Slightly out of tune
Hello !
My 4 blow on my A harp is at 445, and a few other notes are around +5 as well. Is that too much out of tune ?
Hello Miggy, thanks for checking in with us!
Well now--if you calibrated your Chromatic Tuner to A4=440Hz and it displays your Harmonica's middle A as 445Hz, then YES it is way too Sharp.
For many Harp Techs, we use the "Cents" scale as our tuning markers. Here your Chromatic Tuner (still calibrated to A4=440Hz), will display +20cents (Super Sharp!).
To keep things simple, I recommend:
- Calibrate your Chromatic Tuner to the Harmonica Player's preference of 442Hz
- On the Tuner's screen refer to CENTS rather than Hertz. Anything to the right of ZERO will be SHARP (#) and anything to the left of ZERO will be FLAT (b)
- Assuming you are playing a Diatonic Harmonica in the Key of A, your +1, +4, +7, +10 BLOW notes should be tuned in the range of 0 cent to +1 cent
If you need the factory tuning for your instrument, let me know the Make, Model and Key
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
I didn't know about that UkuleleRob, thanks for the info. They might have overdone it a bit there. And congratulations by the way, you got 2 new blue dots on your harmonica since I got here !
Kinya, it displays +15 cents with your settings, and so does the 3 blow, the worst is the 5 draw at -25. Most notes are at -10 / +10, very few are at 0.
I have a bunch of other special 20s, I tested the D, it's much more in tune. I have played it much less. The A one I have played a lot these past few months but I bought it for David's lessons, when I joined 3-4 months ago, so I'm a bit surprised it's already that messed up.
As the saying goes... "It's all part of the show"
Reeds are spring metal. It helps to visualize a watch spring coil and uncoil. The little dudes take a beating!
I would be curious to learn what vintage your HOHNER Special 20 harmonica is--are your cover plates stamped with the new "Progressive Series" on the BLOW cover plate? If so, they should be equipped with the new machined reeds, engineered to last longer than the earlier models.
With your Chromatic Tuner calibrated to 442Hz, the Compromised Just Tuning recipe for your Special 20 harmonica is :
BLOW Reed Plate:
- Reeds no. 1, 4, 7, 10 = [0¢]
- Reeds no. 2, 5, 8 = [-12¢]
- Reeds no. 3, 6, 9 = [+2¢]
DRAW Reed Plate:
- Reeds no. 1,4,8 = [+2¢]
- Reed no. 2 = [+2¢]
- Reeds no. 3, 5, 7,9 = [-12¢]
- Reeds no. 6, 10 = [+3¢]
TIPS:
- Re-attach your cover plates to the harmonica when checking the notes against your Chromatic Tuner (especially the Special 20, because the cover plates are non-vented)
- When checking your notes, use the same embouchure you generally play your harmonica with (tongue blocking vs. lip blocking)
- Remove as much moisture (aspiration, saliva, etc.) from the reed before tuning. Weighted reeds will display flatter (b) readings than a dry reed. On my bench, I use compressed air or non-lint swabs
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Thank you Kinya
Well the 5 draw reed just broke, it went to C# instead of D. I think I can see a small crack at its base. Ok then if it's a part of the show, let's get a new harp I guess.
It's stamped only "Progressive", no "series". Now I don't know whether it's the new or old stamp.
Hi Miggy, you are not alone. The 5 DRAW reed is by far and away the most popular reed that I routinely replace on Customer's harmonicas.
The reason for this is that between your 5 BLOW reed and 5 DRAW reed there only exists one half step (1 semi-tone).
This means there are NO DRAW BENDS available in the 5 hole! Oh sure, we can kind-of-sort of eek out a flatted note, but is only a passing--or ornamental note at best. Attempting to bend the 5 DRAW reeds causes metal fatigue then fracture and break near the rivet end of the reed.
Our friend John Nemeth once had a broken reed lodged into the back of his throat--OUCHIE!
Check out my lessons on reed replacement and see if you want to tackle the job yourself; https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harpsmith_bench
If working under the hood is not your thing, I can help you out. Why don't you drop me a line and we can set up a service request for your harmonica. My email address is:
kinya@harpsmith.com
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Ok I see ! The replacement is on the way. I've e-mailed you a picture of my harp to know whether it's a new machined reeds one. Thank you !
Hello,
I'm editing my previous post because I got pretty much all the answers I needed from harp tech study 3. I've been practicing on the harp that's got a broken reed with success. I'm very grateful and satisfied with what I've learned.
Just one observation, the compromised just tuning recipe that you posted for me on this thread is different from what I can see for Special 20s in the tuning recipes link provided in the study's pdf. Looks more like the modern Marine Band tuning. So that's the way to go ?
Thank you!
Hello Miggy, welcome to exciting and often frustrating world of harmonica tuning ;o)
Pre-heating the harmonica closer to your mouth temperature is always preferred. This will reduce the amount of condensation that will build up on the reeds. Moisture on the reeds will influence the tuning results.
TIPs:
- Remove as much moisture as possible before taking a reading
- Avoid spending too much time on the BLOW reeds--again, more moisture
- In my shop I use a small CFM compressor to blow off ALL the moisture from the reeds.
- The minimum is to blot up the moisture with an absorbent swab.
Harmonica manufactures use tuning tables to avoid moisture touching the reeds. At HOHNER, I watched the Tuners step on bellows to draw (not blow) air through the reed plates. At Suzuki, I watched a Technician use state of the art computers with lasers to tune reed plates.
As hard as Harmonica Companies try, shifting temperatures, humidity, jostling around in transit and most of all--the natural "settling" of the spring metal (reed), the tuning will arrive to you slightly skewed from the original design (Equal Temperament, Just Intonation, Compromised Just). As you had discovered, sharp (#).
At the end of the day, most Harp Techs and players will be satisfied that their harmonicas sound good to the ear. So my advice to your Miggy is to tune away any obvious occilations (beats) on the Octaves and Chords, then go make beautiful music.
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Miggy:
What make & model is your harp? Just tested my A Marine Band Deluxe, and it clocks in at exactly 445 as well. I assume you're aware that manufacturers tune harps up, because the reeds naturally go flat when blown or (especially) drawn, so they come out right. And I've heard that reeds go a tad flat as they age. But each maker is different. E.g., I have a steel-reed A Seydel that registers 443 on the 4 blow.
I suspect Kinya will have all sorts of cool info about this topic.