[Harp-L] re: blues harp

["Jim Alciere" <jim.alciere@xxxxxxxxx>]

I found all Hohner harps in the past to be leaky, unresponsive, too
quiet, poorly built, and they wore out way too soon. Blues Harps were
the worst of the bunch. Once the Lee Oskars came out, I never looked
back. It's a difference between a harp lasting five years and a harp
lasting a month. If a harp is tight, it will sound brighter. I like a
tight harp.

Mark is correct about lerarning how to get the "sound" out of a harp.
To me, that's the biggest observable difference in tone. He says the
materials can change the tone and you notice it as you become a more
experienced player. Maybe. Mark is a much better musician than I am. I
know Charlie Musselwhite has experimented with different harps, but
I'm too busy wondering how he did what he did to really notice if
there's any difference in tone between his Hohner, days, his Hering
days, and his Lee Oskar days (I have no idea what he's playing now).

I think beyond breathing techniques, the two big differences to your
tone are your equipment, and how you hold the harp. Tight cup and two
12 inch speakers through a low watt tube amp gives a real rock and
roll sound. A low watt amp through a six inch speaker is a different
sound again. A stick mic like an SM57 gives a much different sound
than a green bullet. Unamplified with a hand vibrato is again a
different sound.

If you completely cup the harp, it's hard to see how the cover shape
or design would influence the tone that much.

Rainbow Jimmy
http://www.spaceanimals.com
http://www.myspace.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals