Re: [Harp-L] Harpmaster vs session

[Vern <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

The following is a quote from the Suzuki claims:

"The bendable laser tuned phosphor bronze reeds produce the clarity and rich, mellow tones you would expect from much more expensive harmonicas."

"bendable":  All reeds of any material are "bendable". If they were not, they could not function.

"laser-tuned": This may be an efficient manufacturing process but confers no advantage in performance over other equally accurate tuning processes. A reed doesn't remember how it got tuned.

"phosphor-bronze":  This is a good spring and reed material and should be less subject to fatigue than brass.  They didn't make this one claim that might be justified.

"clarity":  Most players use hand-cupping, mics and amps to distort the natural sound of their harps indicating that they don't want clarity.

"rich mellow tones":  There is no theory or evidence that reed material has a perceptible effect on tone.  I have a harmonica with one SS reed that no one has been able to distinguish from its 47 brass neighbors.  What do "rich" and "mellow" mean in terms of spectrum or wave-form? Do they indicate an absence of high frequencies?

Vern

On Apr 11, 2014, at 8:33 PM, Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> According to the Suzuki USA website, the HarpMaster is phosphor bronze: http://www.suzukimusic.com/harmonicas/mr200/
> 
> Winslow Yerxa
> President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
> Producer, the Spring 2014 Harmonica Collective
> Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
>             Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
>             Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
> Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
> Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
> 
> 
> ________________________________
>  From: chris o'sullivan <proharper@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
> Sent: Friday, April 11, 2014 1:37 PM
> Subject: [Harp-L] Harpmaster vs session
> 
> 
>   Suzuki World Class Harmonicas
>   Starter Harp Airwave Harmonica Hobbyist EZR-20 Easy Rider   
> View on www.suzukimusic.com Preview by Yahoo  
>  
> 
> HM is brass
> BM is Phos Bronz
> Bushman is a harpmaster with Phos Bronze reeds. Suzuki is the builder..OEM