[Harp-L] Neil Young, Water & Marine Bands

[rrsleigh <rrsleigh@xxxxxxxxx>]

Randy - Thank you so much for posting the link to the Heart of Gold video. 

Gave me goose bumps & took me way back. I used to do a solo act that included this song. I could already play "fancy" on the harmonica even in a rack when I first stated playing out, but this song sounded ridiculous unless I did the simple straightforward approach that Neil used.

I also used to dunk my marine bands in water all the time in those days. If the harp was brand new, i did not have to, but after a while most of my harps needed the boost that came from the water treatment.

A few years ago I heard an interesting fact that made me re-visit dunking harps in water. I was told that it was a common practice for someone playing the triangle in a symphony orchestra to put a drop of water in the gap of the triangle to make it sound better. I don't know if this is true, but it got me to thinking about what water does to a harmonica besides making the pearwood comb swell...

First I found an  old marine band that was the vintage that Neil Young used in the seventies & put it in a glass of water, knocked out the excess, racked it up and started playing "Heart of Gold". The sound of the harp seemed different than my custom marine bands...

So I tried comparing a Special 20 dry & then dipped in water...

There is a definite difference... it plays easier & sounds richer. What's going on? Since water does not make plastic combs any different, my answer is that surface tension makes the water cling to the reeds near the end of the slot, increases compression & also does some x factor to the tone quality...

It only lasts a few minutes, but that is enough time to play the average song....

So with the Marine Band, you get this combination of the vented cover plates, the comb swelling a bit, and the water closing up the end of the slot a little, plus changing the vibration somehow....

Almost makes me want to start soaking my harps again - with a corian comb, no worries on destroying the comb. Might add a nice "wet tone" for some numbers... but you would not want the slots to be embossed real tight.

Check it out - might give you another thing to add to your bag of tricks

Richard Sleigh
http://www.rsleigh.com
http://www.hotrodharmonicas.com