2015
9:58 AM
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There's actually a chart you can download here on this site and here's the link for it and you can download this chart for free:
Harmonica Tunings
It's on a PDF file.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Last Edited by barbequebob on May 12, 2015 9:59 AM
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Philosofy
695 posts
May 13, 2015
6:46 AM
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Thanks for the link, Bob. I remembered you had put something up here, but I couldn't find it, and still can't (without your link.) Where is it on the site?
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dougharps
913 posts
May 13, 2015
7:45 AM
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Andrew, the description of tuning using a chromatic tuner and changing the reference pitch does not seem to exactly match any of the tunings in the chart. Is it your own modified tuning based on one on the chart?
I have a couple of harps that I am planning to retune (as opposed to my usual process of just adjusting one or two reed pitches), and I was thinking of trying your approach. I have a chromatic tuner, but not a strobe tuner.
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Doug S.
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Gnarly
1352 posts
May 13, 2015
8:11 AM
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@Philosofy
Here's the URL . . .
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/harmonica-tunings.html
You can access the chart through the "Harmonicas for sale" menu item on the left--another menu drops down, select Harmonica tunings, then click the hyperlink to get Bob's chart.
I like the pastel colors of AZ's chart, don't know if the harps get tuned any better with his. . .
Last Edited by Gnarly on May 13, 2015 8:12 AM
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barbequebob
2914 posts
May 13, 2015
10:27 AM
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If you are thinking about going with a strobe tuner, Peterson is the king of those tuners and they have two versions worth getting. One is their software package called Strobosoft and the other has many of the tunings listed already calibrated there for you and you just adjust to the key of the harp and what standard pitch you intend to use (because the vast majority of people tend to play a lot harder than they realize, tuning to true A440 on a tuning table, if you can afford to get or plan to get one, in real playing breath is ALWAYS going to wind up being played flatter and so that's why harmonicas as a general rule are NEVER tuned to true A440 and the real standard pitch when using a tuning table tends to be A442-A444, more often A442 so that no matter how hard you play, it never falls below A440).
The other tuner is Strobo Plus HD. The most ideal one that many customizers use are the mechanical tuners, including the 12 wheel strobe.
Here's some links for Peterson Tuners below:
Strobo Soft 2.0
Strobo Plus HD
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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GMaj7
688 posts
May 13, 2015
11:42 AM
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Not intending to change the direction of this thread, but I think there is way too much focus on temperament.
While players spend hours discussing this, what seems to be ignored and is much more significant is the base frequency (440, 441, 442..)
When your band members wince, it may not be that you have played the same LW lick 9000 times, but instead played it 9000 out of tune.
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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arzajac
1642 posts
May 13, 2015
12:44 PM
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"Andrew, the description of tuning using a chromatic tuner and changing the reference pitch does not seem to exactly match any of the tunings in the chart. Is it your own modified tuning based on one on the chart?"
Charts are not the most accurate way to tune a harp. Not unless you have a chart for every single key and playing style (plus maybe a few other factors...) That being said, there is an algorithm for tuning a harp. Chords sound sweetest with the thirds being -12 to -14, fifths being +1 or +2. Flat sevenths (draw 5) sound great at -24 (ish) but also sound fine at zero. If you don't play chords above the 5 draw, you can get away with straying away from making the chords sweet.
But the point is that things are relative to one another. The reason some chords sound sweet is not because the pitches is at the exact frequency on a chart but because they are at the right frequency for those notes in the chord, in that octave, on that harp, being played by that player.
The draw five is the flat seventh of the draw two chord, but it's also the minor third of the draw 4 chord. Again, the best way to tune depends on your use. The draw six is the fifth of the draw four chord and will sound nice 1 or two cents higher than the draw four.
So the method I describe to tune a harp comes closer to the algorithm than a tuning table - that's why there is a discrepancy between the values you are seeing.
I really only included those tables for study and to provide a complete refecnce - It's interesting to see the 'whys" of the different tuning strategies. For example, when I realized how powerful just tuning the thirds down five cents was, it blew my mind! You get significantly nicer chords than ET, but the single notes are not that far off!
"I have a couple of harps that I am planning to retune (as opposed to my usual process of just adjusting one or two reed pitches), and I was thinking of trying your approach. I have a chromatic tuner, but not a strobe tuner. "
If I had to chose between using a strobe tuner only or using a crappy chromatic tuner *and* my ears, I'd pick the latter hands down. A Strobe tuner makes the job easier - you don't work against yourself. But using your ears is indispensable and can lead to stunning results.
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica Combs and Tools.
Last Edited by arzajac on May 13, 2015 12:52 PM
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dougharps
915 posts
May 13, 2015
1:34 PM
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@Andrew
Thanks for the explanation and encouragement.
Even when I am adjusting pitch on one or two reeds, for me, the ear trumps the chromatic tuner. The tuner is just to help me stay on track.
@Greg Jones
I use 442 unless the rest of the harp is already at 443.
@Gnarly
I am a prehistoric Luddite, and still proudly use a flip phone. I get my interweb old school, on a computer!
@BBQ Bob
Thanks for the sharing the information
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Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on May 13, 2015 1:39 PM
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nacoran
8489 posts
May 13, 2015
1:34 PM
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Greg, I just get the guitar players to tune to me. :)
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Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
First Post- May 8, 2009
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mlefree
300 posts
May 15, 2015
10:53 AM
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I may be dating myself but the original tuning resource was from Pat Missin. Amazing resource.
Pat Missin's Tunings Page
Michelle
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SilverWingLeather.com
email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
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1847
2346 posts
May 15, 2015
3:17 PM
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Theory of harmonica tuning
Last Edited by 1847 on May 16, 2015 10:31 PM
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shakeylee
277 posts
May 16, 2015
1:54 PM
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anybody know if pre-MS blues harps and meisterklasse were 7,or 19 limit JI?
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www.shakeylee.com
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SuperBee
2605 posts
May 16, 2015
4:23 PM
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Im not sure if they were 19. I believe Hohner had moved away from 7 limit JI by the time they began producing the blues harp though.. 70s wasn't it?
Edit: seems it was first produced in late 60s, and would have been 7 limit JI up until the 80s. At the moment I'm operating with an assumption they were tuned same as their contemporary marine band model.
Last Edited by SuperBee on May 16, 2015 4:38 PM
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barbequebob
2921 posts
May 18, 2015
11:55 AM
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All pre-WWII diatonic harmonicas (with the exception of the original Marine Band Soloist/School Band model, which was the precursor to the 364S and because the note layout was the same as a 12 hole chromatic minus the slide, were tuned ET) were ALL tuned to 7LJI. The original wood combed Old Standby, MB, Sp20 and original Blues Harp model (meaning pre-MS series) were all tuned to 7LJI until 1985. From 1985-1992, those models were tuned to 19LJI, and after that, they were all tuned to compromise tunings. The Golden Melody ever since its introduction in 1974, was always tuned ET. The original pre-MS Meisterklasse was first tuned to 19LJI, then ET and since being part of the MS series, compromise tuning. If you look at the tuning chart that you can download from this site, you should have a complete listing of them.
Now as a general guideline, any diatonic harmonica recording REGARDLESS of genre, made prior to 1974, were all made with harps tuned OOTB at 7LJI. From 1974 to 1985 (with the exception being the use of the Marine Band Soloist/School Band models, which were the ONLY diatonics tuned ET), beginning with the Golden Melody, that's when you start to hear some ET diatonics.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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