Re: [Harp-L] a lurker's lurker

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

This is what I'm talking about. Made for a great read. Welcome to the Town  
Hall.
 
What a refreshing change from the same old same old same old - same old  
posters, too.
 
All you others that are silent - why not speak out? There is no right or  
wrong. There are no dumb questions.
 
I especially like that this poster is going to invest in Harmonica for  
Dummies. He mentioned "but I don't know most of what you are
talking about. I  don't know positions, I don't know what chords I play, I've
learned the feel  and vibe of the harp part of a song, but I've never tried
to duplicate it  note from note, and I've never taken a harp apart, even
though my best one is  a Special 20 that must be from about ... '77? "
 
Then he says "So, I'm planning to get Harmonica For Dummies, so I can  
understand the
language that you are speaking."
 
Now this is a good use of the Harp-L - not so much that us "insiders" can  
impress each other with how much we know, but more for bringing everyone else  
into the party. It's great to want to "understand the language that you are  
speaking", but let's also open it up to those that don't speak the language of  
the semi-pros and let them talk in their own language.
 
With almost 2000 members, let's rock and roll.....
 
The Iceman
 
 
 
In a message dated 10/11/2008 4:46:35 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
spiritualpersonality@xxxxxxxxx writes:

Iceman  asked for us lurkers to say somethin' .... so here goes.
I've been playing  harp for a very long time, but only briefly played in a
band way back. I've  been playing by myself for years, getting better and
better, but (I like to  think) like the oldtimers, I have no idea what I'm
playing in a technical  sense. All intuitive, all by feel.

For years, I've wanted to play  guitar, so I could play that with the harp.
I've had several starts and  stops, and I'm finally getting somewhere.
Learning guitar got me into  guitar gear, amps, effects, tone ... and then
into trying to figure out how  to amplify the harp, which brought me to this
list.

I thought I'd  feel right at home ... but I don't know most of what you are
talking about.  I don't know positions, I don't know what chords I play, I've
learned the  feel and vibe of the harp part of a song, but I've never tried
to duplicate  it note from note, and I've never taken a harp apart, even
though my best  one is a Special 20 that must be from about ... '77? All my
old harps sound  good to me, and on pitch, I guess because I don't play live,
and although I  bend and overblow, I think I play pretty easy compared to
someone in a  club.

So, I'm planning to get Harmonica For Dummies, so I can  understand the
language that you are speaking.

I don't have any  special requests for the list. I haven't tested out my
setup for amplified  harp, but I guess I can ask if you think it will work. I
have to tell a  story. I live on the Big Island of Hawai'i, which still is
quite rural.  Where we live, you haul your trash to a transfer station. Ours,
in Waiea  (pronounce the w with a soft v sound), is a simple single chute
deal.  Because the Salvation Army is far away, people put things on the side,
by  the fence, if they are too good to throw down the chute. Sundays  are
usually busy, people lined up waiting their turn, but this one Sunday,  I
guess it has been a year and a half, there was no one there, but lots  of
stuff, clothes hanging on the fence, stuff on both sides. As I'm backing  up
the truck, I see what looks like two suitcases. When I get out, I look  down
and one says, "Fender, Fullerton, California." I sent it to Skip  Simmons in
Northern California, and it needed a lot of stuff, but it sounds  great now.
It is from 1961 and I call it the Dump  Champ.
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn282/drewross/DSC_0003.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn282/drewross/DSC_0004.jpg

Before  I knew better, I bought a mic for the harp for the Champ. I bought a
Shure  Green Bullet 520B. It is one of the low impedance types, and I now
know  harp players prefer the high Z. I haven't figured out what year it is,
but  it is the CM (controlled magnetic) type. From reading the harp-l  archive
and elsewhere, I can put on an adaptor or use an overdrive. I'm  going to
start with a relatively clean guitar overdrive and see how it  sounds.

That's longer than I had hoped ... from nothing to a  novel!

Aloha!
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