Re: [Harp-L] Suzuki Sub30 Ultrabend -- Review

[Mike Fugazzi <mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx>]

Just another update...I picked up a Session Steel in A, which is similar in 
apperance to the SUB30.  The Steel has not been tweaked at all, but if 
reminded me of the stock SUB30 in A.  I compared the two directly, and felt 
the SUB30 played much better as a Richter harp after full customizing.  I 
don't have a stock SUB30 to compare to, but I'd say the SUB30 can be 
compared in playability to a Session Steel moreso than the Hohner's I've 
compared against.

IMO, the SUB can be played as a blues harp.  Meaning, you don't have to 
play jazzy to utilize it.  It works fantastic for blues too.  I am a rock 
player more than anything, but I also play blues with a strong attack and 
tongue blocking, etc.  It has responded well to that type of playing.  I 
felt valved harps and a lot of overbend harps had to be played with a 
different attack to really play well...my style tends to be more in the 
middle.  I probably play too hard compared to a lot of jazz diatonic (ok, I 
know I for sure do) guys, but I don't blow through reeds like some blues 
players.

Again, IMO, if you take the time to at least gap the SUB30 to your attack, 
it will work out just fine.  If you can do some embossing on all the reeds, 
it will play even better.  If you want it to be even more responsive and 
have a brassier tone, then you work towards that too. That is a lot more 
work, but to each his (or her) own.

Mike

On Sunday, September 2, 2012 9:09:48 PM UTC-5, Elizabeth Hess wrote:
>
> I bought a Suzuki Sub30 Ultrabend harp at SPAH.  I might have preferred 
> one in A, but there was only one A to be had, and someone else beat me to 
> it.  So, mine is a C.  Danny G. was selling them; his SPAH price was 
> $185.00. 
>
> Then I attended the seminar presented by Brendan Power and Filip Jers. 
>  Brendan and Filip played beautifully.  I asked what I thought was the 
> obvious question:  "Are those out-of-the-box harps you're playing, or have 
> you worked on them?"  Both had been worked on. 
>
> My initial impression is that the "new" or "extra" notes -- blow bends on 
> the lower six holes and draw bends on the upper four holes -- worked quite 
> well, and the timbre sounded like regular bent notes, which they should, 
> because they use added, "sympathetic" reeds, so the physics should be more 
> or less the same.  And the embouchure technique required is intuitive to 
> anyone who can do regular bending well.  What I didn't like about this 
> harp, out of the box, was that all the regular notes had a "congested" sort 
> of feeling when I tried to play them, and my litmus test, 10 blow bend, 
> both whole- and half-step, barely played at all.  Brendan did some work on 
> my harp later, at the Suzuki booth -- a bit of gapping and some light 
> embossing -- and 10 blow-bend on my Sub30 does work, now.  But the general 
> issue of regular notes not feeling "right" when I play them remains.  (My 
> working harps to date include Hohner Special-20s, Seydel 1847 Silvers, 
> Seydel Blues Sessions, and 1 Lee Os! 
>  kar.)  That the chambers feel "crowded" on the Sub30 makes intuitive 
> sense:  There's an extra reed AND a valve in each one.  Brendan suggested I 
> have it customized, which seems kind of a shame, given what it cost 
> initially.  I am not a high-power tech, but I can do basic and advanced 
> first aid.  I took mine all the way apart and did some gapping work on the 
> lower reeds.  They are better, but still not as satisfying to play as on my 
> regular harps.  Rather a lot of work for smallish return. 
>
> The Sub30 rewards softer, gentler playing than this jam rat is used to.  I 
> do get more satisfying results playing it through a mic and amp -- and 
> letting the gear do some of the heavy lifting -- than just playing it at my 
> desk with Band-in-a-Box.  So, some of my issues with this axe are strictly 
> due to my personal playing style. 
>
> Getting all the chromatic notes on a diatonic harp fluently and well 
> remains an elusive goal.  Overblowing takes embouchure development and 
> finicky tech work.  I own a PT Gazell harp, and spent some time with PT at 
> SPAH getting pointers on how to play it well.  But no-one is going to 
> achieve PT Gazell's tone in an afternoon (or two, or ten).  Or Brendan 
> Power's or Filip Jers  (Sub30), or Carlos del Junco's or Pat Bergeson's or 
> Todd Parrott's (overblows).  It still takes work, no matter which path you 
> choose. 
>
> I think the basic design principle of the Sub30 is brilliant.  That one 
> doesn't have to learn an alternate note layout (as with the Power Bender, 
> which also requires either overblows or valves to get  *all*  the notes) is 
> a big plus.  As manufactured, I think that the Sub30 would be best for 
> someone who plays more soft jazz than muscular blues, who is very 
> comfortable working on gapping, and who hasn't already invested a large 
> amount of time and effort in learning to overblow or play a valved harp 
> well. 
>
> What we all want is "Everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in 
> high heels," out of the box, and not too expensive.  The Suzuki Sub30 
> Ultrabend, as currently manufactured, is a decent step in that direction. 
>
> Elizabeth 
>
>
>