Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica Band Reboot

[George Miklas <harmonicat@xxxxxxxxx>]

Richard,

Basing my comment upon your  response below, I believe that you might  have
a preconceived idea of the bass harmonica's capabilities.  Please allow  us
to think outside the box.  The resonance of the low frequency reed on the
modern double bass harmonica is the sum of the harmonica's construction AND
the resonance  of the player.  Performance technique is a product of time
and practice of the player.

The sky is the limit.  Trust  me, I know.

It isn't just roots and fifths anymore!

Best regards,
George

On Tuesday, August 12, 2014, Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

> Emile D'Amico wrote:
> <This was listed in the Seminars but it was a theme that
> <was in the performances to.
> <It was great to see chord and bass now
> <included in acts that had never had them before.
>
> I'm more interested in chord harmonicas than in bass, mainly because 1)
> some interesting chord harps have come to market lately, and 2) modern
> popular music styles, especially electric styles, don't have much room for
> a bass harmonica in the mix.  Electric styles in particular, even the
> roots-based ones, use massive bass tones that are probably beyond the reach
> of a bass harmonica.  (Although I suppose that multiFX could be employed to
> add more power to a bass harmonica tone.)  I have no doubt that a chord
> harp coming through a multiFX unit could play a lot of roles that have been
> owned by keyboard players to this point.
>
> It's possible that bass harmonica would work well in some modern acoustic
> styles; I'm thinking now of Mumford & Sons, and thinking bass harp might do
> the job there.  Perhaps Michael Rubin, who I think plays bass harp in an
> Austin-based band, could weigh in here.
>
> In my opinion, a two-octave-down pitch shift applied to a diatonic or
> chromatic harp with a decent pitch shifter, with the mix set to fully wet
> (i.e. all processed signal and no unprocessed signal in the mix), produces
> a pretty convincing bass harmonica sound, close enough so that most people
> wouldn't hear the difference in the context of a full band.  On the other
> hand, pitch-shifting a bass harmonica up an octave or two doesn't make it
> sound like a diatonic or chromatic.  All that said, I still have a bass
> harmonica in my kit, though I doubt I'll ever drag it to anything besides a
> recording session.
>
> Regards, Richard Hunter
>
>

-- 

   - *GEORGE MIKLAS,* Harmonica Performing Artist and Entertainer
   <http://harmonicagallery.com/>
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