[Harp-L] XB-40 v Diatonic Tone Demo



My own observations on the tone demo:  I'm tempted to quote Ralph Nader "There's not a dime's
worth of difference between the two of them!"  but I think there's a little more to it than that.
In this case maybe there's two bits worth of difference.

First of all, some conditions of the demo have to be acknowledged.   I used no hand-fx at all. 
That's a big handicap on the Blues Harp.   Hand-fx can also modify the tone of the XB-40, but
certainly not as drastically as they can shape the sound of a small diatonic.  It might be
interesting to try the same demo with a bullet mike where hand-fx aren't so important as a tight
cup around the mike.   My guess is that the Blues Harp would be a clear winner.

The harps were both in the key of A.  That gave a distinct advantage to the XB-40.  A diatonic
"A-harp" is starting to get down into the lower range of diatonics where the tone can get muddy
and lose volume.  Some players would rather play a D harp in 3rd position than an A harp in 2nd
position just because the A harp won't cut through the band well enough.    Many people who think
the XB-40 tone is too shrill may have only played them in the key of C.  Try an A harp next time!
In the key of A an XB-40 is still bright, but not TOO bright.

When I listen to the two demos side by side, I'm more struck by the similarities than the
differences.  But if you listen closely you can hear more "air" in the tone of the Blues Harp.  I
think the design of the XB-40 comb with valves is just inherently more airtight than the Blues
Harp. 

Under the conditions of this demo, I'd say the XB-40 was the winner by a head.   Even if you give
the edge to the Blues Harp, I think you'd have to agree that it was a very close race.   I think
95% of tone comes from the player, not the harp.  

  




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