Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

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Having notes below the range of the fiddle does make sense so that you can get *below* the fiddle to accompany. I sometimes do this using a Low D. On chromatic, I have retuned a Low E chromatic so that it's in the key of B with F# as the lowest note. This way common keys plays as slide-in keys, whic...

As long as we're talking about pentatonic tunings, without trying to accomplish anything other than a pentatonic scale, there's the Magic Harp tuning that Pierre Beauregard and Rickard Salwitz patented back in 1993: EG. AC. DE. GA. CD. EG. AC. DE. GA. CD. This achieves the objective of having the dr...

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This is a variation on spiral tuning, except that the spiral doesn't start until Hole 4.

For me, half valving makes tone inconsistent between valved and non-valved reeds. So for me, a half-valved chromatic would only come into play when the sound of dual-reed bends is more important than consistent tonal quality. Which for me is rare; I can bend farther on a valved reed than on dual-ree...

I see ramps - those raised floors on the chambers On higher pitches, a large chamber can drag pitch down if its resonant frequency is lower than that of the reed. Ramps also reduce the air required to fill the chamber before it starts moving the reed, allowing for quicker response and less breath re...

Could these effects be the reason for the conical design of the reed slots by yonberg too? http://en.yonberg-harmonica.com/content/8-technology Is here to find one of the reasons, why bending and overblows are working better or worse with some reeds / channels / harmonicas than with others? Another...

I find valve-less chromatics like the ones mentioned unbearably leaky and poor in volume and overall power of sound. Putting each reed in its own chamber doesn't solve the problem, either. I remember discovering half-valving as a teenager - Gee, what happens if I pull off the outside valve? Cool - t...

If all else fails, instead of threading the rivet hole, simply use a longer screw and use a nut to accept the thread on the other side of the reedplate.