Post by jbone on Apr 3, 2018 5:43:45 GMT -5
I'm no expert here. I use some Chromatics and have tried several models, but I don't play as in depth as many do. I have found the benefit of that bigger sound available with 12 hole 48 reed models. I've tried to convince myself that a 16 hole 64 reed model would be a good idea but always seem to gravitate to the 12 hole. Here's a brief history of my experiences with chromatic harps:
In the mid 90's I was still very much in my formative years music wise. I had heard a lot of great blues players and some of the harp guys used chromatics very effectively. As for myself I had no idea about different positions one could play harp in on a given song or in a given key. This is important since my first purchase of a chromatic was an error. I was 99% a cross harp player, as in 2nd position, the "blues position". Not knowing that a lot of the chromatic I heard from Little Walter, James Cotton, Stevie Wonder, and others, was played in slant or 3rd position, the "swing/jazz" position, I just sort of picked a key of chromatic based on what diatonic harps I played a lot. I bought a Hohner 270 in D. Very strange animal compared to what I was used to! With a diatonic or 10 hole harp it's common in blues playing to bend notes to get the whole scale and to find the "blues notes". Not so with chromatic, the notes are already there, IF you know any music theory, and can play a scale or two. I couldn't do that. So I'd try to bend notes, and the way a chromatic is set up- with valves to allow easier playing since it's a 4 reed per hole instrument- this just wouldn't work. The reeds would stall and not sound. I put that harp away for years. But not too long after I'd got that 270 I noticed that Hohner also made a les expensive beginner type chromatic, the Chrometta series. I ordered an 8 hole model, the Chrometta 8, and later a 12 hole. These are a large hole, easy to play harp. They have the slide for half notes and are laid out as a typical chromatic harp, with the chromatic scale. Now, not knowing yet about 3rd position, I just used the 8 hole in 2nd position only. Which sort of worked but not really. The analogy I use is, you can water ski very well on tow skis, but skiing on one ski-slalom style- while it's still water skiing, it's a very different thing than two skis.
Along about this time I began seeking knowledge about how my heroes were able to get the sounds which entranced me. There were some key players locally who I asked about this and they began to educate me about Jazz/swing playing. 3rd position. This position is at home with either diatonic- 10 hole- or chromatic- 8,12,14, 16 hole models, the difference being that you can do much more with a chromatic in 3rd. I began to get the idea and finally, in like 2000, made a breakthrough into 3rd position playing on a chromatic. The lights were on. WOW moment. Before long I was also working with diatonic harp in 3rd and it opened up so many possibilities. That one "discovery" radically changed my playing.
So I had the Chromettas and a 270 Hohner model. The 270 I just never got comfortable with. About then Hering- a Brazilian harp maker- began making and selling chromatics., and since I could get a deal on them from one particular seller, I got a couple. Now my style of playing at that time was still pretty rough on harps, and I managed to kill several reeds on the Herings. Ultimately I had to learn to play with less force, especially considering how expensive it was to replace a reed plate/comb assy., or a whole chromatic harp! So I managed to keep one Hering, a low C model, and use it to this day. Mostly it's for playing amplified, which puts less strain on a chromatic since you don't have the same volume options as with a diatonic. Sadly, Hering had problems supplying the US market, so it became necessary to find a new chromatic. About then Suzuki was pushing its SCX series of chromatic, and I decided to try one. Since I'd acquired a regular C along the way, a closeout deal on a rebranded Hering 5148, and had the low C as well, I got a Suzuki SCX in G, a 12 hole. Loved it immediately, and still do years later. More recently I got a new SCX-12 in D, with the lower octave. Another really great harp.
I was given a Koch 10 hole slide harp a few years ago but it was in very rough shape and I gave it to someone who hopefully restored it. My 270 in D was pretty much destroyed, long story. Another 270 I was given I passed on to a fairly new harp player who got his start on chromatic that way, and moved on to better instruments.
Chromatic harmonicas became popular in the 20's and 30's with the big harmonica bands and vaudeville acts which needed a small inexpensive- when compared to other instruments- axe. Hohner was one of the first and most prolific makers of chromatics. From what I've read these were pretty leaky and hard to keep in good shape, but somehow they were successful back in the day.
Fast forward to a couple or 3 decades later, the 50's and on. Jazz players came into the picture. Toots Thielmans comes to mind. There are many more who are or were virtuosos with a chromatic harp. And along about then some of the blues harp guys began to experiment with chromatic to get new sounds. George "Harmonica" Smith is called Father of West Coast Swing, largely because of what he did with chromatic harp on swing and jazz based music. With a little time there was a kind of fusion between West Coast and its predecessor, Chicago blues.
Now if one has some very good playing habits and a good music education, and can play a chromatic the way it was intended to be played, one can spend ungodly amounts of money on high end chromatic harmonicas, from Seydel, Hohner, and Suzuki. I have seen them selling new for up near $5000 if you can believe that. There are more intermediate models which cost less and do more. Hohner has two models they made for Toots T. which are available to anyone for the price.
On the other end, there are Asian makers- I think mostly Chinese- like Swan, who have made millions of "lesser" chromatic and diatonic harps and supplied a lot of people with their products. These models I have never tried. You get what you pay for and a guy like me needs the most bang for the buck- good build, solid well tuned instrument, durable and long lasting. So I've settled on what I like and can afford.
That's my little bit on chromatic harmonica. While I'm not totally well educated musically, and I know much less than some players, I have learned enough to sound pretty good with a chromatic harp. Recently I have begun studying and working on chromatic harp parts in 1st, or straight position, out of necessity for a few new songs we're doing. Over all, chromatic harp has been a really excellent thing to add to my kit. The bigger fuller sound is an asset in many ways.
In the mid 90's I was still very much in my formative years music wise. I had heard a lot of great blues players and some of the harp guys used chromatics very effectively. As for myself I had no idea about different positions one could play harp in on a given song or in a given key. This is important since my first purchase of a chromatic was an error. I was 99% a cross harp player, as in 2nd position, the "blues position". Not knowing that a lot of the chromatic I heard from Little Walter, James Cotton, Stevie Wonder, and others, was played in slant or 3rd position, the "swing/jazz" position, I just sort of picked a key of chromatic based on what diatonic harps I played a lot. I bought a Hohner 270 in D. Very strange animal compared to what I was used to! With a diatonic or 10 hole harp it's common in blues playing to bend notes to get the whole scale and to find the "blues notes". Not so with chromatic, the notes are already there, IF you know any music theory, and can play a scale or two. I couldn't do that. So I'd try to bend notes, and the way a chromatic is set up- with valves to allow easier playing since it's a 4 reed per hole instrument- this just wouldn't work. The reeds would stall and not sound. I put that harp away for years. But not too long after I'd got that 270 I noticed that Hohner also made a les expensive beginner type chromatic, the Chrometta series. I ordered an 8 hole model, the Chrometta 8, and later a 12 hole. These are a large hole, easy to play harp. They have the slide for half notes and are laid out as a typical chromatic harp, with the chromatic scale. Now, not knowing yet about 3rd position, I just used the 8 hole in 2nd position only. Which sort of worked but not really. The analogy I use is, you can water ski very well on tow skis, but skiing on one ski-slalom style- while it's still water skiing, it's a very different thing than two skis.
Along about this time I began seeking knowledge about how my heroes were able to get the sounds which entranced me. There were some key players locally who I asked about this and they began to educate me about Jazz/swing playing. 3rd position. This position is at home with either diatonic- 10 hole- or chromatic- 8,12,14, 16 hole models, the difference being that you can do much more with a chromatic in 3rd. I began to get the idea and finally, in like 2000, made a breakthrough into 3rd position playing on a chromatic. The lights were on. WOW moment. Before long I was also working with diatonic harp in 3rd and it opened up so many possibilities. That one "discovery" radically changed my playing.
So I had the Chromettas and a 270 Hohner model. The 270 I just never got comfortable with. About then Hering- a Brazilian harp maker- began making and selling chromatics., and since I could get a deal on them from one particular seller, I got a couple. Now my style of playing at that time was still pretty rough on harps, and I managed to kill several reeds on the Herings. Ultimately I had to learn to play with less force, especially considering how expensive it was to replace a reed plate/comb assy., or a whole chromatic harp! So I managed to keep one Hering, a low C model, and use it to this day. Mostly it's for playing amplified, which puts less strain on a chromatic since you don't have the same volume options as with a diatonic. Sadly, Hering had problems supplying the US market, so it became necessary to find a new chromatic. About then Suzuki was pushing its SCX series of chromatic, and I decided to try one. Since I'd acquired a regular C along the way, a closeout deal on a rebranded Hering 5148, and had the low C as well, I got a Suzuki SCX in G, a 12 hole. Loved it immediately, and still do years later. More recently I got a new SCX-12 in D, with the lower octave. Another really great harp.
I was given a Koch 10 hole slide harp a few years ago but it was in very rough shape and I gave it to someone who hopefully restored it. My 270 in D was pretty much destroyed, long story. Another 270 I was given I passed on to a fairly new harp player who got his start on chromatic that way, and moved on to better instruments.
Chromatic harmonicas became popular in the 20's and 30's with the big harmonica bands and vaudeville acts which needed a small inexpensive- when compared to other instruments- axe. Hohner was one of the first and most prolific makers of chromatics. From what I've read these were pretty leaky and hard to keep in good shape, but somehow they were successful back in the day.
Fast forward to a couple or 3 decades later, the 50's and on. Jazz players came into the picture. Toots Thielmans comes to mind. There are many more who are or were virtuosos with a chromatic harp. And along about then some of the blues harp guys began to experiment with chromatic to get new sounds. George "Harmonica" Smith is called Father of West Coast Swing, largely because of what he did with chromatic harp on swing and jazz based music. With a little time there was a kind of fusion between West Coast and its predecessor, Chicago blues.
Now if one has some very good playing habits and a good music education, and can play a chromatic the way it was intended to be played, one can spend ungodly amounts of money on high end chromatic harmonicas, from Seydel, Hohner, and Suzuki. I have seen them selling new for up near $5000 if you can believe that. There are more intermediate models which cost less and do more. Hohner has two models they made for Toots T. which are available to anyone for the price.
On the other end, there are Asian makers- I think mostly Chinese- like Swan, who have made millions of "lesser" chromatic and diatonic harps and supplied a lot of people with their products. These models I have never tried. You get what you pay for and a guy like me needs the most bang for the buck- good build, solid well tuned instrument, durable and long lasting. So I've settled on what I like and can afford.
That's my little bit on chromatic harmonica. While I'm not totally well educated musically, and I know much less than some players, I have learned enough to sound pretty good with a chromatic harp. Recently I have begun studying and working on chromatic harp parts in 1st, or straight position, out of necessity for a few new songs we're doing. Over all, chromatic harp has been a really excellent thing to add to my kit. The bigger fuller sound is an asset in many ways.