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Retuning a Hohner Vineta

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:02 pm
by Alan
I recently bought a hohner Vineta and have really enjoyed this bass/chord instrument.

In case you don't know: The Vineta is a no longer produced harmonica with 6 sets of reed holes. There is a two reed bass section adjacent to a 6 reed chord section. The most common layout is:

F/Fmaj C/Cmaj G/Gmaj blow
C/C7 G/G7 D/D7 draw

I'm considering getting a second one to add 6 more chords on a hinged instrument.

I think there are a lot of interesting questions around this. What bass notes do you want and what chords? You have to consider the benefits of keeping a scale degree 1 blow, 5 draw on the bass with the option of adding a new bass note. Based on the music you like to play, what chords are missing from your favorites?

To expand the usefulness of the instrument you could either flow around the circle of 5ths to allow different keys of I IV V or expand into non major chords. My preference is to stick with C and add in Am, Em, Dm.

E/Em D/Dm A/Am
B/Bdim A/? E/?

Re: Retuning a Hohner Vineta

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:07 pm
by triona
Here is a data sheet of a Vineta tuned in F – C – G
(click icon for full size display of the pdf):

Image


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I have them in these tunings, always paired with correspondent 7th chords on the lover row (= draw reeds). The listed chords indicate the upper row (= blow reeds):

F - C - G
C - G - D
D - A - E
Ab - Eb - Bb
Fm - Cm - Gm
Gm - Dm - Am
Bm - F#m - C#m


There had been quite a lot more, discontinued since decades:

C - F - Bb
G - D - A
C - G - B
? > maybe meant Bb?
F - A - C
Ab - Eb - B
A - Eb -B (???)
C# - D# - G#
F# - C# - G#

G# - D# - Ab (???) > maybe meant A#=Bb ?
that would be enantonic to Ab - Eb - Bb
Ebm - Bm - Fm
Bm - Ebm - Abm
Abm - Ebm - Dbm


The doubtful positions due to the fact that I have copied them from a hand written list of a private seller of a larger inherited collection.
Utterly there had not been a coherent use of the german H = english B and german B = english Bb, neither by Hohner, nor by the author of the list.
My suggestions for correction of the list are made in anology to the circle of fifths and to the layout of my own harps (documented in the data sheet above), under the presumption of coherent construction of the setting and layout by Hohner through the whole series, most probably following the same pattern each.

There might have been some more different tunings too.
I presume, that the layout and the available chord combinations followed the same pattern each.

Here an opened Vineta, shown with the cardboard box in which some outrunning stock or some in later years newly edited instruments in a limited choice of few popular tunings were sold by Hohner recpectively by their authorized dealers:

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Here 2 different selfbuilt racks:

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Below one for 2 harps, above one for 10 harps (2 x 5), only partly visible.
This gives a compound unit like a common chord harmonica with interchangable selection and position of the mounted instruments.


Maybe there are some harps of these left in the stock of the private seller mentioned above.
He is situated in Germany.
He is selling them for € 80,00 each.
That is the price which had been charged for the last pieces there had been on the official market by 2016 - maybe out of a newer edition, that has been discontinued as well.
The harps are new / unused and come in original packing with the ancient box of strong textile coated cardboard and are definitely all from the original production maybe about 50 years ago.

If anyone here is interested in the address / email / telefonnumber of the seller, please write a PM.


dear greetings
triona


(C) source of the pictures:
www.harponline.de (historical website, no shop any more)
own / S.M. (the last one with the racks)

Re: Retuning a Hohner Vineta

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 2:51 pm
by Alan
Wow! Thanks for the info.

It looks like maybe trying to find the Gm Dm Am version would make a nice complement to the one I have.

Still interested in anyone's chord suggestions. At it's simplest, I suppose the question is this:

If you have C, F, G and C7, G7, D7, what next 6 chords would you most like to have available?

Re: Retuning a Hohner Vineta

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:15 am
by triona
Alan wrote:
Sat Apr 22, 2017 2:51 pm
Wow! Thanks for the info.

It looks like maybe trying to find the Gm Dm Am version would make a nice complement to the one I have.

Still interested in anyone's chord suggestions. At it's simplest, I suppose the question is this:

If you have C, F, G and C7, G7, D7, what next 6 chords would you most like to have available?
Exactly those which you mentioned:
Gm - Dm - Am / Dm7 -Am7 - Em7
(The 7th chords deduced from the presumed pattern, but not yet tried out,
the bass notes are G - D - A / D - A - E for certain.)

Mounted together in a rack or both held in the hands this gives you a lovely selection of musically related chords, each combined with a fitting bass note beside each chord. In this case these are F, C (2x), G (3x), D (3x), A (2x), E (verified on my harps).

Image

The notes in the circles indicate the bass notes, the other ones stand for the chords.


In November 2016 there still were 6 harps of this tuning in the stock of the seller whose adress I sent you. I have seen all the harps last year, when I bought mine. But I don't know, how many there are left there now.


dear greetings
triona