Re: Fwd: XB40 vs Suzuki Valved Promaster MR350

["Chris Hammond" <dawgawntired@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I feel like I gave the thing a pretty fair shake in trying it.  I really 
wanted it to work so that I could get a clear 2 hole blow bend (as well as 
all of the other blow bends on the bottom of the harp).  I can get a bend on 
the Golden Melody that I normally play, but it isn't perfect.  It may be as 
Mike mentions that I was too used to the GM harps and just applying too much 
wind.  I still have the harp and may give it another try.  I still think it 
is going to be more sluggish than a non-valved harp due to the extra inertia 
associated with the valves.


>From: funharp@xxxxxx
>Reply-To: funharp@xxxxxx
>To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: Fwd:  XB40 vs Suzuki Valved Promaster MR350
>Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 11:44:37 +0100
>
>
>
>
>Winslow Yerxa schrieb:
> >
> > I recently answered a very similar question on hartalk. See below for
> > a copy of the reply.(...)
>
>thank you Winslow for reposting this to harp-l.
>
>
>In his original mail Chris wrote -among other things- to the Promaster
>valved:
>
> > I probably could have gotten used to it,
> > but didn't have the patience.  I still have this thing but rarely use 
>it.
>
>Now that's the point, I think. You have to use it, you need patience and
>a lot of practice time. If you only play it a few times for some
>minutes, you won't recognize what the harp offers to you or what you
>could be able to do with the harp. You have to get used to the harp.
>
>No matter if you want to obtain chromaticity with a "normal" diatonic
>with bending and overbending, or with a half valved diatonic (like the
>Promaster valved) with its extended bending posibilities, or with an
>augmented tuning like the Eric Chafer tuning (only draw bends required
>for chromatic playing), or with a harp with the "Discrete Comb" from
>Winslow, or with the XB-40...It will take a lot of time, you always will
>have to change your habits for the harmonica of your choice.
>
>For example: you can't play the half valved bends like you are playing
>the bends on a normal diatonic, it sounds different, and therefore you
>have to adjust your playing technique to the harp. Isolated bends sound
>different from double reed bends. There are other breathing techniques
>required if you want to change from a normal diatonic with overbendings
>to a valved diatonic. There is a different note layout on a Chafer harp
>, or there is a whole tone bend on a XB-40 where you are used to a
>semitone bend on a normal diatonic and so on, and so on...
>
>You only can explore the possibilities of the harp when you play it
>regularly for some time. If you then think that you don't need it -
>that's okay. If you only play it for some minutes, then IMO you can't
>really know enough about it to decide if it possibly could be an
>enlargement to your playing.
>
>Personally,  I like the XB-40 very much. I like its sound and I like its
>playability. There are some problems with the high notes on the higher
>keyed harps - and Hohner has cancelled to produce the XB-40 in the keys
>of Db and D for this reason.
>
>
>Otto
>
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