[Harp-L] re:What Cover-Plates Don't Do

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

John Walden writes:

"I like Blues Harp MS cover plates... They are thin, and make the harmonica  
feel ALIVE as I play it..."

Have you measured them?  I have no MS-harps to measure, but I don't remember the cover-plates of the MS-Blues Harp as being particularly thin at all.  

Of course, even if they were thinner than standard, it would have no effect on timbre.  

Mike writes:
"If I play a harp minus cover plates it sounds different.  The timbre and volume are different than when assembled.  "

I think careful listening and A/B testing would indicate that you are wrong about the timbre.  Volume might be another matter--at least as far as the player is concerned because of a directional effect from the covers.  But timbre is unaffected for the reasons I outlined.  It is very easy to hear a single change (volume) and then assume other changes (timbre) as well.  The ear is a great tool, but the brain often fools itself in terms of how it processes that information.



JR Ross