[Harp-L] XB tone

["jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>]

>Wow. That's pretty great. That's the first time I've knowingly heard
>an XB. Question: Do they all sound like that? I'm not sure I'm crazy
>about the tone of the instrument. It seems kind of thin. I'm not in
>any way criticizing your playing. You did an admirable job. But as a
>personal assessment of the *instrument*, the jury's still out for me.


Do they all sound like that?   Well that's a tough question to answer.  Some XB's are pitched
higher than others and of course that can affect the tone.   Mine is Bb.

Is the tone "kind of thin"?   Well I guess that depends what you compare it to.   I suspect that
if you heard a sample of one note - say a Bb - played on a Bb Marine Band, a Bb XB-40, a Bb CX-12
and a Bb Renaissance, you'd probably be able to detect differences among all of them.   Would the
Marine Band sound "fatter" than the XB?  Maybe.   The XB's tone is what it is.  And what it is can
be shaped by the player, the microphone, the amp etc., just like any other harp.   My rendition of
Tunisia was unamplified with no fx.  

I will say that I've heard some XB's played by other players where the tone was less than optimal,
to put it mildly.   I guess others may think the same about me!