Re: [Harp-L] Rick Eppings "Bunker Busters"

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

If you isolate the top or bottom row, you may be able to do some valved bending (as on a chromatic). If you half-valve it and isolate rows, you may be able to add dual-reed bending to the repertoire of sounds you can get out of the instrument.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Thu, 1/15/09, Tony Eyers <tony@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Tony Eyers <tony@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Rick Eppings "Bunker Busters"
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 12:29 AM

I was lucky enough to have a long phone call with Rick Epping a while back, and
he described his octave tuned instrument. It seemed like the harmonica
equivalent of a 12 string guitar, and sounded like a great idea. I decided to
get one.

I wanted a 10 hole octave tuned instrument that I could play my fiddle tune
repertoire on

After collecting (and discarding) various bits and pieces, I ended up with a
Seydel Concerto. This is a well made, valved octave tuned 10 hole instrument, in
Richter tuning, with a plastic comb. The octaves sound great, the mouthpiece
takes some getting used to. However, bends are more or less out of the question.

To get around this problem, I tuned it up to my Major Cross tuning, details of
this are at http://www.harmonicatunes.com/retuned.shtml This meant retuning 14
reeds, while watching out for the valves. I'm not a particularly good
technician, but I'm patient, and the job got done.

The verdict? I'm still learning how to drive the instrument, but love it,
and can more or less play my repertoire on it. One feature I particularly like
is that you can switch between single note playing (sounds like a chromatic when
you do) and octave playing.

Once I get my head around it a little more I'll post a recording. Hopefully
I'll meet up with Rick Epping one day to compare instruments.

Tony Eyers
Australia
www.harmonicaacademy.com
...everyone plays


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