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From: "Michael Polesky MPA"
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 12:36:21 -0700
Subject: Tenor Chromatic Reed Lengths

Hi All,

As most of you know, I am a fan of tenor tuned chromatics. How I
became a fan is really, perhaps, more a matter of luck and
expediency than anything else, but I am a fan just the same. I
have always enjoyed the lower end of the chromatic. Growing up I
played a lot of clarinet and saxophone and I used a CBH 2016
which covered, basically, the full range of either and allowed me
to share music between my various instruments. As I got older,
focused more on harmonica, and focused more on jazz I found
myself looking for a harp that was designed specifically for my
needs. Part of that need was to find a 12 or 14 hole instrument I
could cup more easily and amplify more effectively. So, I took a
look at my 64 chromatics and discovered that, since I was playing
a lot of saxophone lines, I didn’t have very much wear in the
upper octave ;-). I quickly realized that for my specific jazz
interests I could move to a tenor tuned instrument! So, I started
exploring tenor chromatics and found out a few interesting
things.

First, tenor reeds have a relatively "short" size for the pitch
they produce. Tenor reeds do fit well on a standard size
instrument and they are longer than standard tuned reeds by a
slight bit, but they are noticeably shorter than the same pitched
reeds on a 64. So, for the pitch they are producing they are
relatively small. This is most noticeable on the top end where
mid range pitches are given very small reeds. There are
advantages and disadvantages to this set-up. On the lower end of
the tenor, the reeds are just big enough to control well, but not
as large as 64's and result in, generally, more responsive
playing. Response is usually a function of gapping, but, after a
while playing well gapped instruments you begin to notice that
these reeds take less energy to "get moving" and don’t shake,
rattle, or honk as easily as 64 reeds. This works to my
advantage. On the other hand, at the top, the reeds are
relatively short for their pitch and the result is that they far
less malleable and "controllable" than do the same pitched reeds
on either a 64 or a standard 12 hole. This is something in which
I don’t find any advantage. I prefer the longer reeds and feel
they act more "naturally" in the air stream allowing you to
control your pitch and timbre much more.

As both an experiment and a possible solution, I have tried
several tenor models custom designed to fit the lower 12 holes of
64 reeds as opposed to tenor reeds to see what the effect would
be. I will admit that the 64 reeds feel more natural to me on the
bottom than the tenor reeds do on top. I can adjust to the long
64 reeds at the bottom easily as I have played 64's and standard
12 hole instruments for a long time. The difference between the
relative size of the reed and the pitch between the standard or
64 and the tenor tuned is much more drastic on the small reeds of
the very high end and presents a greater challenge for me. So,
the use of 64 reeds on my 12 hole tenor has turned out to have
positive effects. Siegfried Naruhn was the first person to make
me one of these and his CB-tenor with 12 holes of 64 reeds is a
tremendous instrument. This is one of my favorite chromatics in
my collection. Bill Romel also fashioned a Virtuoso chromatic for
me that fits the lower reeds of a 64 in 12 holes.

My ideal instrument would probably have a mixture of reed
lengths. I would take advantage of normal tenor reed lengths at
the bottom and extend my slots to fit the 64 reeds or standard 12
hole tuned reeds towards the top. This would provide reeds that
are "not too long" at the bottom and "not too short" at the top
with a fairly even response throughout the instrument. Sort of
like the Goldilocks story set to reed lengths. Of the three tenor
instruments I play the most, the Renaissance, the CB-tenor and
the Virtuoso tenor, only the CB has the special 64 reeds. The
Virtuoso I use most is the "Gold" Virtuoso with regular tenor
reeds and I actually prefer it to the Virtuoso with 64 reeds for
its particular sound ;-). The Renny sports regular tenor reeds. S
o, I haven’t found that the experiment’s results would make me
suggest to all tenor players to get special reeds cut from the
bottom of a 64 plate. However, I am pleased with the results of
these plates and I think a re-examination of the traditional
tenor reed length/plate is definitely in order. I really love the
"feel" of the top of the CB-tenor and Silver Virtuoso and would
enjoy that advantage on all my harps, but the "Gold" Virtuoso and
Renny also maintain qualities that I appreciate - including a
really "smooth" low end that I would also like to guard. Thus my
suggestion of a "hybrid" set of sizes.

I also urge more people to try tenor instruments out ;-). A quick
plug for the good old tenor is always a must. I find it is in the
perfect range for jazz. It not only has enough room at the top to
play nearly every melody and produce beautiful solos, but it
reaches down to the areas of tenor sax and trombone where one can
play harmony parts as well. Since most of the blowing instruments
used in jazz stick around these lower regions it seems to "fit
right in". On the higher octaves I find myself gravitating
towards a style that is similar to flute or right hand piano
rather than the sounds of trumpet and sax that I find most
expressive in my personal jazz interests. So, don’t forget to try
out those tenors!

Michael