Re: [Harp-L] closed covers

[Douglas Tate <douglas.tate@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:52 03/09/2004, fjm wrote:
> While many customised harmonicas have opened up coverplates this is not
> a universal preference.  Jason Ricci was showing me his custom bodied
> Golden Melodys and expressing a very strong preference for the closed
> cover plate design.  He likes the tone.  He went so far as to play a
> string of licks on his harmonica and then switched to an open cover
> harmonica to show me how different the two sounded.  Of course it was
> all amazing but if he likes the closed cover design I'm not going to
> argue.  fjm

I'm sort of coming to the conclusion that the openness of the covers is 
literally a matter of choice.  It seems to me to depend on how you use your 
hands.   You need a certain volume/shape/ whatever of air to get a 
resonance on a note... you get that with a combination of in/out cover and 
your hands.  Closed cover/ more air in hands, open cover/less air in 
hand  can give same resonance but (IMO) different tone colour.
My experience of this is solely on chromatics  where it is much more 
difficult to get good resonances on 280 style designs than 270 designs 
because of the greater volume of air under covers and therefore a more 
limited range of movement for the hands.
This is somewhat controversial and I expect to be shot at from several 
different directions :)))

Douglas t