[Harp-L] Suzuki Sub-30 first impressions

[David Fairweather <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ok, I've just unboxed my Suzuki Sub-30 and played with it for about 15
minutes so these are very preliminary first impressions.   But I am
impressed.   It feels much more like a normal diatonic than the XB-40, and
I'm not just talking about the size and mouth profile (which are of course
identical to a normal diatonic.)    The Sub-30 valves are almost
transparent,  I don't hear them rattling or popping at all (yet.)   If I
didn't already know it was a partially valved harp,  it would probably take
me quite a while to realize it.

I've got an A harp here and my very first impression was that it had a very
tight and dark sound and feel, as opposed to the XB-40's rather open and
airy sound and feel.   I might even consider opening up the gaps on this
harp a bit just to give it a slightly more open feel.

The placement of the newly available bends take some getting used to.  (I'd
really like to hear what PT Gazell could do with this harp, since the new
bends fall exactly where they would on one of his half-valved diatonics.)
 But once you get used to where the bends are,  they are very stable.
 They're also very malleable.  You can slide in and out of them and  that's
where the advantage over single reed overblows  becomes most apparent to
me.

On this A harp, the new draw bends at 7,8 9 &10 in the highest register
aren't too difficult.  But the ordinary blow bends required to play a
complete chromatic scale up on that end are still a pain for me especially
the #10 half blow-bend.  If you're into that kind of high blow bending, you
probably wouldn't want a C harp.

Similarly, on the low end the new blow bends at 1, 2 & 3 are a piece of
cake but you'll still need good control of your traditional #2 and #3 draw
bends to play a complete chromatic scale. (Although the blow bend at #3 is
a redundant enharmonic of the half-bend at 2 draw so that should come in
handy if you need that note to be stable.)

The middle register is where this harp really shines with newly available
blow bends at 4, 5, & 6.   I find them all easy to play, and they sound
good!

My overall impression of this harp is quite favorable.  Don't expect this
to magically enable everyone to start playing chromatically on a diatonic.
 There will still be a lot of work and skill necessary for that kind of
playing.   And some overblowers may resist this harp because it will
require them to re-learn where their "extra" notes are.   But this may the
best path to chromaticity we're ever going to get out of Richter tuning.
 One big advantage I can foresee will be in the playing of jazzy ballads,
something many overblowers now avoid because they don't want to linger on
their overblows.   You can linger and caress these new bends all night long!

Other than expense,  I can't see why anyone would prefer a 20 reed Richter
harp to the Sub-30.     Maybe the next generation of players will come to
consider the Sub-30 as the new norm!