[Harp-L] The "newest" Stradivarius of Harmonicas! = comb material now

[Ben Bouman]

I have customers who sound wonderful on my harps..I have customers who sound terrible on my harps….I have customers who sound wonderful on my harps with a wooden comb… I have customers who sound terrible on my harps with a wooden comb…
I have customers who sound wonderful on my harps with a polymer comb…I have customers who sound terrible on my harps with a polymer comb…

My point: if a players feels a difference when he’s using a harp with a certain comb, and this make shim happy, he’ll play and SOUND better ( = different).
Another thing: thinner coverplates ”feel” different when you use them, your fingertips may notice a difference , they ”MAY” reflect the sound a bit different…result: ”different” sound.

When I play in an almost dead acoustic different my harps seems to sound different :-))
When I play in a church my harps seems to sound ”better”.. :-))

I’ve done a few non-scientific test during some of our harp meetings. I was standing with my back faced to the listeners. 
I played the same lick over and over again , switching between a wooden comb and Seydel polymer comb…
As you can guess, nobody could hear a difference. I had 2 people doing 10 guesses ..almost very guess was wrong and they admitted that It could;t done that way.

I use wooden combs when I gig, I use polymer or plastic combs when I gig, I use chromatics when I gig…  and,… the all sound like me. People recognize my tone/my style but not my combs. 
I have a 1847 that looks like it has a wooden comb, but is is a corona corona comb that looks very much like it is wood. 

Some player told me that the old school sound from that harp came from the beautiful wooden comb :-))


So, does the comb material make a difference? Yes …to the player..but not for the listener.

Okay..one more example…  My girlfriend  ( and me as well) with have  CBH 2016. On the recordings that I made , when she used the CBH, many players noticed the beautiful.. it sounded like an expensive ”wooden” instrument…


Kindest regards, met vriendelijke groeten

Ben Bouman
www.benboumanharmonicas.com <http://www.benboumanharmonicas.com/>
www.harmonicainstituut.nl <http://www.harmonicainstituut.nl/>
www.harmonicaheaven.nl <http://www.harmonicaheaven.nl/>
www.marbletones.com <http://www.marbletones.com/>
www.marble-amps.com <http://www.marble-amps.com/>
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