Re: [Harp-L] Fwd: Original Hohner Pro Harp/painted covers

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

When LOs first came out , i am positive they were tuned to A444 and  
either 4 or 6 cents sharp,  I am a little uncertain about whether it  
was 4 or 6 cents sharp, but i very clearly recall the A444 tuning.  I  
don't know what  they are tuned to now, but back in the 80s, it was  
A444 and at least 4 cents sharp.  And, yeah, it was not possible to  
sound acceptable with keyboards on a consistent basis, which is why i  
stopped using them.

Now that i think about it, the promo material said that the X cents  
sharp was just above the amount detectible by the human ear and was  
done for brightness to stand out and cut through.  The other day,  
Iceman said in a post  that most people can hear a difference of 3  
cents,  So, 4 cents was probably what was stated, not 6 cents.

I'm pretty sure Suzuki Hammonds, Promasters and Firebreaths  are  
A442.  Harmonicas are typically tuned a little above A440 because the  
tone flattens a little under breath pressure when playing, even when  
not specifically bending a note.  So, as i understand it, most of us  
would sound flat performing on a harp tuned to precisely A440.  There  
are others on this list who know more about this than i do.

But the promo material for the original LOs touted A444.  i am very  
confident in my recollection about that.

JP


On Jan 31, 2009, at 2:08 PM, Richard Hammersley wrote:

> The Lee Oscar leaflet says 441, I just looked. Suzukis are 440 I  
> recall, because I checked before I bought some. I don't think you  
> could tune to 444 and sound acceptable with keyboards etc.
> Richard
> On 31 Jan 2009, at 18:54, John F. Potts wrote:
>
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: "John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>
> > > Date: January 31, 2009 1:54:07 PM GMT-05:00
> > > To: Richard Hammersley <rhhammersley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Subject: Original Hohner Pro Harp/painted covers
> > >
> > > Richard,
> > >
> > > i think the LOs are tuned to A444.  Suzukis are tuned to A442.   
> > > i'm not sure about Hohners.  Dave Payne told me Seydels are  
> > > spec'd at A444 but all the ones he tested on a tuner were A442.
> > >
> > > i still have a set of 14 LOs i bought when they first came out. I  
> > > think are tuned to A444 and 6 cents sharp which is how they were  
> > > advertised at the time, if i recall correctly. Back then i really  
> > > wasn't sure what that actually meant.  I had to stop using them  
> > > because keyboard players would complain that i was out of tune in  
> > > certain keys.
> > >
> > > JP
> > >
> > > RH writes:
> > >
> > > Let's not forget that Lee Oskars are tuned A441, which is slightly
> > > sharper than A440.
> >
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> Richard Hammersley
> Grantshouse, Scottish Borders
> http://www.last.fm/music/Richard+Hammersley
> http://www.myspace.com/rhammersley
> http://www.myspace.com/magpiesittingdown