Re: Coffee cup

[Bobbie Giordano <bobg@xxxxxxxxx>]

At 05:37 PM 3/26/2004 -0000, Tim Moyer wrote:
>
>Scorcher" wrote:
>> Do any of you have any experience with this effect?
>
>At last year's SPAH, I played at some of the jams using a small 
>candle glass (about the size of a juice glass). 

Yeah, Votive glasses are pretty nice, come in all kinds of shapes and
materials, both of which make a difference.  [Hi, Vern! :)]

>Beth Kohnen played into a small brass cup, and that sounded VERY 
>cool.

That was a small cup from some place like India that Richard Sleigh lent to
her; or maybe ended up giving to her.

I too thought it was pretty radical, and after SPAH, set about finding
something similar.  Amazing, but that size and shape is hard to find!  Found
something on eBay that seemed about right, and old shotglass of brass or
something from out West, but it was part of a package offering and all too
expensive for my tastes at the time.

However, I did find these!!  :)  http://www.tfn.net/~bobg/add4cupsharp.htm

Hey, Smo-Joe!  How ya like mine!?!  [You're welcome to try 'em out at
Buckeye, of course! ;)]  These are copper-clad measuring cups; inside is
unknown metal, maybe nickel, tin or the like.  Cleaned up real easily inside,
but the outside was a BEAR!  The copper had really tarnished badly, despite a
finish over it which had begun wearing away and yellowing.  So, for a couple
hours, I scoured each one to bring up that lovely copper color!  [Ain't they
purty??]

I reformed the handles [easy bending metal with a brass-colored finish] to
fit snugly over my middle, ring and pinky fingers of the left hand.  They are
really fun to noodle with.  They usually come with handles that have a sharp
crook at the top, but with a little slow and careful adjustment, they can be
made to have a very smooth and comfortable curve, as mine have.  And the
metal is flexible enough for the most minute adjustments to individual
preferences.

Also, with the varied sizes, you can get better sonic matches with the harp
you happen to be playing, but by adjusting the relationship to the open air
space [of cup and hand] with the opening you create for the air to flow in
and out of [helmholtz style, IOW] you can make one cup enhance several ranges
of notes on one harp.

And yes, I have tried it with two at a time, which is a hoot!!  Another is
playing one inside a larger one at the same time.  Lots of fun effects.  You
can manage at times to get pretty clear overtones on top of the fundamentals.

These appear actually quite frequently on eBay, I gather, and are usually
referred to by that most ubiquitous term of all on eBay ... "Vintage".  ;)  I
would suggest not going for them if a bidding war ensues, as it's likely
there will be another auction for fairly identical ones coming up in the
short future.

These are really fun, and stackable, which is nice.  Since mine no longer
have a protective finish, I keep them stacked together in a ziplock bag.
Nice and compact for travel, too! ;)

Cheers, harpers!
=[BOBBIE]=
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