bublnsqueak
6 posts
Mar 24, 2013
3:07 AM
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Hi,
Fairly new at this (about a year). I've decided that I like the sound of, and can afford, the Special 20. So, until such time as someone pays me money to play blues harp, I will focus on building skills and equipment around this model.
I service my own car, fettle my own banjo and refurbish my own boat. I like to be independent.
I have read a little bit (dangerous I know) and believe that the SP20 is in 'Just' tuning. I understand that there are many Just tunings and I kinda get the rationale for them. What I want to do is to be able to tune my SP20s to the way they came out of the factory (recently).
I have read tables of offsets, it seems to make sense. I need to relate the theory to reality. So I sit down with an IMT-600 chromatic tuner' my Android gStrings tuner on a Nexus 10, a Special 20 and a Suzuki Pro master (both C). My intention was to understand ET next to JT so I can tune my SP20s.
I guess many of you will not be surprised to hear that; from that point on, nothing makes any sense.
Skills? Experience? Understanding? I'm lost.
Any ideas, links please? Ideally, I would like to skip any more theory and just:
A) know the correct offsets for the SP20, and
B) know how to measure them so I can do some actual tuning.
Thanks in advance
Paul
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Kingley
2439 posts
Mar 24, 2013
3:15 AM
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Set your tuner to A=443
Tune following the Hohner compromised tuning. That is how the Special 20 is tuned. Here's a link to the charts: Tuning Charts
To learn how to tune, watch RIchard Sleigh's videos on YouTube. For reed gapping watch Joe Spiers videos on YouTube.
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arzajac
1014 posts
Mar 24, 2013
4:14 AM
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Hi Paul.
The SP20 is not Just Intonation nor Equal Temperament but a compromise between the two. It's closer to JI than ET, though.
The problem with tuning a harp is that you can't just play the note and adjust the pitch. Well, you should in theory but for one thing, you can't get a very accurate reading on the tuner. What do you do when the tuner says both notes are in tune but when you play the octave it sounds like crap?
Well, here's my two cents on how to tune a harp:
Tune a harmonica using your ears and a simple chromatic tuner
Also, here's a method to check your tuning.
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Last Edited by arzajac on Mar 24, 2013 4:16 AM
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paulbunyn
68 posts
Mar 24, 2013
6:21 AM
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Here is another site that has tons of information on tuning and customizing. http://www.harperclub.com/
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bublnsqueak
7 posts
Mar 25, 2013
6:38 AM
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Thanks for all the info! Very interesting.
This is not like changing banjo strings is it?
I had read your article on tuning arzajac. It makes much more sense now I've hit a few barriers. I found the SP20 offsets, which are the same as your article, from Kingleys link. But on reading your stuff I had no way of knowing which table was the one I was looking for. You could list models associated with each table for us beginners?
Thanks again - all useful stuff!
Paul
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nacoran
6605 posts
Mar 25, 2013
9:30 AM
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Don't forget the blue tack!
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Nate
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bublnsqueak
8 posts
Mar 25, 2013
2:07 PM
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Nope!
Thought I was beginning to get my head around this, and someone plays the blue tack card.
Stick it in one ear to make sure you can hear properly through your nose???
:-)
Paul
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