Re: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] comb material

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

> > ........My question now is: what does then effect the sound of
> > the harmonica?
> >
> > Reed material? People say it doesnt.
> > Reedplate material? No.
> > Comb material? No.
> > Coverplate material? No.
> >
> > Something must, because different harmonicas have a
> > different sound. According to what you are telling me,
> > no material effects the sound of the harp. This would
> > mean, that the harp could be made of plastic, it
> > doesn't matter. What does matter then?
>
> Excellent question.  The size and shape of the internal sound/air passages 
> matters a little. Leakage matters a lot...especially leakage through the 
> slide in a chromatic.  Most of all, hand cupping, the player's embouchure, 
> and breath control matter.  Our biases matter.  If we expect and/or wish to 
> hear differences, then we will hear them.  This is not just an accusation 
> that I hurl at believers.  It is human nature and I am not immune. It is 
> why blind comparisons are important.
>
> Vern

It's an interesting topic and I'll just add my own semi-whimsical two and 
fourpence.   At our pub session (at which we play mostly Irish tunes) I 
regularly use SP20s, Lee Oskars and, very occasionally, an XB40.  I've oft 
considered the SP20 sound to be soft and mellow, the LO sound to be loud, 
thin and shrill and the XB40 sound to be even louder, raucous and dry.  Yet, 
when I hear minidisc recordings of our session, I just can't tell the 
difference at all.  Another aspect of harmonica-playing which affects me 
acutely when I'm playing but which I can hardly detect when listening to 
recordings of myself (bearing in mind that I'm predominantly a single-note 
melody player) is differences in fine-tuning.  You may think that I have 
cloth ears but other fellers in the session who are frequent victims of my 
(justified ;-)) accusations of being out of tune would not agree.

Steve


http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trad_irish_harmonica
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