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EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 12:44 pm
by IaNerd
Seydel has just launched a MAJOR initiative built around a new (?) alternate tuning. See https://edharmonica.com/

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 10:20 am
by Lizzy
If i missed it..they dont tell how overblows are possible for beginners. I guess it is like on powerbender that they are possible to a lower tuned draw reed but you need training and skill to master them even on this edharmonica.

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 10:24 am
by IaNerd
Lizzy: Yes, they have not yet explained how/why the ob's would be easy.

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 2:58 am
by ROBERT TEMPLE
I am very interested to know what others think about the EDharp, particularly used in swing/jump/blues, the "West Coast" sound. One of the interesting things about the EDharp is that it could be valved for blow bends holes 1-10. I have yet to try out an EDharp but it is quite an interesting layout.

One thing that has caught my attention is the way that Seydel has labled the harps, they designate the major key of the harp by using the note of the 2 hole blow with its relative minor being blow hole 1. After closely looking at the EDharp layout and the way it is labled by Seydel, I noticed that if the 1 hole blow was the "major key" or tonic of the harp, let's say "C" for this project, then there is a very easy blow/draw pattern layed out for the "blues scale." Said scale, as I understand it, is tonic,-3,4,-5,5,-7,tonic. The only hard note to hit for many might be the 2ob to get the -5 [F#] but valving draw hole 3 would allow for a valve bend down to the F#, perhaps an easier way to approach the -5 in the lower range or higher as well.

People, tell us all about your impressons of the EDharp.

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:42 am
by Brendan
This is a copy of a post on Modern Blues Harmonica:

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Just for the record, there is nothing 'new' about the ED Harmonica tuning. It's simply the bottom end of Paddy Richter or Melody Maker repeated up the harp - except they start the scale on the A instead of the C.

The website says 'Patent Pending', but I'd be very surprised if a patent were ever granted. Not just because it's an existing tone layout repeated, but also because it's been publicly used and recorded with in the past.

Isacullah has mentioned it on Moden Blues Harmonica, with his own name I can't quite remember - Pentatonic Tuning? I think he's done videos with it also.

I've had a few harps in this tuning in my harp case for years, and got Richard Sleigh to make me a custom Marine Band version back in the early 90s. It's a very nice harp that I dubbed The Slayer, and still have :-)

I call the tuning Paddy Richter Extended, and recorded a couple of tracks using it in the XB40 on my 'New Chinese Harmonica' album of 2013. And, incidentally, those harps start the scale on the A note too, which sets a public precedent five years ago for that little variation... You can hear the x-reed version on the first track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjlIZLiFETg

I'm not knocking the tuning at all - I wouldn't have used it myself if it weren't good! But to try and claim it as something new and even patent-worthy is not just misleading, but also legally and factually false.

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:31 am
by Brendan
Robert: there is a way to input tunings here. Please check this thread on the subject:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=20

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:59 pm
by ROBERT TEMPLE
Thank you, Brendan.

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:47 am
by EdvinW
This is a nice tuning, but they make some rather odd selling points.

The oddest, in my opinion, is that they claim chromatic playing is much easier, since you ONLY need to learn overblows and draw bends, and can skip blow bends and overdraws. I think overbends, in both directions, are much harder then normal bends. I learned to do draw bends and blow bends more or less simultaneously, without noting one to be harder than the other. When I recently started to try out overbends, I find that the position on harp has much more impact on the difficulty than the direction; I can sort of get the easiest overblows and overdraws after searching a while, though I can not use them consistently in melodies, but overblowing the lowest notes still seems far into the future.

Also, if the goal is to let beginners play melodies immediately, why not just market a spiral tuning? My (admittedly rather limited) experience with beginners suggest spiral tuning is the tuning that leads to the least amount of frustration and the quickest progress.

Re: EDharmonica, by Seydel

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:56 am
by triona
I guess, the capability and ability to learn and do all kinds of bends, overbends and overblows etc depends to some degree on the player's specific anatomy of the mouth, tongue, teeths and throat. This might cause that the one or the other has more or less difficulties to learn the one or the other of these techniques.


dear greetings
triona