Quotes labeled ""a)"", etc... are by Tom Halchak, all other quotes
are from Smokey Joe:
""b) There is no conclusive proof that comb material makes much
difference - however,""
"Why does it have to be proven? Doesn't a person's personal
feelings play a part?"
No. Whether comb material effects the timbre, volume, etc... of a
harmonica is a question of mechanical and physical facts. It's a
scientific question, much like whether a higher octane count in
gasoline improves the performance of a combustion engine (better
yet, a specific combustion engine). It can be tested, measured and
known.
" I mean, what is this, some kind of a contest? I mean, if it's
proven or dis-proven would that make the world spin slower/ faster?
Why can't a person feel that they can perceive a difference? "
Please feel free to believe whatever you want. But that is a
completely different issue to whether or not comb material has an
effect on the performance of the harmonica. Talking about the
later and the attempt to discern for a fact what is actually going
on need not effect the former, ie individual's personal preferences
and even their beliefs. Though, if both tests and theory indicate
that comb material makes no difference, then an individual who
chooses to believe that comb material does make a difference has no
logical ground to stand on. But that doesn't mean that they aren't
free to believe whatever they want. If they want to believe that a
harmonica made on the seventh day of the seventh month sounds
better than any other one, then so be it. But it would be no more
or less ridiculous than believing in comb material as a difference
(given the current tests and theory).
"Isn't it possible that there are ringing overtones, microtones, or
vibrations that a player prefers from one material in preference to
another material. Why does everything center on whether the
listeners can hear a difference?"
Because those are the tests that have so far been done. Feel free
to create other controlled tests of the player and see what the
results are. But, it is much harder to control for the player
being blind to the material than a listener, so creating the proper
conditions would be more difficult. You would need a wide sample
of players, to begin with. In any event, most of the theories for
why a player would hear a difference have been discussed, and
frankly dismissed pretty easily (this includes things such as bone
conduction).
"It's like the silly tourage about tuning. There's just, equal, 12-
tet, and yada yada. There was an 11 man ensenble at spah and
deducting the Wizard Winslow's baritone harp, and Stan Bowe's bass
harp, the other 9 players were playing mostly 64 reed chromos (some
used 48s) , AND they were DIFFERENT makes & models.."
All probably tuned to 12TET, as most chromatics and bass-harps
are. Issues of intonation, tuning and temperament have been
crucial to every musical culture to have existed, so why not
harmonicas?
"I mean golly gosh guys, I can pick up 3 IDENTICAL Hohners in the
same key and they will all have subtle differences. Are these
differences enough to nail down definitively? No, but they are
still there. I had a Toots hard bopper that used to sit on a
Circassian Walnut comb. When I mounted the plates on a bronze comb,
I could tell the difference. Now, it is true that maybe I changed
something ELSE in the overall dynamics without realizing it, and
maybe those change(s) HAD an effect. I don't know. "
I would suggest that the only effect needed to explain what you
heard is psychological. You knew there was a difference in the
comb, therefore you heard a difference in the sound. The
psychological effect of expectation, or even simply knowledge is a
massive force. It is why blind studies are needed, and why so much
effort in any testing must be focused on eliminating that
foreknowledge of the conditions.
""c) Those that do believe comb material produces a different sound
are
prone to seek out and experiment with different materials - and
there are
plenty available.""
"So this shouldn't be a crime"
It is not a crime. But that doesn't mean that comb material makes
a difference to the sound of the harmonica. The two don't follow.
Indeed, if comb material makes no difference, then trying out any
material one wants for whatever reason becomes even more
reasonable--try it, since it doesn't matter what the material is
anyway.
()() JR "Bulldogge" Ross
() ()
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