Questions About Two Hohner Harps
Hello Winslow,
Hoping you can help me understand the peculiarities of two Hohner harps.
1) The Golden Melody -- can you translate the terms "equal temperment" versus "progressive?" Am I understanding correctly that on, say, my Special 20, that some of the reeds are not perfectly pitched on purpose, and that on the Golden Melody they are?
2) A friend gave me her brother's old Marine Band harp with a wooden comb. I don't know how old it is or how much it was used, but compared to my other harps, especially my Easttop in the same key, wow the reeds are less responsive. The Marine Band is much quieter, too. Is this to be expected, or is the harp perhaps in need of maintenance?
Thanks very much for your thoughts!
Best,
Matt
Thank so much for the clear/great replies!
I'll take apart my Marine Band and see if I can tell what's going on inside there and order a new comb.
As for the Golden Melody, do you know of any harmonicas with a similar shape, but which is not tuned to equal temperment? The way the traditional hohner harps are shaped bothers the corner of my mouth. Is the difference in tuning more academic (i.e., I probably won't hear the difference/dissonance on the chords of a Golden Melody)?
Great description, Winslow. Bottom line: The human brain is not a digital tuner!
if your Marine Band is the traditional one without big bolts (and not tiny nails that look like screws but aren't) holding the covers on, chances are that it's the original nailed-together version. In that case, reattaching to a traditional comb with the original nails may be difficult to do while preserving airtightness. If you order a comb for a Marine Band Deluxe or Crossover, you'll need to drill out the reedplates to accept the screws and get the required screws and nuts (M2.0 bolts and nuts for the covers, M1.6 screws for the reedplates).
You can convert a Golden Melody to equal temperament, For that, you'll need a sanding detailer (essentially, a thin band of sandpaper wound tightly around a plastic wand) and a tuner. Unless you're prepared for a learning curve and some potential blunders, maybe you could get a pro to do it. It's entirely possible, just takes a bit of tuning work.
But, as you say, you might not notice the difference, at least at first.
Hi Winslow, that kind of project seems right up my alley! I'm used to fine grinding work like that, and I just noticed all the technical videos on harps a few days ago -- looks like an awesome hobby! I tend to nerd out on these kinds of infinite tinkering projects. Thanks for the tips!
Temperament can be a pretty deep rabbit hole, but here are the most important things to know.
Equal temperament puts all the single notes in tune with standard pitch on other instruments, such as a piano, but makes chords, especially harmonica chords, sound harsh. For this reason, most harmonicas are not tuned to equal temperament. The Golden Melody, as its name implies, is tuned to equal temperament to favor single-note melody playing.
The temperament where chords sound best is based on simple ratios figured out by the ancient Greeks. But it can cause various conflicts in different keys and scales. Since ancient times, musicians have wrestled with this problem, and equal temperament is a relative recent solution (in the last 200 years) that basically puts everything slightly but equally out of tune. Because equal temperament makes harmonica chords sound harsh, most diatonic harmonicas are tuned to temperaments that favor chords more than euqal temperament does. When you hear about just intonation (intonation means the same as temperament), for instance, that means the tuning favors chords. When you hear about compromise temperament, that's an attempt to make the chords sound better than equal temperament without putting single notes too far off pitch.
Your old Marine Band may have a comb that has become leaky due to moisture causing the wood to expand, shrink and warp. The reeds in Marine Bands are the same as in Golden Melody, Special 20, and Rocket harps, and are normally as loud. Chances are that with a new comb, or maybe just some service it could again be a good playing harp.