Re: [Harp-L] EQ'ing for harp meets the materials debate



Regarding oral cavities, I've been accused of having a big one, but I won't go into that now.

You bet the construction of ones mouth throat, nasal cavaties, etc. Make a big difference. I'm always reminding myself to raise my soft pallet, open my throat, breath by expanding my torso out, maintaining solid diaphram support and having good posture. These are all the things that geat wind musicians and vocalists train on.

Hey, there is nothing wrong with buying a zillion dollar harp for better sound whether it is a wood comb or not. But if you don't make significant effort to master the above (plus a few other things that I'm sure others can add) , then you might want to consider postponing that purchase.

Gary Popenoe

PS I suspect taste in comb sound is subjective. I tend to prefer harps with plastic combs.

On Mar 29, 2008, at 12:01 PM, "john" <jjthaden@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Well George, Vern, I guess it's time to unpack that Styrofoam comb again.
Fooled 'em with it at SPAH a decade ago but maybe the human ear has
evolved since then.
-John Thaden



======= At 2008-03-29, 13:13:33 you wrote: =======


<<Different brands can sound quite different from
one another, and materials and quality of construction can
also affect the tone. A harmonica with a wooden comb, for
example, may sound warmer than one with a plastic comb....

There it is, in black and white! On the Web! I always knew it was true.

George >>>



George,



I hate to burst your balloon here but this really doesn't prove a thing.

Just because some recording engineer says something doesn't make it true.

I'm a wallpaper hanger and painter by trade and I can tell you that I've
read


Pages, and pages of advice on the internet from various sites,

claiming to be authorities on wallpaper and paint wherein the absolutely
wrong


advise is given and absolutely wrong things are stated.



What you need to believe is your own ears. The fact is there are a lot of

things that effect tone far more than comb material. For starters there is
the player.


The player has a far greater effect on tone than the harp he or she is
using. As


Blues players go, I have pretty damn good tone. Give me a Suzuki Folkmaster
(a very


Crappy harp IMHO) and give a guy with less experience and lousy tone a
Marine Band and


I promise you in a blind comparison you'll think I'm playing the MB and the
other guy is playing


the crappy harp. But you put me next to a guy with a really huge oral
cavity, who has the ability


to produce a deep, thick tone and you'll think I'm the guy with the cheap
harp. I've only scratched the


surface here. As anybody who can think for a minute of all the factors,
from construction of that harp, to


the skill level of that player, to even the song being played, can tell you,
comb material really


doesn't make much difference - to the listener. Now how it feels to you as
a payer is a different matter.




This controversy is, was, and always will be a silly one.



Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh


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