Re: Over Blow

[Mike Curtis <wd6ehr@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> 
> What;s the best Harmonica for the over-blow.    How about a good one.  Is
> the Suzuki pro-master worth anything/????????
> Levy swears by golden melodies,  do they work as well as valved harmonicas
> I'm interested in the discussion on this topic.

You cannot overblow a valved harp.  you can bend all the notes - but that 
means you're flatting them.  Overblows and overdraws actually raise the 
pitch of the reed.

Of all the harps I've tried overblowing, the Golden Melody seems to 
overblow the best.  However, they all will overblow (assuming no valves, 
of course!)  If you have the Levy video (highly recommended if you're 
going to overblow), he explains how to adjust reed offset for best 
overblowing.

I personally don't like the sound of overblows.  I much prefer the sound
of bending.  All bends are fully usable as full notes.  Some overblows are
suitable only for passing tones. 

I play the C major diatonic Suzuki Promaster valved harps much of the
time.  The metal comb has an excellent tone, to my ear anyway.  The reeds
are not as tough as Oskars, though, which last a lot longer.  I've valved
all my Oskars, and use them quite a bit, too.  The valves tend to stick if
you don't clean them regularly, which I do by rinsing them after the gig,
then shaking and drying them the best I possibly can.  With metal body
harps, there is an electrolytic action, and they really should be
disassembled and thoroughly dried.  It is poor engineering to use
dissimilar metals in a device constantly exposed to moisture.  It would
make more sense (in my mind, anyway) to use a brass comb.  I'm not certain
as to the toxicology of this, but the reed plates would last longer and
tolerate water, etc., much better. 

 --  mike curtis
wd6ehr@xxxxxxxxxx