Re: [Harp-L] harmonicas are not guitars

[Shirley Rowe <robertrowe2@xxxxxxx>]

"So let me revise consider the example using an acoustic guitar. Is not the hollow wood body the house of the guitar and a major factor in the sound? Now take those strings and put them on a metal national resonator guitar... Does that not make a difference in sound? If you made an acoustic guitar from that comb plastic would it really sound beautiful and vibrant?"

Now you are in my world for nearly half a century. You are comparing apples and oranges in your theory. The resonator generates *some* of its sound by transferring string vibrations to one or three spun metal cones, and to the body cavity. There is no way to compare a wooden acoustic guitar to a resonator and reach any meaningful conclusion about sonic properties of the construction materials. A more proper comparison would be between a wooden bodied National and a brass or German silver bodied National of the same design. There's a lot going on under the hood of a reso that has no counterpart in the acoustic guitar world. To the average Joe, the metal body and wooden body resonators will sound very much alike (hence National's trademark "It's in the cone"). To me, one who can identify a '32 National Duolian with one strum, they may as well have been built on different planets. I'm very much in tune to the extremely subtle differences. National guru Bob Brozman could probably tell you model, construction material, and maybe even serial number, from one strum. :). Material matters, but not as much as you might think. Playing technique makes a much bigger difference. Google up and read a poem titled Touch of the Master's Hand. 

I personally love the sound of Crossovers (bamboo combs) and 1847 Nobels (don't know what the combs are), but can't stand the Firebreath and the Pure Harp (rosewood combs and rosewood cover plates on the Pure) because they have such a dark sound. I don't don't know if it is the combs, plates, reeds, or IFM that makes the difference. 

I have no dog in this race. I just wanted to keep the comparisons on track. 

Cheers!

Robert

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