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Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 12:13:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Winslow Yerxa
Subject: Tremolo Sound and Self Tuning

>I have been wondering what a Tremolo tuned harp
>sounds like. I'm guessing that it sounds excellent
>playing melodies (a la straight harp). Would it
>sound good in a country setting (Hank Williams, Patsy
>Cline)?

Single-reed diatonics and chromatics are what turn up
most on country records. The exception is Mickey
Raphael's tremolo work on *some tunes with Willie
Nelson.

Different models of tremolo deliver sweeter (dry -
notes tuned closer to the same pitch) or rougher (wet
- - notes tuned farther from the same pitch) tremolo
sounds. The dry tremolo is safer to use; this is found
on most Asian models and the Hohner Weekender.

>They are a little more expensive than regular ol'
>diatonics and I wanted to check it out before I paid
>the man.

The Weekender is very inexpensive, as are the kind you
can buy in Chinese dry goods emporiums.

>Also, on a different note.

>I recently began trying to tune my harps (Hohner
>Diatonics)...and I'm having a little trouble. It
>seems like, I tune the reed and it sounds good...then

>I play for a little bit (a minute) and it goes flat
>again...I tune again and the same thing happens. I
>bought the Lee Oskar Maintenance kit and am
>following the directions. Is it a matter of
>experience or are there some tricks I haven't picked
up on?

One important part of doing anything to a reed -
tuning, changing the gap - is, after you've tuned or
gapped, to plink the reed several times to let it
settle, then see if it's settled where you want or if
it needs more adjustment. PLinking is just lifting and
releasing the reed so that it vibrates strongly.

>Are the reeds already too fatigued to take
>tuning?

If they keep dropping in pitch, there's agod chance
that they are. But plink several times after tuning,
and see if, after plinking they stay at a stable pitch
or continue to drop. If they do keep sinking, it's
reed fatigue.

>I did take the 'shortcut' method on the blow reeds
>and not take them off the comb...I'm wondering if
>that prematurely fatigued them?

Not likely. While gentleness is always good practice,
reeds are tougher than we sometimes seem to think.
Pulling through the slot for tuning may change the
gap, but will not cause reed fatigue unless done
thousands of times (the reed does this anyway while
vibrating) and pulled too far, or so hard as to deform
the reed into a crease.

Winslow

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