RE: [Harp-L] Re: The Future of Blues Harmonica?

["Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fair enough Robert, I totally agree Suzuki need to  improve the OTB
playability. I am pushing them hard on  it!

Brendan Power
WEBSITE: www.brendan-power.com
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/tethnik
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Rowe [mailto:robertrowe2@xxxxxxx] 
Sent: 10 September 2012 23:32
To: Brendan Power
Cc: Harp-L
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: The Future of Blues Harmonica?

Thanks, Brendan, for the positive perspective on the SUB30. Being severely
scorched by the initial offering, it'll be a few years before I warm up to
them again. I really admire the design and think it is an elegant
engineering concept. I find fault with Suzuki for rushing a half-baked
execution to market, especially at the current price point. 

I will say the new bends were easy to achieve, so that design objective was
met well. But the rest of the harp, the basics, seems to have been
neglected. 

I expect Suzuki will address the problems I, and others, have brought up and
make a wonderful 30 reed 10 hole diatonic that plays beautifully right out
of the box. I'll be back on that wagon when it comes. Again, it's a
brilliant idea. Suzi just has to bring the rest of the harp up to the same
level. 

RKR

On Sep 10, 2012, at 1:20 PM, Brendan Power <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I think Richard Sleigh's easy taping mod to the Suzuki UltraBend is an 
> excellent one for those who want to combine the best of the old and the
new.
> Personally I like its low octave blow bends, but for traditional Blues 
> tongue blockers Richard's tweak is perfect to combine the old-style 
> feel of the bottom end while retaining the expressiveness and 
> chromaticism of the new blow and draw bends in the middle and top octaves.
> 
> 
> 
> In answer to Richard's rhetorical question, I think triple-reed harps 
> ARE the future of blues harmonica. I'd be the first to agree that the 
> UltraBend is not yet the perfect embodiment of the design 
> out-of-the-box. However, Suzuki have a great track record when it 
> comes to making small incremental improvements to harmonicas over 
> time. As an example, compare the modern V2 SCX chromatics to their 
> earlier versions: the difference is like night and day.
> 
> 
> 
> The same will happen with the UltraBend. Prices will drop and quality 
> will improve. But even now it does what it claims to do: give the 
> player 10 new easy double-bends that expand the possibilities of the 
> familiar 10 hole Richter harp in exciting ways. It really rewards 
> giving it some time to get used to the fantastic new possibilities, 
> and you don't have to emboss it to play good music. The following 
> videos were all played on un-embossed
> UltraBends:
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1_5M9mQ79w
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5emY-a_ZfWU
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5emY-a_ZfWU&feature=related>
> &feature=related
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZDLEKMMFB8
> 
> 
> 
> All the UltraBends so far came from the first small production run. 
> The next one is at the end of this month. You can be assured that 
> Suzuki will work hard now and in the future to improve OTB playability.
> 
> 
> 
> I predict that in a year's time a lot of influential players will be 
> playing and recording cool new-sounding harmonica music on the 
> UltraBend in their favourite configuration, whether with Richard's 
> taping tweak, alternate tunings, with custom combs - or just out of the
box.
> 
> 
> 
> The future of Blues harmonica has definitely arrived - maybe not with 
> a resounding bang, but the example of top players and customisers such 
> as Filip and Richard will show the possibilities, inspire others to 
> try the new format, and momentum will gather over time. Other 
> manufacturers will jump on the bandwagon, and the general playability OTB
will improve markedly.
> 
> 
> 
> The triple-reed diatonic is just such a fantastic Blues machine! I 
> predict in five years the improved quality and its seductive 
> expressiveness will have convinced even the most trenchant 
> non-believers to try it, and in ten years the triple-reed design will be
approaching the norm.
> 
> 
> 
> Heaps of great new licks impossible up to now will have entered the 
> harp player's repertoire, and harps that can't get those extra bends 
> will just seem so limited. Watch this space.
> 
> 
> 
> Brendan Power
> 
> WEBSITE: www.brendan-power.com <http://www.brendan-power.com/>
> 
> FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/tethnik
> 
> YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic
> 
> 
>