This is an expanded version of a post sent to harp-l in Februrary 2004.
So tell us - where (besides a customiser) can one find a harmonica in that
Just Intonation? If that's a component of SBW / LW's playing style, I want it!
I know Hohner's current MS & HM tuning standards are NOT "Just", but some
"compromised" version of it.
The Hohner Golden Melody is tuned to straight 12TET. The other HandMade/Classic Diatonics are curently tuned with a light temperament, quite close to the traditional 7-limit tuning, but with a somewhat less "flat" 5 draw and 9 draw.
The MS harps use something that is tempered a little further from JI and the 5 draw and 9 draw in this tuning are considerably sharper than on the HandMade/Classic harps. The MS harps also tend to be tuned a little higher overall.
The Hohner Silver star is tuned to 12TET and I assume that others of their Chinese-made range are tuned similarly. Based on limited samples, it seems that their Special 20s in Country Tuning (where the 5 draw has been raised by a semitone) use the same light temperament as the standard Special 20, with the 5 draw tuned a little below its equal tempered equivalent to make a relatively smooth major triad in holes 4, 5 and 6 draw. Based on an even smaller sample, it seems that their Marine Bands in Natural Minor Tuning are tuned close to 5-limit JI, with all the minor thirds and minor sevenths tuned sharper than their equal tempered equivalents. It may also be worth noting that Hohner tunes the root notes of the chords (1 blow and 2 draw) to the same values as on their major key harmonicas. This means that the Eb in hole 2 of a Cm Natural Minor harp (what Lee Oskar would call a GmN) is substantially higher in pitch than the D# in hole 2 of a B major harp. I haven't worked on any recently made Hohner harps in Harmonic Minor Tuning, although for what it is worth, the old Hohner Orchester minor harps were in 12TET.
Seydel seem to use a tempering scheme similar to that used on the HandMade/Classic Hohners. On some of the harps the 5 draw and 9 draw notes are tuned closer to 7-limit JI, on other harps they are tuned a little higher. I currently have no experience of how their minor and other tunings are tempered.
Do any of the manufacturers use Just Intonation? I'd like to find a stock
harmonica in that tuning - Maybe the Hering 1923? The Delta Frost?
The Delta Frost is, I believe, equal tempered, as are Tombo/Lee Oskar and Suzuki diatonics. Huang diatonics also seem to be intended to be in 12TET, although their tuning is somewhat variable. Ditto for most of the other Chinese made diatonics.
The only stock diatonics (not counting tremolo and octave harps) currently available in the traditional 7-limit Just Intonation scheme all seem to be made by Hering. This includes the Hering 1923 Vintage, the Hering Black Blues, the Hering Master Blues and the Hering Rhythm Blues (their 12-hole tenor C harp).
Up until recently, all Hering diatonics were in JI, but the Super 20 and the Hering Blues have recently been changed over to 12TET. The Golden Blues is now in "brilliant tuning", meaning that it is tuned a little higher than their other harps, but they don't specify whether its relative tuning is Just or tempered and I haven't worked on one for a while. I also recall that the last Hering Free Blues I worked on was tuned Just, but that was a while ago and I'm not sure how they are currently tuned.
For what it's worth, the last Hohner 364 and 356 Marine Bands I serviced were closer to 7-limit JI than to anything else, although the SBS harps seem to use a light temperament much like that currently used on the 10-hole MB.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that we are dealing with mass-produced items and there will often be significant variation in the tuning even between supposedly identical models.
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