RE: [Harp-L] XB-40

[Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Absolutely Steve! James Conway does Irish on the XB, and does it beautifully. Yes, it is the ideal harp for acoustic jamming,
and particularly good for the Celtic stuff.
RD

>>> Steve Shaw <moorcot@xxxxxxx> 19/05/12 11:22 PM >>>

> From: rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx

>          I would hate to see the XB go out of production. I own two Cs (one needs an overhaul)....

> .....Come on all you XB supporters...lemme hear ya!
Count me in. I've had a G and a low D for years, and I found it hard to fall in love with the beasts. They need playing quite hard and they certainly have a different tone, though (and I've said this before) this is far more apparent to the player than it is to listeners - you can demonstrate this by recording yourself playing one. I'm not saying you can't tell one from a standard 10-hole harp (volume apart), but you have to listen hard to hear any significant difference. For years they would stay in my gig bag, but I've come to discover, in our Irish music pub sessions, that the punch-packing volume is absolutely invaluable, the difference between being heard and not being heard. I too would hate to see 'em go. The only harps I've heard that can compete with XB40s for sheer punching-through are Rick Epping's own bunker-busters!