48 Chord harmonica players: Sound off!

[Malarz]

Thanks to John for the detailed guidance about cleaning the wooden comb. I plan to clean it this weekend and will be sure not to disturb the reeds and leather valves.

Also, I have emailed and spoken with George Miklas. He has given me an estimated cost to replace the windsavers and inspect the harmonica. if my work—and the paychecks!—continue I think I’ll be able to ship it to him early this summer.

Ken

[John Broecker]

Apologies to Wally Peterman and Bill Morris,
for not including them on a list of recommended
Hohner Chromatica #267, 48 chord harmonica
repair technicians.

Wally has a lifetime of experience on the 48 chord,
as a performer and a repair tech. Bill Morris plays
and repairs Hohner chord harps, and is also highly
recommended.

Although not a Hohner technician (he repairs Suzuki
products), Gary Lehmann is quick and reliable. If
you need work done on Suzuki products contact Gary
(Gnarly).

All of the repair technicians listed in this topic are living
in the USA. If you live in a country outside of the USA,
you'll find other Hohner-appointed repair technicians in
your country.  Go to the Hohner website in your country.

Best Regards

JB

[Gnarly He Man]

Just to be clear, I’m willing to take a crack at it—hey George, how long is your Backlog?

[John Broecker]

When I had my Hohner #265 bass fitted
with the Power slider mechanism, George
Miklas was just moving into his new home,
and had many projects backlogged.

He did the work, even putting my bass ahead
of some of the other projects. The work was
excellent, and understandably slow. Fitting
new technology to an old harmonica must
have been frustrating at times.

Experience with another harmonica repair
tech was quicker. I ordered 5 Suzuki Pipe
Humming diatonics from Danny G, (new
harmonica.com), in Paddy Richter tuning.

But, Suzuki doesn't make the Pipe Humming
harps in Paddy Richter.  So the harps were
sent to Gnarly (Gary Lehmann).

The time from Gary's receiving the harps for
custom work, to delivery at my mail box, was
less than 2 weeks. The custom tuning on the
Pipe Humming harps was done by Gary, a
skilled craftsman.

I highly recommend both of these harmonica
repair/maintenance/customizing technicians.

Best Regards

John Broecker

[Gnarly He Man]

I once complained to George about how long this stuff takes, and he told me--
"You don't have to be fast, Gary, you just have to be good."
Easy for him to say, he's been doing all this a very long time--in case you don't know the story, here's a link to a brief synopsis of his story.
http://gator770-gmiklas-primary.hgsitebuilder.com/archive/gerorge-miklas-with-jerry-murads-harmonicats

[Gnarly He Man]

Oh, and by the way--48 Chord Harmonica Players can't be wrong!

[SlideMeister]

Oh, and by the way--48 Chord Harmonica Players can't be wrong!

Nope! Can't happen!

[Malarz]

Question for BeauKim and Wally Peterman: how do you play both the Cm7 and C#m7? Until I can find a copy of the chord harmonica instructional manual by Al Smith I might have to bother you folks with questions.

Thanks.

Ken

[Malarz]

Also, could someone direct me to complete notation chart for the 48 chord Hohner?

thank you.

Ken

[BeauKim]

There are several ways to play these two chords.  Two that come to my mind are:

For Cm7:  tongueblock between Cm and Gm.  You can also play technically a Eb6 playing Ab and Eb together.

For C#m7; tongueblock between C#m and G#m.  You can also play a E6.

[Gnarly He Man]

Also, could someone direct me to complete notation chart for the 48 chord Hohner?

thank you.

Ken

I can’t . . .
I know that the inversions are different on the Suzuki, but here is a chart for the chords.
http://www.suzukimusic.com/harmonicas/notation/

[John Broecker]

Hello, Ken (Malarz).

In the past, Hohner provided a complete chord
notation chart with purchase of a new 48 chord.

I don't know if they do that today.

There is a slide chromatic instruction book by
Tommy Morgan. In the book, Tommy includes
sections on the standard Hohner bass harp and
standard Hohner 48 Chord harp.

The 48 chord harp section has the complete
chord placements of the standard 48 chord harp,
with individual notes' positions on the music staves:

"Chromatic Harmonica", (1972), by Tommy Morgan,
Warner Bros. /Gwyn publication. Price unknown.

On the Suzuki Note Charts, the Soprano Single, Alto
Single and Bass harp should read as exhale only, not
exhale-inhale harmonicas.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

John Broecker

[felipe]

Hi, Can anyone tell me if there is a split chord for a minor7 b5 chord? Or what would you sub?
Felipe

[John Broecker]

Hello, Felipe.

I can send, via US Postal Service, a FREE
copy of the Hohner 48-Chord Harmonica
note chart, if you send your postal address
to me, at:

johnbroecker1962@outlook.com

If you are requesting a substitute split chord
for any minor 7th(b5) chord, not factory-
installed on a standard Hohner, 48-chord
harmonica:

You haven't specified a key. So, we'll use
the Eb minor chord as a substitute for
the Cm7(b5) chord.

You won't need split chords. Transpose the
chord to the scale of your song or tune
when needed.

You choose whichever chord you prefer,
based on sound of the surrounding chords
with the sub chord (before chord-sub chord-
after chord), or location of the surrounding
chords, to the substitute chord.

Best Regards, stay healthy

John Broecker

[BeauKim]

Here are a few solutions to playing the Am7b5 chord.  I would play F#dim or Cdim to honor the b5 when possible.  Therefore playing Am7 instead really isn’t a good substitution.  To get really fancy you do a partial chord and play the A C Eb of F#dim. 

Ah, I just thought of a way you might be able to play the Am7b5 chord.  Split between Cdim and Gaug and carefully tongue block the Gb in the Cdim chord.  That’ll give you C Eb x A | G .  I only just looked at your question so there’s probably other solutions. 

[felipe]

Thanks for your replies. Been away from it for a while playing Chrom and guitar.
Always puts a smile on my face picking it up again.
 I found a possibility,a movable split m7b5. Eg for Bm7b5-G7/D7 split (xBDF/xxAx). Not sure, it might be possible.
Regards
Felipe

[BeauKim]

Thanks for your replies. Been away from it for a while playing Chrom and guitar.
Always puts a smile on my face picking it up again.
 I found a possibility,a movable split m7b5. Eg for Bm7b5-G7/D7 split (xBDF/xxAx). Not sure, it might be possible.
Regards
Felipe

That split will work for the minor7b5 chord, though I haven't tried playing it yet.  There is one that has a different pattern and that is between E aug and F# dim to play F#m7b5.  It would be like this: xxxE|F#ACx.  Tony Sgro uses that in his chord solo on, "I'm Confessin'."   You can't move this position around with the bottom row diminished/augmented chords, though. 

[BeauKim]

Filipe,
I don't know if you have tried it.  I tried playing the split that you mentioned but I cannot make it as it is too wide for me and I get 3 out of the 4 desired notes.  It's the same reason why I cannot play a full BM7 chord between E and B, at least on the modern layout chord harmonica.  If you can, that's great!  To play a Am7b5 chord I would probably play Cm assuming there is a bass player, or I would play F#dim chord and not play the F#.  Again, there's probably more options I'm not thinking about right now. 

[AJWINDMEYER]

I'm here... and claim to play chord.

[AJWINDMEYER]

You tongue block between a Gb7 and B7 chord

I tongue block between Gb and B. But that's just me

[BeauKim]

Thanks for chiming in, AJ.  Yep, you and and old style chord can play that Gb and B split like it was nothing.     I love looking back into the SlideMeister archives where you and other chord (and bass) players have chimed in giving some knowledge on playing techniques or instrument history. 

[BeauKim]

Most recently, I've been working out accuracy, rhythms, and keeping my arms relaxed while playing on the 48 chord.  When playing chromatically changing chords in short bursts, it can be pretty tough to keep it accurate rhythmically and landing on the correct spots.  Another thing is working on rhythms for different styles of music.  Combining the rhythms and half step chord changes is tricky but very good practice.  Then, I play a song using these techniques.  Right now, I'm still playing on my two vintage Hohner 4 chord harmonicas.

Oh, the journey. 

How about you?  Please mention what kind fo chord you are playing on. 

(Edit): I'd like to mention that our own Bill Morris has two Hohner chords that he restored/modified on eBay, right now.  He restored my first chord and restored/modified my second chord.  You won't find a deal like this pretty much anywhere, imo.  (He has not told me to advertise for him.)  Wood combed chords are especially difficult to work on and I know this from experience. 

[Gnarly He Man]

Peg needs its own page.

[BeauKim]

Peg needs its own page.

Peg O My Heart?  Like an instruction page for the solo? 

[Gnarly He Man]

What I mean is that the chord solo for Peg stands as a watershed moment in the history of the chord harmonica.
So yeah, a page with the transcription would be like a beacon for weary chord players.
Which reminds me of a joke.

A moth goes into a podiatrist’s office, and the podiatrist’s office says, “What seems to be the problem, moth?”

The moth says “What’s the problem? Where do I begin, man? I go to work for Gregory Illinivich, and all day long I work. Honestly doc, I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. I don’t even know if Gregory Illinivich knows. He only knows that he has power over me, and that seems to bring him happiness. But I don’t know, I wake up in a malaise, and I walk here and there… at night I…I sometimes wake up and I turn to some old lady in my bed that’s on my arm. A lady that I once loved, doc. I don’t know where to turn to. My youngest, Alexendria, she fell in the…in the cold of last year. The cold took her down, as it did many of us. And my other boy, and this is the hardest pill to swallow, doc. My other boy, Gregarro Ivinalititavitch… I no longer love him. As much as it pains me to say, when I look in his eyes, all I see is the same cowardice that I… that I catch when I take a glimpse of my own face in the mirror. If only I wasn’t such a coward, then perhaps…perhaps I could bring myself to reach over to that cocked and loaded gun that lays on the bedside behind me and end this hellish facade once and for all…Doc, sometimes I feel like a spider, even though I’m a moth, just barely hanging on to my web with an everlasting fire underneath me. I’m not feeling good. And so the doctor says, “Moth, man, you’re troubled. But you should be seeing a psychiatrist. Why on earth did you come here?”

And the moth says, “‘Cause the light was on.”

-Norm MacDonald

[Andy Puleo]

Hi All. I’m new to the forum. So I sold a guitar to a friend of mine recently for $600. He pulled out a black case from his basement and said here’s an old thing I’ve had lying around, it’s a harmonica of some kind. I never played it and it’s just been sitting here collecting dust. Since you play the harmonica do you want it? Yes! It’s an old Hohner 48 chord. The case is old, the cover plates are slightly tarnished but the harmonica is perfect like it’s hardly been played. I haven’t  seriously attempted to learn how to play it. The interesting thing is that scratched into the cover plate by hand is “TATE”. Could it have belonged to Douglas Tate? How much do you think it’s worth? Thanks, Andy Puleo

[SlideMeister]

If it plays all the chords, its probably worth at least a few hundred bucks. I could be wrong but I don't think the "Tate" is gunna mean all that much. I suggest you listen to some chord players and decide whether you want to part with it or play it! 

[Andy Puleo]

Thanks AJ. I think I’ll keep it for now just for the coolness factor.

[SlideMeister]

Good! I was hoping you would. You'll see, They are a lotta fun! 

[BeauKim]

Hi Andy,

Very cool find!  Hopefully it is also free of mildew and mold since it was just in storage.  Yes, they only fetch less than $500 used these days, but factoring the amount of work to get them working, repaired, and tuned is many hours or usually costly.  I spent 5 hours just fine tuning and gapping the reeds!  I would suggest contacting Bill Morris for any repair work/modifications you might want.  Cut plates that have screws are a major plus in my book.   I’m also guessing that, “Tate,” engraved on the plate might not be anything significant even if it was owned by Douglas Tate for its value.

The chord harmonica kind of relates to the rhythm guitar in a rock band so there’s another cool thing.  Players like Wally Peterman, AJ Windmeyer, Bud Boblink, and Al Smith are four top notch living chord players in the US off of the top of my head.  You can see their videos for inspiration like I have.  I play chord, too, and I’m enjoying the journey of getting better and discovering new things about it.

Btw, I know Puleo is a somewhat common last name but any relation to Johnny Puleo of the Harmonica Gang or Harmonica Rascals bands?