Archives for 'FAQ' Category
6 December 2009
My Chromatic came out of tune
QUESTION:
Hi Michael,
I own two Hohner chromatics (Super Chromonica, CX-12 tenor) and I am disappointed that both of them came to me very sharp. They are very difficult to play with a piano, or with anyone else for that matter.
The CX-12 is tuned to 446!
I have three questions for you:
11 October 2008
The Saga of the Lifetime Reed, or better, why reeds should be allowed to break…
«click here
Another Harponline statement, regarding the lifetime of harmonica reeds:
Everlasting reeds made from indestructible material can never be. Any promise to that effect by manufacturers is misleading. The fact is it is physically impossible. And this leads to
11 October 2008
The Saga of harmonica ’sound’, or rather, why harmonicas do not have a sound
At Harponline we’re receiving an increasing number of requests asking what sound a particular harmonica has? We have also found promotion videos on the
internet which include statements regarding a specific harmonica ’sound’.
A practice we regard as extremely misleading.
Therefore we feel a statement is due:
1. Unlike an acoustic guitar, violin
17 June 2008
What is the best thing to use as a pad when one works on a harmonica?
I never use a pad, I hold the plate in my hands when reorganizing my broken reeds or valves. In fact I don’t recommend the use of a soft pad. (foam material?) In my opinion you shouldn’t use one at all.
Why? Well, if the plate, with it’s fragile reeds and valves, is accidentally pushed
18 May 2008
Can one exchange broken reeds?
Before answering this question, a warning: Before risking murdering your favourite instrument, I recommend the manually inexperienced practice this manoeuvre on an old and useless reedplate.
First and foremost, the reeds must be screwed to the plate. That is to say they should be screwed in position and detatchable. However if they are riveted in
18 April 2008
Why is passing to low notes so difficult?
Keep in mind that the lower notes (larger reeds) need more of a “run-up” because of the greater movement required - the longer the reed, the greater the need for the oral cavity to move more air. The longest chambers (of the Super 64) are still too short and therefore one must compensate with the nose. I will explain: When playing the lower notes, the oral cavity must be greater than when playing the smaller higher ones. In order to achieve this, the atmospheric pressure must be equalised, bringing your nasal cavity into use. However at this point, the air-flow is often delayed, so you must also compensate by using your tongue.
18 March 2008
How does moving with channel 4 and 5 (with the C) work?
How does moving with channel 4 and 5 (with the C) work?
Answer: An Australian recently enquired about this topic and told me he’d read a very comprehensive ‘book of guidelines’ dealing with the matter of when and where best to use the upper or lower C. He also added that after reading
20 February 2008
Can one wash a harmonica with water?
Washing reed-plate - my opinion:
I have been playing chromatic harmonicas now for approximately 25 years and have never found it necessary to wash a reed-plate, and I must add my oldest plates are the best. I have taken my super 64 to pieces hundreds times and never have I had the impression they needed
18 February 2008
The pitch of a note increases with the strength of my blowing.
If a note “bends” it is not assembled correctly. Reason: The distance between the reed and it’s slot should be 2/100 mm on all three sides. So, let us say a reed not cantered correctly sits 3/100 mm to the left and 1/100 mm to the right. Okay, when this reed is vibrated at
18 February 2008
The pitch of a note increases with the strength of my blowing.
If a note “bends” it is not assembled correctly. Reason: The distance between the reed and it’s slot should be 2/100 mm on all three sides. So, let us say a reed not cantered correctly sits 3/100 mm to the left and 1/100 mm to the right. Okay, when this reed is vibrated at
18 February 2008
How does a different body material (e.g. wood) effect the tone?
Franz Chmel says:
I have never been able to hear any difference at all. However in my experience a wooden body produces far greater durability and that’s not entirely a disadvantage. I would say a wooden body is best, if only because of the triple durability. However in my case I’d add,
20 January 2008
How does one adjust the gap of the reeds ?
The reed gap is dependant on both the material and each player’s different ways of blowing. One should adjust the gap approximately, according to the strength of the reed. Begin by increasing the pressure blowing hard, (with attack) increasing the distance, (or gap) so that the note does not stick. Then try to blow the
18 January 2008
To what pitch should a classic harmonica be tuned?
As far as I know the large orchestras and therefore their pianos tune to 443 and have been doing so for a very long time. Sometimes even higher tunings are required. The reason? To Improve tonal quality. Sometimes singers require this to be done. In principle I tune to 443, since I tune to my piano and it is tuned to 443. However, there are some owners who do not enjoy having their expensive pianos tuned down, and then a day later have it tuned up again.
18 September 2007
Where do I get single reeds from?
Hohner reeds are exclusively available now at Harponline and you can ››learn how to order here.
Before, learn about the Harponline Service System during the Harponline Workshops and/or have look at www.harponline.de
18 May 2007
Which plates are better, the ones with riveted reeds or the welded ones?
Well, the welded plates are probably cheaper in making, however it doesn’t solve the problem of having to throw a very well adjusted plate away if one reed becomes faulty.
Riveted reeds enable to use the Harponline Service System and rebuild the plate in a way that the rivet is replaced with a screw bolt. So, every note repaired that way will stay replacable over and over again.
18 April 2007
How can I repair faulty notes?
Some manufacturers refuse to sell single reeds which however is essential to repair faulty reeds. They prefer to sell complete reedplates and this means the entire reedplate must be replaced, even though only one note is faulty. For most people this excercise therefore becomes expensive. It is nevertheless possible to exchange single notes. The reedplate must be modified though, before you do so. You can learn how during the Harponline Workshops
. In addition Harponline could convince Hohner to offer single reeds, you get them exclusively in the Harponline Webshop.
17 February 2007
Is a harmonica in the key of E okay when accompanied with a guitar in an
It depends entirely on the style of music you wanna play. For instance:
if, instead of playing folk music, you’d prefer to play more Country, Blues
and Rock, then the label on the harmonica is no longer valid (the one
marking the Blow chord, I mean), it’s the Draw Chord that becomes the basic
chord of the piece.>>>more click on magnyfiying symbol below
10 February 2007
Harponline attacks again - the Chrome front
«click here
There are a lot of features that have been invented due to Harponlines’ critiques.
Besides a few regrettable exceptions there are no nailed harmonicas on the market anymore without the possibility to find an alternative that is fitted with screws.
However, we don’t sleep and move on to fight the last bastions.
In our gun sight:
The disastrous fixing of mouthpieces using screws turned directly into the front timber of the wooden comb (or with Hering, even into the plastic bodies) click magnifying glass to move on
20 January 2007
Up until now nobody could explain to me exactly what is meant by, ‘equal tuning’, for example with the Golden Melody.
Ok, so let’s take a look:
There’s a marked difference between what the human ear hears (or interprets) in a smooth chord, (meaning the overtones in harmonic relation to the basic notes of a chord) and the calculated relation of the notes and their frequencies.
Basically:
This means, when a Diatonic Harmonica is tuned so that it sounds comfortable (in ‘Just’ tuning’), it does NOT sound good when played in a band with an accompanying piano or guitar.
Especially ‘hole 5 draw’, which sounds really shrill.>>>more
18 January 2007
Exchanging new reedplates or single reeds?
Since there aren’t any really well adjusted plates in the first place, it is always better to adjust and correct or replace an unplayable reed as you go along.
Also, one must partially adjust the original instrument for certain pieces (e.g. Hora staccato) so one gets really good plates by time. The problem with exchanging a plate for a new one, is that the entire problem starts again from the beginning.
Sometimes the work can take months until a plte really works perfect for the player.