I listened to a few of Svang's numbers, I can see this harmonetta is a totally different kind of chord instrument. I can hear that the chord structures are way more complexified in how they evolve and change. You don't have to have the sudden chord changes like you do on a 48 chord.
The tradeoff is, besides the fact I kind of like the sudden chord changes, the chords themselves don't sound as good to me. The Harmonetta is a virtually limitless instrument and the only downside that I see to detract from it is the very thing that makes it so versatile... The chords sound too smooth.
You don't have that sweet tension of the sound energy that you get from an individually tuned chord. I'm thinking especially of Wally Peterman's chord harmonica, tuned to absolute perfection by Wally. When I hear it, it shakes my bones. The harmonetta sounds very interesting and magical, but it doesn't shake my bones.
There is one department that the 48 chord takes the cake hands down - entertainment value the element of danger brings. When you look at a guy playing a harmonetta well, you think, "wow, how does he do that?" When you see a good 48 player, you think "wow, how does he do that?" AND "Oh my God, somebody is going to die before the show is over" as he wields this two-and-half-foot-long double harmonica with a seemingly total disregard for the safety and welfare of anyone in striking range, including himselves.
We need more groups like Svang, what's truly important here is keeping the concept alive.
Some comparisons: Svang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwEkbFHpLTc HARPBeats/Wally Peterman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3f5BzpQO_U Al Fiore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeeZawsPmwg Philharmonicas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti-bpjcPD40
Dave _____________________________ www.elkriverharmonicas.com _______________________________________________ Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l