Anybody have anything definitive on this harp? Availability dates, actually play one at SPAH, saw one, anything at all? I saw the video and it looks like they are really going after the marine band market for tone. Anybody have anything new we should all know about?
Brendan told me via YouTube message, it will be $40 US which equates to about £24 UK. Seems very reasonable. I've heard it will be Equal Temperament tuning but I'm hoping there will be a JI version. ----------
Other than the ridiculous priced Fabulous , Suzuki has no JI harmonicas ,and I have a feeling they will stick with this plan , it will be too bad cause otherwise at $40 it will kinda kick the hohner in the balls .
Patrick, that's what I was thinking but I haven't any experience in tuning yet. I have some old plates that I can try on though so I will try eventually. ----------
I thought with that side vent thing and shooting sawdust in the plastic, they were going after the Marine Band, but if it's Equal Temperment, I'm not so sure. For a lot of guys like me who grew up with Marine Bands, EQ Temp sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Hi Dave, Could you tell me/us what is the difference in JI and ET? I have heard these things but really dont know the difference and whats the best to go for when playing the blues. I like the chicago sound, big and fat but what tuning is best?
Dave , I didn't grew up with MB , actually i didn't grew up with any harp , In my very short harp life ( 2.5 years) , I bought some suzuki some deltafrost and 2 Sp20's , well I realized that every time I wanted to play something I always reached for the SP20 , and I have the same feeling when I try to record something , the ET it annoys me . Oxharp , if you cannot hear any differences than there is none , is just a couple of cents here and there on some reeds.
oxharp- ET means it's tuned like a piano, where there is an equal ratio in frequency between each half step. This sounds good for playing single notes yet some think that the chords sound bad due to the fact that with this tuning the ratio's of frequencies of certain intervals (5th's, 3rd's, etc) don't match perfectly with whole number frequency ratios that sound smoother.
JI is where the tuning of the notes is based off of natural harmonics, where waves match up in their whole number ratios and make a smooth sounding chord. However, single notes in this tuning often tend to sound out of tune, especially if you're playing with a band (other instruments normally use JI).
I think harps like the sp 20 and others are tuned in compromise tuning, which is a compromise (thus the name) between JI and ET designed to give better chords while keeping notes relatively in tune. ---------- It's all in the tongue
I'm as far as you can get from a metallurgist or even a competent harp customizer, so I couldn't argue with Suzuki's claims of spot welding the reed to the plate vs. riveting it for better sound or response. Either way, I'm curious to know if there's a difference a human ear can hear between the two techniques. Having said that, does anyone else smell the message that a reed plate with welded on reeds ensures that you can't really do your own reed replacement on the Manji reeds, and you can bet those replacement plates will be Very $pendy, because you do that, or buy a new harp. Some of the experienced tinkerers and customizers here can easily replace a riveted reed if one fatigues or breaks, but you're not going to do that on a Manji reed plate with the same result. Maybe Suzuki (or the customizers) aren't concerned about that. When one reed in the harp dies, you pitch it and just get a new one and suck it up. I suppose the big question is - how many of you actively replace reed plates or reeds, vs. buying a whole new harp? For the average priced ($20-$30) harps on the market, I wouldn't bother replacing reedplates vs. the whole harp.
Cool. I'm thinking I will try one eventually. Can't think of any reason not to. I don't have a spare in every key yet...lol (think my wife will buy that one again?)
"What about those vents on the sides? Doesn't that kinda toss an air-tight grip out the window?"
Same as Marine Band. A real airtight grip is impossible anyway, if air doesn't come out of the sides, it will still come out of the holes you are not blowing into. ----------
It is an excellent harp for $40. Tried it out very briefly. I dont usually play harps that 400 other people have been playing all day. The cursory swipe with an alcohol wipe isn't enough for me. Was very responsive considering I was playing it with a less than adequate embouchure. Barley letting it touch my mouth.I did hear many others get very clean overblows though. I would have much rather looked under the hood though. SPAH was crazy crowded tonight (still havent been to sleep) and too many events to see and hear. I have had a total of 20 hours sleep since last Friday. Caffeine Overdose. P.S. Brendan has a youtube vid on replacing welded reeds. Its not difficult. I dont see the difference between changing a guitar string and maintaining a harp. A small investment in the right tools and you would never even click on topics concerning harp longevity because it wouldnt pertain to you.
Oops! Forgot, The Crossover is also a great harp. And I didnt mean LAST Friday. I meant the one before. I feel REALLY weird. Im going to go sleep for 20 hours now.
the vent doesn't matter, think about it, the back is open. Where you need it airtight is in the reed channels and reed plates. Having the front of the covers tight forces the air into the channels is all. After that the space inside the covers is just acoustics. But there is more to projecting sound. I thought Seydel 1847 would be a larger sound because of the open backs, not so. Much more subdued then opened up MB's and SP20's
John at Coast2Coast advises that they will be carrying them. None yet, no ETA for then as yet. Also - first run of harps may not be the ones to jump on - no substitute for field testing to work out bugs.
Keep in mind that the Crossover , it's gonna have a new tuning scheme , a compromise compromise tuning ,a compromise between compromise tuning and ET, "all thirds (2, 5 & 8 blow, 3 & 7 draw) are tuned only 6 cents flatter than the root note and the 7ths in the draw chord are tuned equal " ( quote from a Steve Backer post)
