[Harp-L] Fire Breath Report

[Ken Deifik <kenneth.d@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Based on what seemed like a favorable report from Mr. Hunter I picked up a 
Suzuki Fire Breath in the key of D, which happens to be my favorite harp key.

Ordered from Coast2Coast.com, which gave fine, prompt service.  (Ordered 
Monday, came Friday, from the coast on which I do not live to the coast on 
which I do.)

It plays well right out of the box, every reed is tuned very nicely (my 
only preference is 'not obviously out of tune') with very nice response, 
almost but not absolutely to my taste.  I'll give it some time.  Harps 
generally learn my preferences if they start out as well as this one has, 
or more likely I get used to the good ones.

I practice every day on a D harp, so I'll quickly get a sense if I'm as 
pleased as I think I'm going to be.

The first serious Yay I notice is subtle but very pleasing: a smootheness 
in the 7 hole bend that I have not experienced before - it doesn't cut off 
at the point it does in other harps I've played.  I use that cut-off to get 
a certain kind of, well, cut-off in that bend.  It was there, I used 
it.  It isn't there in the Suzuki, and this allows me to make a very pretty 
effect I didn't have before.  I'm sure the other bends'll offer similar 
delights, but that's the first I've noticed.

This smootheness extends to dynamics, which I manipulate constantly, as 
many of us do.  I can go a good deal quieter on the Fire Breath than I can 
with any other diatonic without the sudden drop out.  Hot dog!  Years back, 
when Doug and Bobbie sent me a Renaissance to monkey around on I was very 
taken by the huge dynamic range I could achieve - it made me want to play 
chromatic.  I told them that this dynamic range redefined the notion of a 
'professional grade' harmonica for me.  (I believe I posted my impressions 
in Harp-l at the time.)  I actually got to play it on a TV soundtrack 
session, on account of Tommy Morgan was on vacation.

This widened dynamic range, while hardly in the Rennaisance class, is a 
serious new standard for professional diatonic harmonicas.

Windbaggy addendum: the Fire Breath replaces a Huang Star Performer that 
was somehow didn't make it back into my harp box after a gig last 
month.  I've played Huangs since the early 90's because I have liked them 
best, and because I am remarkably cheap.  I had this Huang for nearly 10 
years and it only got better with time, and immense amounts of playing.  I 
did not buy a new one because no store in LA seems to stock them anymore, 
and because Richard Hunter knows his stuff.

Back when it was Marine Bands and Blues Harps y nada mas, I lived with 
those awful wooden combs, being that playing harp got me more girls than 
not playing harp.  When the Golden Melody came out and Nashville was my day 
job, Hohner sent me a few to try and I used nothing else until I found 
Huang Star Performers, which I like as much and could buy lots more 
of.  (If I had to.  I bought a whole set back in the 20th century and the 
ones that haven't been jacked still work well.)

So I head back down the wood comb road with a bit of a fish eye, and with a 
sense that Suzuki has maybe gotten it right.  Except --- except that there 
are nicks in the front of eight of the nine dividers.  Tiny ones - not real 
deal breakers.  The nicks have paint in them, and so were there before 
painting.  I may contact Suzuki about this, however.  It just should not be.

Did yours come with nicks, Mr. H?

Something else I'm noticing, and like: the coverplates have a finger-shaped 
groove toward the back.  No question, this feels more secure than no 
groove.  A tip o' the Deifik fedora goes out to the designers.

Note to newer players: gear is only a tiny fraction as important as daily 
practice and the ferocious desire to become a mofo.

-K