Re: Ultimo and Overblows

[hippo@xxxxxxxxxx (Hugh Messenger)]

At 11:52 PM 11/21/94 -0500, Ari Eisinger wrote:
>[I am posting the following message for my friend Wade Schuman and will
>forward all replies to him. --AE]
>
>Having purchased two, a D and a G, in England two years ago, I was rather
>disappointed to find that with overblowing, the Ultimo has the same
>problem as all the Asian harmonicas.  Although they overblow easily, when
>you sustain the note you get a piercing, high-pitched, unpleasant metallic
>overtone.  According to Joe Filisko, this is caused by the thinness and
>perhaps instability of the reed material.  My personal experience has been
>that the harmonicas do not retain their intonation very well, either.
>What a shame!

Different strokes for different folks.  I can sustain overblows without any
unpleasant noises (with a little regapping from factory settings), and my
Ultimos retain their intonation just fine (I still have four from my
original set, now almost three years old, which have been played on an
almost daily basis).  You'll get the shriek if you over-overblow, ie. use
incorrect technique (note I didn't say "bad", just "incorrect".  Different
instruments require different technique).

It's the way ya blow 'em.

>
>--Wade Schuman

   -- hugh