[Harp-L] New Electric Harmonica

[Ronnie Schreiber <autothreads@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm developing a new electric harmonica.

Little Walter plugged in right around the same time that Muddy Waters 
did. Six decades later, guitarists have taken Stratocasters to the 
stratosphere and beyond while we harp players are still stuck in the 
early 1950s propeller era as far as technology and tone are concerned. 
Bullet mics and other dedicated harmonica microphones create a great 
sound, no doubt, but amplifying harmonica with mics is hardly an ideal 
solution. Feedback and impedance issues limit volume and tone.

I can't yet disclose to the public just how it works, but I've shown the 
first prototype to a number of professional harp players including Peter 
"Madcat" Ruth and Carl Caballero and they're encouraging me to go 
forward with the idea so we're working on a production version. I know 
now that it's a practical, playable instrument (and it's unbelievably 
cool to watch great players use my gizmo to make music) now it's a 
question of putting it in a player friendly production form that we can 
sell. I'm posting here in the hope of getting some input from other 
players about what you'd like to see in the final product. We're going 
to start with diatonics (and yes, you'll be able to change keys easily 
and quickly), but the concept will work with chromatics as well. It's a 
passive device, no need for power supplies, belt packs or 9 volt 
batteries, though the design is compatible with active electronics 
should we want to offer that in the future.

Simply put, the prototype works, it plays like a harmonica, all the 
bends work, and it sounds like a harmonica (unlike the Turboharp ELX, 
which is a very cool and clever idea itself but produces pure sine 
waves), only electric, it won't feedback no matter how loud you play 
(which means you can play as loud or louder than the guitar player now 
if you want to), it has great sustain, and it's compatible with any 
effects device that will work with an electric guitar or bass (though I 
hope to work with an effects company to develop devices that are voiced 
specifically for harp). It's seriously amplified and you don't have to 
blow hard to play loud. While it's necessarily heavier than a regular 
acoustic harmonica, the prototype, which was made of hardwood with 
relatively simple tools, so there's a lot of superfluous material, 
already weighs less than what a Shure Green Bullet and a Lee Oskar weigh 
together. I'm working with a 3D printer and we expect the production 
version with an ABS body to weigh significantly less. We're aiming for 
less than a JT-30 mic by itself and I'm pretty sure we'll meet that 
goal. I want it to be a pro quality instrument, up to the rigors of 
touring, so while the body will be made of a polymer, metal inserts will 
be used for parts that could wear.

I've put the prototype right up to the grill of a Fender Twin Reverb 
turned up to 12 and while it has great sustain, it simply won't 
feedback. No more fiddling with mics, amps and equalization to get the 
tone you want without worrying about things squealing and howling. No 
more having to turn down between riffs. You can set the volume and tone 
controls on the amp where you like how they sound, not where you have to 
keep them to avoid feedback. Also, there are onboard volume and tone 
controls. At moderate levels the tone is clean, but turn it up and just 
like an electric guitar things start to get tastily distorted.

You can use a traditional grip and get a tight hand cup for wah and 
other hand effects. Since you're not having to hold a mic, when you're 
not using hand effects you have a free hand for gesturing, getting 
another key ready, and fooling around in your harp case or fiddling with 
settings.

In addition to playing loud and not feeding back, as mentioned, it's 
compatible with any effects device that will work with an electric 
guitar or bass.You now will have the opportunity to create entirely new 
tones and sounds for the harmonica. You haven't heard weird till you've 
heard a harmonica through an envelope filter: duh dum duh dump wowwowwow 
wowwow. I have a Digitech RP-250 and while not all of the effects are 
necessarily something you'd want to use with a harp, all of them do 
function, as well as all of the multi-effects devices' amplifier models.

Since it's a new thing, you'll also have the chance to use it to develop 
new technique. While out of the box it plays pretty much like any 
harmonica, it presents an unequaled opportunity to create new 
techniques. Think of some of the signature sounds in rock n roll - Jimi 
Hendrix's wahwah pedal, Jerry Garcia's envelope filters, or how guitar 
players have developed things like pull-offs, hammer-ons, tap tones and 
harmonics. You now have the opportunity to create your own signature sounds.

So it works. Now I want to make it as player friendly as I can. I think 
I've gotten most of the features down, but I'm a very rudimentary 
harmonica player so I need input from folks who can actually play.

Do you prefer a traditionally shaped mouthpiece with the comb proud of 
the cover plates, or something smooth and round like on a Hohner CX-12?

Round holes or square holes?

What kind of cable connector? For space reasons I don't want to use a 
1/4" jack and I'd like a connector that the cable latches or locks 
securely to it. My brother suggested Lemo connectors, but I want to go 
with something that's compatible with what cables players would have in 
their gig cases or at least can buy at a music store in an emergency. I 
don't want players stuck because they misplaced a hard to find adapter. 
Right now I'm leaning towards either an old-school screw on Switchcraft 
2501mp (and since old Astatics use them, adapters to 1/4" are readily 
available in the harp community), XLR or mini XLR. Mini XLR is becoming 
the standard in the mic industry.

I plan to sell it as both a basic kit with a single key cassette and a 
pro kit that comes with the six most common keys. Which key should the 
basic setup have, C or A? What six keys do you use most frequently? Just 
about all keys and even alternate tunings will be available. The 
cassettes will have covers so they'll also be functional acoustic 
harmonicas so if you want to play acoustic or traditional bullet mic 
style, you can without having to carry around a traditional harp in the 
same key in your gig case.

What effects devices would you want to use? So far it seems like chorus, 
delay, octave and reverb are the top choices.

I tried to get it to feedback Jimi Hendrix style, but I believe that 
harmonica reeds are just too small, relative to guitar strings, to be 
able to be resonated under most conditions. Some players do use feedback 
in their act. Is the fact that it won't ever feedback a drawback?

Should I offer it in colors or is black/chrome or black/gold sufficient?

Finally, how much would you be willing to pay? It depends on how I 
decide to market it. I'd like to price it between $300 and $400 for the 
basic setup. Not counting assembly labor, marketing costs and overhead, 
even at manufacturers' discounts, I'm going to be spending at least $100 
per instrument for components. Mass marketing it through firms like 
Guitar Center or Musician's Friend means having to make a profit at 50% 
of MSRP and I'm not sure that's possible.

I considered trying a Kickstarter campaign, but I don't see any 
advantages to that compared to starting out with limited production. 
What do you think?

Thanks for reading this and if you do give me some feedback, thanks for 
that too.

Ronnie Schreiber