rogonzab
19 posts
Mar 20, 2012
4:29 PM
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Hi,
I have decided that I am going to tune one of my harmonicas (the cheapone), but there is a couple of things that I dont fully understand:
- If I tune the reeds into a perfect note (no -cents or +cents)that will sound good? like a Golden Melody?
- This chart tell me the +/- cents of each note right?
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Original Marine Band Tuning (Just Intonation)
Hole # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Blow 0 -14 +2 0 -14 +2 0 -14 +2 0
Draw +4 +2 -12 +4 -27 +6 -12 +4 -27 +6
Current Marine Band Tuning
Hole # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Blow 0 -12 +1 0 -12 +1 0 -12 +1 0
Draw +2 +1 -11 +2 -12 +3 -11 +2 -12 +3
Tuning for MS Models
Hole # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Blow 0 -10 +1 0 -10 +1 0 -10 +1 0
Draw +2 +1 -9 +2 +3 +3 -9 +2 +3 +3
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- Do I need to set up my guitar tuner in a special way?
Thx all of you!
Last Edited by on Mar 20, 2012 4:30 PM
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nacoran
5415 posts
Mar 20, 2012
5:21 PM
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I don't know about your particular tuner, but yes, if you tune it to zero cents it should be Equal Temperament, like a Golden Melody. That is, assuming you tune your first note to exactly 0 cents. As a practical matter, most people tune their harps a little sharper so that when you play hard, which tends to make you go a little flat, you end up in tune, but for ET you'd do it the same amount for each note.
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Nate
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rogonzab
20 posts
Mar 21, 2012
4:59 AM
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Thxs for your help!
Yes, I use AP tuner. So I guess it is ok right away for tuning a harp.
Dumb question: "sharp" it means that I tune in the
"-cents" directions? (to the left in tha AP tuner)
Last Edited by on Mar 21, 2012 5:27 AM
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opendoor_harps
5 posts
Mar 21, 2012
12:16 PM
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If you have the option on your tuner, calibrate it sharp (I always set mine to A = 442Hz for tuning harmonica). Then you can tune to 0 cents and it will be a bit sharp across the board for all notes.
Some harps are tuned even sharper than that, but I find 442 to be pretty consistent when I play with guitar or other instruments.
A new Hohner Deluxe I recenly purchased was too sharp for my taste and I will have to retune it.
- (minus) cents is FLAT, + (plus) cents is SHARP
Good Luck
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arzajac
760 posts
Mar 21, 2012
12:27 PM
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I would suggest you use a file to sharpen reeds, but use Blu-Tak to drop the pitch. I prefer this method and use it on my harps. Blu-Tak seems to lasts forever.
The traditional way to tune reeds is to file the tip to raise the pitch and file the base to lower the pitch. It's very hard to get it right the first time and you will probably overshoot most of the time (even with years of experience!). With Blu Tak, you simply remove some of the substance from the tip and the pitch comes back up - it's fully reversible.
You can use Blu-Tak to experiment with altered tunings as well. I have dropped the pitch of a single reed more than four semitones with Blu-Tak without compromising tone or playability.
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MP
2108 posts
Mar 21, 2012
12:36 PM
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arzajac,
"It's very hard to get it right the first time and you will probably overshoot most of the time (even with years of experience!)"
true that. especially removing metal from the fixed end of the reed.
now you've got me thinking Evil and going to Walmart for blutack. must resist! must resist!
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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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rogonzab
49 posts
May 09, 2012
9:09 AM
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I just finish my first tuning!
I use a dremel tool, whit the carving head into minimum speed. It took me about 3 hours of work retuning the harmonica to the pre war MBs tuning. It sounds really good, the 5 draw is now my favorite note!!
I`m going to buy another cheap harp to practice one more time and then I`m going to tune all my Suzuki harp to the marineband tuning.
Thx for all your help!
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