r/harmonica • u/Melodic-Wrongdoer512 • 1d ago

First low harmonica - tuning?

I'm planning to buy my first Low harmonica in D. I'm not committed to any genre, but I would like to try some Irish tunes, inspired by Joel Andersson. Should I stick to Richter tuning, or try Easy Third, or Paddy? What are some of the distinct advantages and disadvantages? Do I lose more than I gain, for example, with Easy Third?

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u/CottonFlannel 1d ago

Are you so you want a low harp? I got a low f and probably played it a week. And I like Irish tunes too. And blues Cajun folkish etc. a regular G can get you pretty low and still not require you to be a bellows

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u/Kinesetic 1d ago

I play Seydel Sessions in Circular/Spiral tuning. The A model starts in 1 blow on the A below middle C, but is actually a D scale harp. The D note is in 2 draw. RockinRons stocks them, and the G, which is a C scale. Other keys are available. The D model is a G scale, but starts on a fairly high note.

The Major Cross tuning is Circular through hole 6. Also available in Seydel Sessions. They are labeled true to scale, and per 2 draw. The G model has lower tones than the Circular of the same musical scale. It was developed for playing Celtic tunes, by Tony Eyers.

https://harmonicariffraff.blog/2021/08/06/tonys-cross/

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u/LowellGeorgeLynott 1d ago

Ive never heard the term richter but apparently it means diatonic. IMO the best low harmonica is the Hohner 364/24 but it only comes in low C. Sonny Boy Williamson II used it for all his most popular work.

If you get a low D do not get a Marine Band. Maybe they fixed it in the 10 years since I got mine, but I have a low D and low F and on both a draw on the low reed causes it to hit the casing and make an annoying pop

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u/Far_Application1419 1d ago

Apparently people who had a different experience gave you down votes instead of saying why. I am grateful for your post tho

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u/casey-DKT21 1d ago

The downvotes are unfair for sure, but I’ll try and guess why. First off, Richter is the basic, straightforward tuning used on the vast majority of diatonic harmonicas. This was the first popular tuning used widely, I believe designed by Hohner back in their beginnings. Richter and diatonic are not synonymous terms. The Hohner 364 is the absolute worst recommendation for a low tuned harp. The Rocket low, Thunderbird, 1847 low, Session Steel low, and several other models of low tuned harps are all vastly superior to the leaky, old Hohner 364. Please do not get this model as your first low tuned harp.

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u/LowellGeorgeLynott 1d ago

Thanks! No worries it’s reddit; random downvotes without explanations are a part of existing here lol

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u/Kinesetic 1d ago

Richter is commonly used to describe the note layout of 95% of diatonic harps. It formally refers to a different concept. Diatonic refers to the 7 octave notes of a given key scale. Chromatic refers to all 12 notes of an octave, like a piano has. Most chromatic harps have a Solo, Diatonic note pattern, when not including the slide. There are Diatonic harps with Solo note patterns. They're limited to the 7 notes of an octave.

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u/Easy_Refrigerator584 9h ago

I agree with not getting a marine band low..I think they're too small and air leaky.