[Harp-L] Just bought some Herring Vintage harps..

["samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Folks,

 

I just bought 2 new Herring Vintage 1923 harps, an Ab and a G.  I picked up
a Vintage in D about 2 years ago and I was impressed by both their volume
and their just tuning.  The D, however, was very tight on the draw and the
extra force needed to bring the bends into play made it sound harsh.  The Ab
and G on the other hand, feel and sound great.  I've wanted new harps in
both these keys for some time because I've been working on a couple of songs
that require them.  I needed a new Ab for Kim Wilson's "Low Down" from his
That's Life CD and a new G for Little Walter's "Last Night".  

 

Some of you may recall a recent post of mine wherein I described my
obsession with "Last Night".  Well, one of the things about this song that
I'm obsessed with is the 4/5 head shake that's so prominent in the song.  I
can do the shake okay but LW gets this 'harmonic' ring to it that I've never
been able to reproduce; that is until now.  With the Vintage 1923 I'm able
to get this ringing quality to that head shake and I'm wondering if it's the
just intonation tuning that makes this possible.  

 

I've been using Sp20s and GMs for a couple of years now.  I've never been
too crazy about Marine Bands at all but the side vents do give it a
distinctive sound.  With the Herring harp I feel like I'm playing a much
better version of the Marine Band.  It's heavier, louder, the chords are
sweeter, and the comb is sealed.  I haven't tried the new wiz-bang version
of the Marine Band that just came out but I'm thinking Herring may have
beaten them to it.  

 

The one criticism I have of the Herring is that the comb is set back from
the reed plates on the front and I've had to elongate the screw holes so
that I can push the comb forward and this does take a little time.  I don't
think I'm going to fool with embossing and gapping them as they feel alright
that way they are.  

 

It's always a pleasure when you get a new harp and it works great.

 

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh