RE: [Harp-L] XB-40

["Chris Michalek" <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm not discounting what anybody says and certainly don't think Uncle
Win and fairweather have thin sounds. However the sound that I can
produce on the the XB-40 is much thinner than what I can get out of a
standard diatonic.

I'm may not be a serious XB-40 player but I am a serious harmonica
player and well versed enough to have legitimately put the XB-40
through it's paces.  The only useful sounds I could get where
crossharp patterns with some wicked bends.  I rarely play crossharp
these days and unfortunately 99.9% of players do. Including the
fellows that designed it.  It works great for blues but won't give
you that traditional ballsy bluesy harp sound.  It works ok for jazz
if its coupled with a 2nd position mentality.  I play bye bye black
bird in 11th position on a my standard harps.  I tried the same thing
on the xb-40 there the thinness of the xb-40 bends really comes
through.

The XB-40 is tough to play and one needs extremely good intonation to
make it sound right.  I know of very few players that have the
intonation skills to do the XB-40 justice.



>
>
>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: eneumann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: Chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, dmf273@xxxxxxxxx, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: RE: [Harp-L] XB-40
>Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 13:58:47 -0500
>
>>
>>-----Original Message----- Chris Michalek writes:
>>I had one and played with it for about two months.  
>>I could play it but I think the tone is too thin for it to be useful
>for
>>anything other than a trick effect.
>>
>>Eric writes:
>>Winslow's playing doesn't sound thin to me. Jaazman's either. On my
>own,
>>I seem to use the brighter tonality of this "trick" effect, which
>was
>>brought to us by serious research, to my own advantage. It's
>controlling
>>the tone which proves to be a challenge to me, and perhaps the many
>who
>>have at least tried the harp. And Jaazman was asking if there were
>any
>>serious users of this harmonica.
>>
>>I should count myself as one, now that I read what others say, since
>I
>>actually enjoy playing the one I have in C. It's unmodified. Maybe I
>am
>>not as serious as Jaazman, or Winslow - which I would never compare
>>myself to, so excuse my using his name in the same sentence as mine,
>>heh.
>>
>>For me, the reason I am not grabbing this harp first and foremost is
>>because of the control aspects. I just haven't practiced enough with
>it
>>- but I don't count the instrument out. It's not the harp.
>>
>>

Chris Michalek

www.michalekstrone.com
CD Available
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/michalekstrone