Some Paddy Richter tuned Diatonic Harmonicas for Irish Trad
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:14 am
OK...not an expert here !!! But I can bang out a good few tunes now.
I have a wee collection....Some Suzuki valved ProMasters and a Seydel, all in Paddy Richter tuning.
The Suzukis are around £50 and the Seydel circa £35.
So...
The Suzukis are much lighter to blow/draw on, which allows speed but demands breath control. Too much air and the note will be out of tune at times (though on a moothie that doesnt matter too much I reckon).
The light set-up has pros and cons....I think a small amp will help as the light playing is also quite quiet. Gets lost in a session, and when you try to play louder the tuning on one or two notes goes, or they just plain stop.
The Seydel is a bit more like a trad harmonica since the lack of valves means you need to shift more air through the reeds to get them to work. Its still an easy blow really (I have a good blues harp by Hohner that is much stiffer to play, prob designed for really muscular draw-bending) and the tone is also good. Bit louder/more forgiving if trying to be louder but might still benefit from a small amplifier.
If buying again I would invest in either Seydel or Suzuki..... Now I have a G, a D and a B I might get a Bflat if I can find one (to play along with a flute player mate who has a flute in Bb).
Incidentally, I also manage some tunes on conventional harmonicas, the Paddy Richter tuning allows a scale right down to the lowest (left hand) notes...1, 2 and 3, which sound great. The only missing note down there is achieved via a bend on the 2 draw, ok at times but not so good in fast note sequences.
Posting this mainly because there seems a lack of harmonica "stuff" here and its a grand wee instrument to add to the mix.
Boyd
I have a wee collection....Some Suzuki valved ProMasters and a Seydel, all in Paddy Richter tuning.
The Suzukis are around £50 and the Seydel circa £35.
So...
The Suzukis are much lighter to blow/draw on, which allows speed but demands breath control. Too much air and the note will be out of tune at times (though on a moothie that doesnt matter too much I reckon).
The light set-up has pros and cons....I think a small amp will help as the light playing is also quite quiet. Gets lost in a session, and when you try to play louder the tuning on one or two notes goes, or they just plain stop.
The Seydel is a bit more like a trad harmonica since the lack of valves means you need to shift more air through the reeds to get them to work. Its still an easy blow really (I have a good blues harp by Hohner that is much stiffer to play, prob designed for really muscular draw-bending) and the tone is also good. Bit louder/more forgiving if trying to be louder but might still benefit from a small amplifier.
If buying again I would invest in either Seydel or Suzuki..... Now I have a G, a D and a B I might get a Bflat if I can find one (to play along with a flute player mate who has a flute in Bb).
Incidentally, I also manage some tunes on conventional harmonicas, the Paddy Richter tuning allows a scale right down to the lowest (left hand) notes...1, 2 and 3, which sound great. The only missing note down there is achieved via a bend on the 2 draw, ok at times but not so good in fast note sequences.
Posting this mainly because there seems a lack of harmonica "stuff" here and its a grand wee instrument to add to the mix.
Boyd