Re : Re: Projecting

["" <party_man1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hurricane Ramon wrote:

I switched from the Hohner Marine Band & Blues Harp at that point to the Old Stand By . I first learned of the Old Stand By from seeing James Cotton live here in Palm Springs Southern
California using them in 1964 .

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Excerpts from Pat's post :

>An Den Pat Missin sez ,

>It might be worth noting that the harp currently bearing the name >"Old Standby" has very little in common with the harp that used to be >made under that name. The old Old Standby was essentially a Marine >Band with different covers. The new Old Standby is part of Hohner's >Chinese series and is more or less the same harp as the Pocket Pal, >GLH, Blues Band, etc.

&

In addition to all the other good comments about projection, I would
add that effective use of the hands can dramatically improve acoustic
volume without adding undue stress to the reeds


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Pat :

Too true about the comment of the quality of older harps being compromised .

The " Old Stand By " , I wasn't aware of what they have in them now as I stopped fussing with major customizing on them in the late 1960's and never looked back after I moved on to a more professionally made performing diatonic harp like the SP20's & Golden Melody's and the latest ones I use today .

As for the " Hand Jive " issue , you are 100% right on the money , what you do with your hands is the other half of the harmonica's equation's sound abilities for the acoustic performer . When I took Blues harp deadly serious in those early 1960's , I sought out the best of the best to learn from ,  my first real serious study was "  Blind Sonny Terry " , I took ten years of time on his style ( I also did the same with Little Walter , Sonny Boy[s] 1&2  , and many others like Duford Bailey etc ... ) , developing the hand slaps and so forth , it makes all the difference in the world to get the many acoustic  textures at one's hand ( heh heh I just couldn't stop myself on that corny pun ) , full cups , partial cupping , slaps to the harp , hand waw waws , slaps on the hand only that holds the harp for a great lighting fast break in sound and  return to it , can really open up the potential acoustic ambiance with many varying colors in soundscapes you make and create ! First tim!
e I saw Blind Sonny do that I was floored , and then , determined to realize what he was doing to get what he got cause I wanted some of that !

Sincerely :

HR .

aka :

Party_Man1@xxxxxxxxxx

P . S .

Ah dun fogot who axed me dis kooweschun :

Someone asked what Cotton did to those harps ( Old Standby )   :

He drilled through the cover(s) at the sides and though the comb while they were still held on with those pesky useless brads that also doubled as a reed plate fasteners ( he left the brads in place to securely hold the cover's to the reed plates as he drilled into them ) , and replaced them with the same kind of screws and nuts  that in those days held magnetic phonograph cartridge to the head shell assembly of the tone arm head on a quality record player , this besides improving the lips seal to the harp also added a certain amount of extra pressure to the reed plate's seal on the comb . He mentioned that and  he also soaked them in water before he played them to make sure they we airtight ( something I tried and really liked especially on the higher registers , it makes over blows a cinch on a woody and really opens up your harp playing , especially in the case of " droning syndrome effect " that many harpers new and old suffered from because the leaky woody would make tr!
ying an over blow feel like your were about to cough up your left cuticle :), he also shaved the combs openings flush to both the reed plates surfaces after they swelled , using a single edge " GEM " razor blade to make sure of a even and smooth and comfortable plane on his lips . I asked if that was detrimental to the harp he said , nope , they all wear out any way one way or another eventually if your a professional harmonica musician and that wasn't a big issue to him and as I found out to me and others who discovered this technique as well . You learn allot from those old timers . I was in my early teens then , now I'm the oldtimer :) Heh heh at 54 .


One for fun here :


My grand dad  was always busting me for something just like my dad except since grand dad was home all the time living across the street from my house and dad was working long hard hours most of the time mom sent me over to gramp's I was a handfull as a kid . I spent allot of time with him . I just could not get over this man at all , he was always one or two steps in front of me like  my dad busting my butt before I got off the ground with my mischief . One day he asked me after he popped me again ,  if I knew why the devil was so smart ? I was puzzled ,  and tried to come up with the answer , of course I was way off the mark on my guesses . Then after I was out of answers he said :

- - - - - - -  " The devil is smart because he's OLD " and - - - - - - -   

....................... " ¡ I'm very old ! " .........................

Gramps among other professional careers he had through out his interesting life was a professional circus performer par excellent , trapeze , acrobat , & professional wrestler were among some of the things he did when he traveled in the circus from Canada to the tip of south America 1910 to the late 1930's , granny was a full tilt mind blower too .

HR
  

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