[Harp-L] ACE Chromatic New wood inserts by Tom Halchak at SPAH

[BenBouman2017]

Amen to that!!


In the end it is always about the player/what he feels when playing a harmonica.
I can build 2 identical custom harps, check all tolerances with a microscope and still they “feel” different.

I can have a player play 2 harps, 1 is a custom harp and the other one is out of the box..  some players will prefer the o.o.t.b just because they like the feel.

I can have 2  players play the same riff on a custom harp and they will sound totally different…

Etc …Etc…. Etc…

Ben Bouman
www.benboumanharmonicas.com <http://www.benboumanharmonicas.com/>



> Op 23 jul. 2017, om 20:38 heeft Joseph Leone <3n037 at xxxxx> het volgende geschreven:
> 
> Mr.  Shelstraw raises an excellent point. I believe there are still personages on this list that remember 20 years ago when I said: “This test is silly”. And suggested bringing in a ‘voicecorder’. 
> The same thing they use for bank vaults and CIA headquarters. Is that instrument a spectral analysis device? That would kill this whole enchilada. And here’s why. 
> 
> 26 years ago I selected 2 chromatics at a fest. I played 6 of the SAME model. Placed them in group(s) of 2, 2, 1 & 1. Then I chose  one because of the sound. The second 
> I chose because the tone was the best BUT the slide action was second best. Of the six, three sounded close to each other, and the other three sounded  differently..but also 
> similar to each other. I brushed the two groups of two aside, and purchased two. A top pro was witnessing this and agreed with my purchase. 
> 
> I came away with the theory that NO TWO harmonicas sound exactly the same. Even from the same manufacturer, identical model. Yes, the differences may be slight, But they 
> are there. And I’m not arguing that comb material(s) necessarily make a difference. What I think is that the player FEELS a difference. In their mouth. And isn’t that what it’s all
> about... Alfie...with a mouth actuated instrument? Perhaps it was reed gapping? Perhaps it was reed tolerance.
> 
> When cutting close fitting parts, the operator will ask you “What’s the tolerance? plus or minus? Now if you were to say 1/1ooo, here’s what you get. Reed slots may be right on the money but the reeds are 1ooo
> OVER. OR the reeds may be on the money but the slots may be 1ooo UNDER. OR worst case scenario, the slots it can be a combination of both. Both being over sized, both being undersized.
> Just a few cerebrum drippings. 
> 
> sm0joe  
> 
>> On Jul 23, 2017, at 4:29 AM, Sheltraw <macaroni9999 at xxxxx> wrote:
>> 
>> Could do spectral analysis instead.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Jul 21, 2017, at 7:45 PM, Robert Hale <robert at xxxxx> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I am happy to respect the observations of experienced players. Until we
>>> have randomized, double-blind testing, we only have opinions of our
>>> respected players.
>>> 
>>> Robert Hale
>>> Serious Honkage in Arizona
>>> youtube.com/DUKEofWAIL
>>> DUKEofWAIL.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Jul 21, 2017 at 2:39 PM, Winslow Yerxa via Harp-L <harp-l at xxxxx
>>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> At the 2016 SPAH convention, I both played and listened to the ACE 48 with
>>>> both wood and brass inserts.
>>>> 
>>>> Listening, I could track which was which by sound. The mellower sound was
>>>> wood, while the brighter sound was brass. This was true even when each was
>>>> played by a different harmonica player (the demonstrator players were Tom
>>>> Stryker and Gerhard Mueller).
>>>> 
>>>> Later, I had the opportunity to play the instrument with both wood and
>>>> brass inserts. Not only did I hear the difference as a player, the people
>>>> sitting next to me, Michelle LeFree and David Fairweather, remarked on how
>>>> strong the differences where when heard close up.
>>>> 
>>>> I haven’t confirmed this but I believe Hohner will have the ACE 48
>>>> available to try out at the SPAH convention.
>>>> 
>>>> Winslow Yerxa
>>>> Producer, the Harmonica Collective
>>>> Author, Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition: ISBN 978-1-118-88076-0
>>>>          Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
>>>>          Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
>>>> Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
>>>> Instructor, Jazzschool Community Music School
>>>> President emeritus, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement
>>>> of the Harmonica
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> 
>>> Robert Hale is the DUKE of WAIL
>>> *________________________*
>>> 
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>>> 
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> 

Kindest regards, met vriendelijke groeten,

Ben Bouman

www.benboumanharmonicas.com <http://www.benboumanharmonicas.com/>
www.harmonicainstituut.nl <http://www.harmonicainstituut.nl/>
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