[Harp-L] "The DM48 can play 24 notes or more on a single hole!"

[Jordan Feldman]

I'm a trumpet player that has been playing wind synth for a couple decades(EWI/EVI).
When I first started my intention was to find patches(sounds)that were different from the acoustic instruments we all know and that resonated with me.  Playing different patches can be inspiring.  I also wound up buying soundbanks that do a great job at emulating acoustic instruments.  Emulating other instruments opens up another world of things to work on.
Mainly, learning the licks and such that are common on each particular instrument.  For example, using pitch bend to emulate a trombone glissando.  You wouldn't do that on a flute patch.  How realistic your emulating sounds is not only about the quality of the patch but how you finesse the patch.
One of the things that I do with the windsynth that's been  lucrative is to be a one man horn section for pop/dance bands by using performance patches that layer multiple horn sounds such as a trumpet/tenor sax/trombone patch.  Many people do this on keyboard style synths but windsynth does a better job at this.  The possibilities are endless.



> On May 17, 2017, at 8:28 AM, Richard Hunter <rhunter377 at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> David Fairweather wrote:
> <And although its interesting that the DM48 can play 24 notes or more on a
> <single hole - why would anyone want to do that?
> 
> This is an example of how harp players need to change their thinking as
> they enter the new world of synthesized sounds, which will inevitably
> involve new musical styles as well.
> 
> There's no reason to stack 24 notes on a single hole if you're playing
> blues.  For that matter, if you're playing traditional blues, acoustic or
> electric, there's no reason to use a synthesizer to do it. A harmonica--a
> real harmonica--will do the job just fine.  Stacking 24 notes on a single
> hole makes no sense if all 24 notes have the sound of a harmonica.  And no
> one listening to a blues band wants, or expects, anyone in the band to
> produce a massively layered, modulated sound that never appeared on a
> record by Steve Ray Vaughn or Muddy Waters.
> 
> In modern electronic styles such as EDM, it's not at all unusual to stack
> lots and lots of sounds up to create a combined massive tone.  Some
> synthesizers allow you to stack 24 different SOUNDS on a single note--i.e.
> you play one hole on the DM48, and what comes out is a massively complex
> tone that refuses to be ignored.  It's not about putting 24 layers of the
> same sound in place--that just gives you a much louder version of the same
> sound.  It's about putting 24 DIFFERENT sounds out on the same note, all at
> once.
> 
> It's not at all uncommon for composers and producers working in EDM
> (electronic dance music) to use 3-4 separate sounds combined just for the
> bassline.  And why would a harmonica player care about that?  Because with
> that DM-48 in your hand, you could be playing that bassline.  You play it
> as if you were playing the harmonica, and what comes out of the speaker is
> anything but.
> 
> That's the challenge for harmonica players.  YOU ARE NOT PLAYING HARMONICA
> WHEN YOU PLAY A DM-48.  YOU ARE PLAYING A SYNTHESIZER, USING THE HARMONICA
> AS A CONTROLLER.  If you want to play a harmonica, play a harmonica, not a
> DM-48!  If you want to sound like something else entirely, the DM-48 is
> your baby.
> 
> I recommend again that any harmonica player who lacks experience with
> synthesizers, and who wants to acquire a DM-48, make a point of getting his
> or her hands on a copy of Computer Music magazine (computermusic.co.uk).
> This is an exciting new world indeed, and there is no better place to start
> learning the lay of that land.
> 
> Regards, Richard Hunter
> 
> -- 
> Check out our 21st Century rock harmonica record "The Lucky One" at
> https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/richardhunter
> 
> Author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
> Latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
> Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
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