Re: [Harp-L] Slide Guitar Effect (Volume Pedal?)

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Jonathan Metts" wrote:
<I love when slide guitar players use the volume knob or a volume pedal 
<to make notes sound like they are sliding into or out of nowhere.  Is 
<it possible to get a similar effect on harmonica?  Seems that it would 
<be difficult to adjust microphone volume knobs while keeping a tight 
<air cup, so maybe a volume pedal would work best.  But I've never seen 
<anyone playing harmonica with a volume pedal.

The Digitech RP200, as well as a number of other multi-effects devices, 
has an assignable footpedal that can be used to control volume, amp 
model gain, effect level, delay or reverb level, or almost any other 
programmable parameter on the device.

On most of my patches that don't rely heavily on effects, I use the 
pedal to bring volume in and out. I have a few patches set up to bring 
the RP200's pitch shifter in and out under footpedal control.  The sound 
of the lower octave double fading in and out, either abruptly or 
smoothly, is very, very cool.  I also have a few patches where the pedal 
controls the level of the delay signal.

Regarding slide guitar, you can also set the RP pedal up to control the 
degree of pitch shift, so you can use the pedal to "slide" entire chords 
up and down in pitch, very much like a slide guitar.  The sound is very 
convincing; the RP's pitch shifter is smooth, and it tracks chords as 
well as single notes very well. I used this effect on one of the first 
pieces I released to my free subscription list, called (appropriately) 
"The Slide Song."

Most harp players don't use anywhere near the number of effects that a 
guitar player uses--if a harp player has a reverb pedal and a delay 
pedal, he or she typically figures that's all they could possibly want. 
 But a lot of effects pedals designed for guitar work well with harp, 
and many harp players, especially those playing rock or jazz/fusion (as 
opposed to straight blues) could get a lot of mileage out of a few 
additional effects in their setups.

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com
harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
Latest mp3s always at http://broadjam.com/rhunter